---
title: "Lesser Nighthawk"
description: "Chordeiles acutipennis — Birds. The lesser nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis) is a nightjar found throughout a large part of the Americas."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/lesser-nighthawk
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Lesser Nighthawk

> Chordeiles acutipennis — Birds. The lesser nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis) is a nightjar found throughout a large part of the Americas.

- Scientific name: *Chordeiles acutipennis*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 6671
- Wikidata: [Q1274529](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1274529)
- iNaturalist taxon: [19587](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/19587)

## Names

- en: Lesser Nighthawk
- de: Texasnachtschwalbe
- es: Chotacabras Menor
- fr: Engoulevent minime
- nl: Texasnachtzwaluw
- pt: Bacurau-de-asa-fina
- pl: Lelczyk ostroskrzydły

## Countries with the most observations

US (2329), MX (1932), BR (159), CR (135), SV (94), HN (68), CO (64), PA (46), PE (46), EC (41), BZ (38), NI (29)

## Summary

The lesser nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis) is a nightjar found throughout a large part of the Americas. This bird looks similar to the common nighthawk but is slightly smaller, has a slightly less deeply forked tail, and is more buffy in coloration. Their distinctive mouths are very well adapted for capturing insects mid-flight.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_nighthawk

## Photo

![Lesser Nighthawk](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/lesser-nighthawk/medium.jpg)

Photo: Don Wellmann · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/167455775

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/lesser-nighthawk?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).