NYC-WTC_000152373

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Flying and Eating Q. I understand that the common nighthawk, though increasingly rare, still appears in New York during the summer. Where might I observe these acrobatic insect-eaters? A. Look up at the street lights, where moths, mosquitoes and all manner of flying insects gather at night. Night­ hawks swoop down on these darting, dancing whorls with their wide beaks open, feasting on the wing. This “hawking” can be observed on Man­ hattan streets and parks as well as in the parking lots and shopping cen­ ters of fee other boroughs, said Starr Saphir, a field ornithologist associat­ ed with the Audubon Society. “There are enormous numbers of insects above our heads of a spring or sum- mer evening;’^ ^he said. “We have the prey, and the predator going around catching it, and we may be completely unaware.” The body of a nighthawk is compa­ rable in size to a blue jay’s, with a wingspan that approaches two feet in length, and conspicuous white patch­ es beneath each outer wing. Their flight is a series of fluttering jumps followed by long, graceful gUdes, and Ms. Saphir described their song as a very loud, nasal “pee-ugg.” Not that there are many night­ hawks to see. They visit the city- while migrating to South America, and are rarely seen here after Sep­ tember. Their numbers have dwin­ dled, in part because of the wide­ spread use of insecticides and the loss of open fields, Ms. Saphir said. The species, however, has learned to nest on flat, gravel-covered rooftops, which may help to explain its contin­ ued presence in the citv.

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