Nafisa Mosaddek

Can Birds Fly at Night? Do you ever find yourself thinking: Can birds fly at night? While we are peacefully napping in the comfort of our homes, what do these birds do in the after-hours? Well, the answer is, many of the bird species rest like us during nighttime, while some species remain primarily active during this time. It can be quite surprising how active certain birds can be at night. In this article, we will attempt to answer all the questions you might have regarding the night-time activities of nocturnal birds. Now it is important to know that diurnal birds can also remain active at night if their rest is hampered, or they are most likely searching for food, establishing their territory, searching for a mate, or simply looking for food. Now let's discuss this in detail. Why Do Birds Fly at Night? You have heard of or seen owls, right? They are a common example of nocturnal birds. But did you know that not all owls are nocturnal? Most of them are but there are some exceptions as well. Diurnal owls also exist in this world. Nocturnal owls remain very active during the night. They usually fly this time in search of food. Owls have excellent eyesight and hearing. They can find out the exact location of the prey by spotting them from a large distance or hearing their slightest movement in the grass. They usually hunt mice, earthworms, woodrats, and even small squirrels. Now it is important to note that owls are not the only birds flying at night. Are you familiar with the name "Nightjars"? Most of you must not have heard of them. Nightjars are a group of 60-70 species of birds and they are very common in tropical regions. They are nocturnal insectivorous birds that remain super active at night. They usually look for food while flying in the after-hours. Nightjars use camouflage techniques to catch their prey effectively. They have brown and gray feathers which are excellent for this purpose. They're quite vocal as well. You can hear their calls during the night if these birds are nearby which gives their presence away. Aside from these two groups, some other diurnal birds can be seen flying at night. In certain situations, diurnal birds go out for various reasons at night, for example, looking for food when the competition is lesser, or certain food is unavailable or hard to get during the day. What kind of birds fly at night? You can often hear some of the birds calling at night, but mostly their nighttime activities remain hidden from us. You might catch a glimpse if you are outside at certain times. We'll now disclose which species you might spot if you are also out at night like them. ● Whip- poor- will : This is a species of the Nightjar group we mentioned earlier. They hunt at night from the ground or fly up in the air to catch aerial insects. Want to hear an interesting fact about them? They often chant their own names, so if you hear a sound saying " whip-poor-will" at night, it's them. ● Frogmouth: This is a species related to the Nightjars. You might confuse them with owls for their visual appearance. They collect food during the daytime as well but nocturnal insects like moths, slugs, etc. are their favorite. So they fly to hunt at night. ● Owls: This list will be incomplete without owls. Owls can be active both at dusk as well as in the darkest hours of the night. Owls usually fly around looking for food during this time. Do not get scared if you hear an eerie, raspy screeching sound at night, since there is a high possibility it is the owls making such noise, especially barn owls. Another type is the great horned owl, which is a strictly nocturnal species and they even wade around in the water searching for prey, along with flying. ● Flycatcher: This migrating bird goes out for long trips at night. They usually go far away from breeding grounds to spend the winter somewhere else and this journey takes place at night. ● Mockingbird: At a glance, you'll think these birds never even rest or sleep. They remain active during the day as well as at night. During nighttime, they try to attract potential mates and defend their territories. They have a tendency to flow slowly in circles around their territory to harass or drive away any potential intruders. What are the abilities of the birds that fly at night? Birds remaining active at night possess special abilities that make their activities easier in the dark. Such abilities include exceptional eyesight and hearing, special feeding adaptations, excellent navigation skills, and adaptation to cold temperatures. Most of the nocturnal birds have night vision and keen hearing abilities. These two traits help them to detect prey easily even in low light conditions. Some of them have special features that allow them to create camouflage or move around silently for more effective prey-catching. Many of these nocturnal species eat insects, and their body is adapted to catch aerial insects up in the air. These birds have also adapted to the cold temperature prevailing at night with certain adaptation techniques. Almost all of these birds have excellent navigation skills, however, some can even use the sun, moon, or other celestial bodies for this purpose. How do birds navigate at night? As we mentioned earlier, birds capable of flying during the night have great navigation skills that help during this journey. These birds usually use two natural components as their compass. The first one is the star patterns, followed by Earth's magnetic field. Some birds like Robins are believed to have specialized organs that enable them to sense the magnetic field and set their direction of flight accordingly. Why do birds migrate at night? Birds migrating at night include sparrows, cuckoos, flycatchers, and so on. Birds migrating at night often enjoy specific advantages. First of all, they do not have to worry about their predators attacking them. Additionally, the air remains cooler and less turbulent during the night. They can enjoy a hassle-free flight in most cases. What dangers do birds face while flying at night? As convenient as it sounds, flying at night is also becoming dangerous for birds. Street lights and lights in the buildings might make them confused and disoriented, causing them to crash and die or get severely injured. Another potential concern is the lack of available food during the journey. Now that a vast portion of their natural habitats are lost, they are at risk of starvation and often become unable to continue the journey. How do birds avoid obstacles when flying in the dark? As stated earlier, birds going for a flight at night can often face obstacles on the way. Upon visual cueing of such barriers, they redirect the forces of their wings and legs to pass the obstacle without directly crashing into it or just passing it with minimal collision. Conclusion: Now you know that birds often fly and move around at night, but we don't usually realize it unless we are also outside in an open place. We hope this article has satisfied all your queries regarding the nighttime routine of birds capable of flying at night. Thank you for reading. FAQ: 1. What birds are awake at night? - Many birds remain awake at night, including Mockingbirds, Thrush, Whippoor-will, Robin, Night Heron, Nightingales, Owls, and many more. 2. Is it normal to see a bird at night? -For nocturnal birds, it is perfectly normal. Other species are not seen active during the night unless their resting is disrupted somehow. 3. Do birds fly at night or is it a bat? -Birds and bats both can fly at night. You can understand the difference by looking at the flight pattern. 4. Do birds sleep in the same place every night? -Most bird species do not sleep in the same place. They usually find a comfortable and safe resting place, unless they have their own private nestle.