NACUNDA NIGHTHAWK Chordeiles nacunda
A Nighthawk that is often active by day seems to be a contradiction in terms, but that is the case with the Nacunda! A big bird, they form large flocks in some areas. At the Bahía de Asunción for example you can flush flocks of up to 50 individuals at certain times of year, appearing as if from nowhere under your feet and disappearing again as they settle on the ground, thanks to their fantastically cryptic plumage. With their bold white wing and belly patterns (visible only in flight) Nacundas are perhaps the easiest of the Nighthawks to identify, though flush a bird at night and the resemblance to a Southern Lapwing is uncanny!! Formerly classified in the monotypic genus Podager.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPAVE1680PH) Roosting adult, Jejui-Mi, Mbaracayú Forest Reserve, Departamento Canindeyú (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 2 - (FPAVE1681PH) Same individual as (FPAVE1680PH) in alert posture (Paul Smith September 2006).
FIGURE 3 - (FPAVE1682PH) Adult rear view, Bahía de Asunción, Departamento Central (Frank Fragano undated).
FIGURE 4 - (FPAVE1683PH) Adult in flight, Bahía de Asunción, Departamento Central (Frank Fragano undated).
VIDEO A - (FPAVE1684VI) Same individual as (FPAVE1680PH - FPAVE1681PH)  (Paul Smith September 2006).
VIDEO B - (FPAVE1685VI) Adult, PN Tte Enciso, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith September 2010).
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