Common Nighthawk

SCI Name:  Chordeiles minor
Protonym:  Caprimulgus minor Cat.Anim.N.Am. p.13
Taxonomy:  Caprimulgiformes / Caprimulgidae / Chordeiles
Taxonomy Code:  comnig
Type Locality:  No locality = South Carolina ex Catesby.
Author:  Forster, JR
Publish Year:  1771
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

CHORDEILES
(Caprimulgidae; Ϯ Common Nighthawk C. minor) Gr. χορδη khordē  chord; δειλη deilē  evening (cf. “Apparently a badly coined name from Gr. khōreo, to travel, and deilē, in the unusual sense of “evening” ” (Macleod 1954); “Gr. choros, most likely “a circular dance” hence “a moving about”; Gr. deile, “evening” ” (Choate 1985)); "2. CAPRIMULGUS (CHORDEILES) VIRGINIANUS. (Sw.)  The Pisk.  ...  Sub-genus, Chordeiles*, Sw.  ...  Peesquaw.  CREE INDIANS.  ...  The very peculiar noise it makes is most frequently heard in the evening, and often seems to be emitted close to the listener, although the bird which produces it is at the time so high in the air as to be nearly imperceptible. The sound resembles that produced by the vibration of a tense, thick cord in a violent gust of wind.   ...   * Chorda crepusculi (Th. χορδη et δειλη): in allusion to the peculiar sound it makes.   ...   44. Sub-genus, CHORDEILES.  (Generis Caprimulgi.)  Rostrum Caprimulgi.  Rictus lævis.  Alæ caudam æquantes; remiges omnes intergerrimæ.  Cauda forficata.  Digitus externus interno brevior.  Unguis medius serratus.  Type.—Chordeiles Virginianus (Caprimulgus Americanus, WILS.)" (Swainson 1832); "Chordeiles Swainson, in Swainson and Richardson's Fauna Bor.-Am., 2, 1831 (1832), p. 496. Type, by original designation, Caprimulgus virginianus Gmelin = Caprimulgus minor J. R. Forster." (Peters, 1940, IV, p. 185).
Var. Chordelies, Chordiles, Chordediles, Chordedilus, Chordeilus.
Synon. Microrhynchus, Nannochordeiles, Podager, Proithera, Ramphaoratus.

minor
L. minor  smaller  < comp. parvus  small. “Comparative names ... Specific names expressive of comparative size are also to be avoided, as they may be rendered inaccurate by the after-discovery of additional species. The names ... maximus, minor, minimus, etc. are examples of this objectionable practice” (Strickland Code 1842).
● ex “Short-eared Owl” of Pennant 1761 (syn. Asio flammeus).
● ex “Little Thrush” of Catesby 1731-1743, Edwards 1758-1764, Latham 1783, and Pennant 1785, “Turdus iliacus carolinensis” of Brisson 1760, and “Grivette de l’Amérique” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (syn. Catharus fuscescens).
● ex “Whip-poor-will” of Catesby 1731 (Chordeiles).
● ex “Coucou des palétuviers de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 813, “Petit Vieillard” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Mangrove Cuckow” of Latham 1782 (Coccyzus).
● "54. PICUS.  ...  minor.  12. P. albo nigroque varius vertice rubro, ano albido.  Picus albo nigroque varius, rectricibus tribus lateralibus seminigris. Fn. svec. 83. Hasselqv. iter. 242.  Picus varius tertius. Raj. av. 43.  Picus varius minor. Alb. av. I. p. 20. t. 20.  Habitat in Europa.” (Linnaeus 1758) (Dryobates).
● ex “Fregata minor” of Brisson 1760, “Petite Frégate” of de Buffon 1770-1783, “Man of War Bird” of Edwards 1760, and “Lesser Frigate Pelican” of Latham 1785 (Fregata).
● ex “Petit Indicateur” of Levaillant 1807, pl. 242 (Indicator).
● ex “Pie-grièsche d’Italie” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 32, fig. 1 (Lanius).
● ex “Perruche à ailes noires” of de Buffon 1770-1783, “Petite perruche de l’isle de Luçon, 4ème ésp.” of Sonnerat 1776, and “Luzonian Parrakeet” of Latham 1781 (syn. Loriculus philippensis).
● ex “Apiaster Philippensis minor” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Merops viridis americanus).
● ex “Little Woodcock” of Pennant 1785, and Latham 1785 (Microptera).
● ex “Troupiale de la Caroline” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 606, fig. 1, “Petit Troupiale noir” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Lesser black Oriole” of Latham 1782 (syn. Molothrus ater).
● ex “Lesser Bird of Paradise” of Latham 1783 (Paradisaea).
● ex “Barbican à ventre rose” of Levaillant 1806 (Pogonornis).
● ex “Porphyrio minor” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Porphyrula martinica).
● ex “Colymbus fluviatilis” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Tachybaptus ruficollis).
● ex “Huppe d’Afrique” of Audebert & Vieillot 1800-1802 (syn. Upupa africana).
● ex “Ringvia” of Brünnich 1764, and “Lesser Guillemot” of Pennant 1785 (syn. Uria aalge).

