Last updated on May 29th, 2022 at 11:58 pm
Birdwatching at night comes with many surprises, especially in an area with a lot of biodiversity like Arizona, where you’ll find quite a few night birds.
The most common nocturnal birds you’ll find in Arizona include the following:
What Birds Are Nocturnal in Arizona?
Arizona has many nocturnal birds, including nightjars, owls, and others. You can identify each of these by its appearance, behavior, and call.
1. Lesser Nighthawk
You can find a Lesser Nighthawk in the desert and shrublands of Arizona.
They’re recognizable by the rattling “oo” noise it makes at night and its plumage: striped dark brown and tan, with a white throat.
You’ll find Lesser Nighthawks awake at night alongside other nightjars.
2. Common Poorwill
Common Poorwills are very difficult to spot in the day, when they huddle close to the ground, camouflaged by their grayish-brown feathers.
But at night, these birds are awake, vocal, and easier to find. A common poorwill will sing its own name into the night, as demonstrated in this video:
3. Mexican Whip-Poor-Will
The Mexican Whip-poor-will lives in mountainous pine-oak forests and canyons, foraging at night and sleeping during the day.
You’ll find a Mexican whip-poor-will flying along the edge of the woods, with its mouth open for catching insects.
Mexican whip-poor-wills eat mosquitos, moths, beetles, and other night-flying insects.
4. Common Nighthawk
The Common Nighthawk is a speckled brown-and-white bird found in forest clearings, prairies, and even cities and towns.
Due to its varied sleeping patterns, you may see a Common Nighthawk out foraging at any point in the day or night.
They tend to be found near bright lights at night, and they tend to be more active under a full moon.
5. Buff-Collared Nightjar
The Buff-collared Nightjar is a large, pale gray bird that lives along forest edges and in clearings.
You can recognize the Buff-collared Nightjar by its distinctive song, a rhythmic pattern of clucking ending in a “chee-aa.”
See the following recording of a singing Buff-collared Nightjar:
6. Western Screech-Owl
The Western Screech-Owl is a silvery owl with bright yellow eyes and a squarish head.
These birds are small and stocky, about the size of a robin in length. It’s easier to hear a Western Screech-Owl than it is to spot one.
They spend their days roosting in holes and their nights hunting.
7. Whiskered Screech-Owl
The Whiskered Screech-Owl hunts at night, largely capturing insects like beetles and crickets. Occasionally, the Western Screech-Owl will hunt rodents.
You’ll find Whiskered Screech-Owls in and near vegetation, where insects are abundant.
Whiskered Screech-Owls are small, gray, white, and brown, with yellow eyes.
See the following video as an example of its appearance:
8. Barn Owl
The Barn Owl has a heart-shaped face and a grey, white, and cinnamon plumage, along with dark eyes that see very well at night.
These owls are about the size of a crow, with short tails and long legs.
You can find Barn Owls roosting in tree cavities, abandoned buildings, and dense forests or hunting in a low-flying pattern over open ground.
See the following video of a Barn Owl up close:
9. Flammulated Owl
The Flammulated Owl is a small bird with the voice of a large bird, thanks to its large trachea.
The males can be heard calling late at night, and they usually sound farther away than they are.
You can find Flammulated Owls perched high up in pine or fir trees in mountainous areas.
10. Great Horned Owl
You can identify a Great Horned Owl by its deep, rhythmic series of four to five hoots.
They’re typically active at dusk and throughout the night, observable on fence posts, tree limbs, and other perches near the edge of open areas.
The Great Horned Owl has an impressive, large appearance and rounded wings, which they beat with a heavy and recognizable rhythm.
11. Elf Owl
Elf Owls are recognizable by their big yellow eyes, white eyebrows, and brown and white feathers.
These owls are small; in fact, they’re the smallest owls in the Sonoran Desert.
Elf Owls fly very quietly so that they don’t surprise their prey. Their soft feathers, which muffle the sound.
12. Burrowing Owl
The Burrowing Owl has a varied sleep schedule and can be seen hunting during either the day or night.
It eats insects, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and even other birds.
Burrowing Owls live in open areas without trees. They live in burrows left by other animals, especially in prairie dog burrows.
13. Spotted Owl
The Spotted Owl hunts small rodents at night, sitting and waiting high in the trees until it finds a suitable meal.
You can expect to see very few Spotted Owls on a single birding trip, because one pair of Spotted Owls occupies a whole 2,000-5,000 acres of unsegmented forest.
14. Northern Saw-whet Owl
The Northern Saw-whet Owl is a nocturnal, forest-dwelling owl that migrates during the wintertime.
They are difficult to spot, but they have a sharp call that’s easy to distinguish.
The sound of a Northern Saw-whet Owl is similar to the noise a teapot makes when the water boils. See the following example of a Northern Saw-whet Owl call:
Tips for Bird Watching at Night
Bird watching at night presents unique challenges. You want to be able to see through the dark to identify birds without disturbing them.
Take into account the following tips before you head out on your nighttime birding excursion:
- Know where you’re going, and be sure you’re allowed to be there after dark.
- Bring a flashlight, ideally with a red lens. A red light is less likely to disturb the birds than a yellow one.
- Use night vision binoculars.
- Be attuned to sound.
- Know what birds to look for.