Birds of North Carolina:
their Distribution and Abundance
Antillean Nighthawk - Chordeiles gundlachii
CAPRIMULGIDAE Members:
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General Comments Accidental to casual. Remarkably, for a species that breeds in the United States only in the Florida Keys, there are three state records of the Antillean Nighthawk, all from the same site (!) on the Outer Banks (Dare). One was seen and heard by many observers on several evenings flying along dunes near the Cape Hatteras campground near Buxton, from 6-14 Aug 1994*; voice recordings documented the record [Chat 60:145-146 link]. A second bird was seen and photographed in the same general area as the first record, on 23-24 May 1996* [Chat 62:180 link]. Lastly, another bird was seen and heard doing the same thing at the exact same dune line, on 8-15 Aug 2020* [Chat 85:25 link].
Breeding Status Nonbreeder
NC BRC List Definitive
State Status
U.S. Status
State Rank SA
Global Rank G4
Coastal Plain Three records (see above).
Piedmont No records.
Mountains No records.
Finding Tips
1/2 *
Attribution LeGrand[2021-03-05], LeGrand[2018-02-01], LeGrand[2012-07-14]
NC Map
Map depicts all counties with a report (transient or resident) for the species.
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