MINO
(Sturnidae; Ϯ Yellow-faced Myna M. dumontii) Hindi name Maina for starlings and mynahs; “Greater Minor” or “Mino” were names given to the Common Hill Mynah Gracula religiosa by Edwards 1743; "Sous-genre MINO, Mino, N. ...  Le sous-genre que MM. L. et G. établissent en conservant l'ancien nom indien de Mino ou de Minor, donné par Edwards et par Marsden au Mainate, diffère du genre Mainatus par quelques caractères assez distincts. Il semble former le passage des genres Mainatus et Pastor par l'intermédiaire du Philedon goulin (Pastor musicus, Temm., ou Gracula calva), qui devra s'y rapporter très-probablement.  ...  Une seule espèce appartient encore à ce sous-genre: c'est le Mino de Dumont (Mino Dumontii, Less.) de la Nouvelle-Guinée." (Lesson 1827); "Mino Lesson, 1827, Bull. Sci. Nat. Geol, (Bull. Univer. Sci. Indus., sec. 2), 10, p. 158. Type, by monotypy, Mino dumontii Lesson." (Amadon in Peters 1962, XV, 115).  
Var. Mina, Minor.
Synon. Eumathes, Melanopyrrhus.

SUBSPECIES

Common Nighthawk (minor)
SCI Name: Chordeiles minor minor
minor
L. minor  smaller  < comp. parvus  small. “Comparative names ... Specific names expressive of comparative size are also to be avoided, as they may be rendered inaccurate by the after-discovery of additional species. The names ... maximus, minor, minimus, etc. are examples of this objectionable practice” (Strickland Code 1842).
● ex “Short-eared Owl” of Pennant 1761 (syn. Asio flammeus).
● ex “Little Thrush” of Catesby 1731-1743, Edwards 1758-1764, Latham 1783, and Pennant 1785, “Turdus iliacus carolinensis” of Brisson 1760, and “Grivette de l’Amérique” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (syn. Catharus fuscescens).
● ex “Whip-poor-will” of Catesby 1731 (Chordeiles).
● ex “Coucou des palétuviers de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 813, “Petit Vieillard” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Mangrove Cuckow” of Latham 1782 (Coccyzus).
● "54. PICUS.  ...  minor.  12. P. albo nigroque varius vertice rubro, ano albido.  Picus albo nigroque varius, rectricibus tribus lateralibus seminigris. Fn. svec. 83. Hasselqv. iter. 242.  Picus varius tertius. Raj. av. 43.  Picus varius minor. Alb. av. I. p. 20. t. 20.  Habitat in Europa.” (Linnaeus 1758) (Dryobates).
● ex “Fregata minor” of Brisson 1760, “Petite Frégate” of de Buffon 1770-1783, “Man of War Bird” of Edwards 1760, and “Lesser Frigate Pelican” of Latham 1785 (Fregata).
● ex “Petit Indicateur” of Levaillant 1807, pl. 242 (Indicator).
● ex “Pie-grièsche d’Italie” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 32, fig. 1 (Lanius).
● ex “Perruche à ailes noires” of de Buffon 1770-1783, “Petite perruche de l’isle de Luçon, 4ème ésp.” of Sonnerat 1776, and “Luzonian Parrakeet” of Latham 1781 (syn. Loriculus philippensis).
● ex “Apiaster Philippensis minor” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Merops viridis americanus).
● ex “Little Woodcock” of Pennant 1785, and Latham 1785 (Microptera).
● ex “Troupiale de la Caroline” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 606, fig. 1, “Petit Troupiale noir” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Lesser black Oriole” of Latham 1782 (syn. Molothrus ater).
● ex “Lesser Bird of Paradise” of Latham 1783 (Paradisaea).
● ex “Barbican à ventre rose” of Levaillant 1806 (Pogonornis).
● ex “Porphyrio minor” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Porphyrula martinica).
● ex “Colymbus fluviatilis” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Tachybaptus ruficollis).
● ex “Huppe d’Afrique” of Audebert & Vieillot 1800-1802 (syn. Upupa africana).
● ex “Ringvia” of Brünnich 1764, and “Lesser Guillemot” of Pennant 1785 (syn. Uria aalge).

