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1 June 2018 “An inordinate fondness for beetles”: first description of Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) diet in the boreal biome
Elly C. Knight, Janet W. Ng, Caitlin E. Mader, R. Mark Brigham, Erin M. Bayne
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Abstract

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.

Elly C. Knight, Janet W. Ng, Caitlin E. Mader, R. Mark Brigham, and Erin M. Bayne "“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, (1 June 2018). https://doi.org/10.1676/16-219.1
Received: 14 December 2016; Accepted: 18 January 2017; Published: 1 June 2018
KEYWORDS
aerial insectivore
boreal
Common Nighthawk
diet
insect
nightjar
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