An inordinate fondness for beetles; first description of Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) diet in the boreal biome

We present the first description of Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) diet from the boreal biome. Knowledge of diet is important for this crepuscular aerial insectivore, whose population declines may be related to insect food sources. We collected 4 nestling diet samples as food boluses from 1 adult female and 3 adult males on the breeding grounds in northern Alberta, Canada. Coleopterans comprised the majority of samples, and the composition of the sample from the female differed from those collected from males. Further research is needed across the boreal forest to characterize foraging strategies and assess the potential role of food availability in population declines.

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Field Value
Short Name of Publication http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.1676/16-219.1
Deliverable Type Science Article
Program Catagory Terrestrial Biological
Program Type OSM
Author Knight, E., J. Ng, M. Brigham, E. Bayne and C. Mader
Periodical Title Wilson Journal of Ornithology
Year of Publication 2018
Publishing Organization
Month of Publication 6
Periodical Volumes 130(2)
Page Range 525-531
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) 10.1676/16-219.1
Online ISBN/ISSN 1938-5447
Print ISBN/ISSN 1559-4491
Recomended Citation Knight, E. C., Ng, J. W., Mader, C. E., Brigham, R. M., & Bayne, E. M. (2018). “An inordinate fondness for beetles”: first description of Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) diet in the boreal biome. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 130(2), 525–531. doi:10.1676/16-219.1
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