Common Nighthawk (hesperis)
SCI Name: Chordeiles minor hesperis
hesperis
L. hesperis  of evening, western  < Gr. ἑσπερος Hesperos, the evening star.

Common Nighthawk (sennetti)
SCI Name: Chordeiles minor sennetti
sennetti
George Burritt Sennett (1840-1900) US businessman, ornithologist, collector (subsp. Ammospiza maritima, subsp. Baeolophus atricristatus, syn. Buteo albicaudatus hypospodius, subsp. Chordeiles minor, subsp. Icterus cucullatus, subsp. Toxostoma longirostre).

Common Nighthawk (howelli)
SCI Name: Chordeiles minor howelli
howelli
● Arthur Holmes Howell (1872-1940) US ornithologist, mammalogist, collector (syn. Ammospiza maritima fisheri, subsp. Chordeiles minor).
● Prof. Kim Monroe Howell (b. 1945) US zoologist, marine biologist, at University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (subsp. Cryptolybia olivacea).

Common Nighthawk (henryi)
SCI Name: Chordeiles minor henryi
henryi
● Lt.-Col. Thomas Charlton Henry (1825-1877) US Army surgeon, collector (subsp. Chordeiles minor).
● Prof. Joseph Henry (1797-1878) US scientist, pioneer in electro-magnetism, first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1846-1878 (Martin Schneider in litt.) (subsp. Heliodoxa jacula).

Common Nighthawk (aserriensis)
SCI Name: Chordeiles minor aserriensis
aserriensis
Río Aserri, San José, Costa Rica.

Common Nighthawk (chapmani)
SCI Name: Chordeiles minor chapmani
chapmani
Frank Michler Chapman (1864-1945) US ornithologist, Curator of Ornithology AMNH 1908-1942, collector (Calidris, Chaetura, subsp. Chordeiles minor, subsp. Conopophaga castaneiceps, syn. Crax rubra, subsp. Formicivora rufa, syn. Gallinago jamesoni, syn. Hemispingus melanotis piurae, subsp. Hydrobates leucorhous, subsp. Mecocerculus leucophrys, subsp. Micropygia schomburgkii, subsp. Myiodynastes maculatus, subsp. Myiothlypis coronata, syn. Odontophorus gujanensis marmoratus, syn. Pachyramphus polychopterus dorsalis, subsp. Patagioenas plumbea, syn. Petrochelidon rufocollaris aequatorialis,  Pogonotriccus, subsp. Pulsatrix perspicillata, subsp. Pyrrhura melanura, subsp. Schistes geoffroyi, subsp. Sicalis luteola, syn. Synallaxis brachyura nigrofumosa).

Common Nighthawk (neotropicalis)
SCI Name: Chordeiles minor neotropicalis
neotropicalis
Mod. L. neotropicalis  neotropical, of tropical America  < Gr. νεος neos  new; Mod. L. tropicalis  tropical  < Late L. tropicus  tropical  < L. tropicus  of turning  <  Gr. τροπικος tropikos  tropic  < τροπη tropē  turning  < τρεπω trepō  to change.

Common Nighthawk (panamensis)
SCI Name: Chordeiles minor panamensis
panama / panamense / panamensis
Panama (said to be the name of a fishing village meaning "plenty of fish").