![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/common-nighthawk-7410-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"common-nighthawk-7410-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n1\/1000,\u00a0f\/9, ISO 400, Canon 40D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I’ve photographed perched Common Nighthawks 4-5 times over the years and each time the bird kept its eyes closed almost the entire time I was with it. This nighthawk, photographed\u00a0several years ago, was\u00a0resting lengthwise\u00a0on a painted white strip on a road on Antelope Island (I’ve posted this image previously). I spent about 20 minutes very close to this bird (on foot rather than in my pickup)\u00a0and its eyes were closed almost for the duration. I took several hundred shots and only got a handful where its eyes were open like this.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000,f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Six days ago I photographed this Common Nighthawk on a metal gate in northern Utah and this one never did open its eyes. I’m unaware of any birds\u00a0other than\u00a0nighthawks and related nightjars\u00a0that do this so my curiosity prompted me to research the behavior but I found nothing on it.<\/p>\n I have my own working theory.\u00a0Both nighthawk behaviors and their plumages are incredibly cryptic (serving to camouflage an animal in its natural environment) and I can’t help but wonder if it’s a camo strategy. Many animals including some\u00a0butterflies, reptiles, cats, birds and fish\u00a0have eyespots<\/a> on their bodies (patterns and structures that resemble eyes in places where eyes wouldn’t be) meant to fool potential predators by disguising the actual location of their eyes and head (though\u00a0eyespots also serve other functions). Pygmy Owls\u00a0and American Kestrels\u00a0are well known for having eyespots on the back of their heads.<\/p>\n So, wouldn’t another\u00a0effective strategy for nighthawks\u00a0be to keep\u00a0their eyes closed in daylight while they’re on an exposed perch? The presence of obvious eyes\u00a0helps predators (and even bird photographers) spot cryptic prey.\u00a0As you can see in the first photo above\u00a0nighthawk eyes are dark and they\u00a0really stand out against a lighter colored eye ring and face.<\/p>\n But are their eyes really closed?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nope, they often\u00a0aren’t – at least not all the way.<\/p>\n A tight crop of the previous image makes it more clear that the nighthawk was really “squinting”. I was very close to the bird and there’s no way it wouldn’t keep\u00a0a close\u00a0eye on me at that distance. We all know from squinting ourselves that our eyes have to be open very little for us to\u00a0see out of them.<\/p>\n It’s only a working theory but it’ll be mine until I see contrary evidence. If any of my readers know differently I’d love to hear about it.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n PS – If you’re\u00a0curious about the “booming” courtship display of the Common Nighthawk the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has this video clip<\/a> explaining what it’s like to experience it.<\/em><\/p>\n And here’s another clip<\/a> some might enjoy seeing – it’s particularly interesting at about 17 sec in the timeline for the booming\u00a0sound their\u00a0feathers make in a dive.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n