Ground-nesting birds typically maintain a nest free of foreign materials but occasionally are known to incubate a foreign object, often in the presence of other eggs. In May 2012, we discovered a Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) incubating a turkey oak (Quercus cerris) acorn along with 2 eggs within a mesic flatwoods forest in Clay County, Florida, USA. Herein, we report this observation and include 3 possible hypotheses for this behavior.
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5 February 2021
Incubation of a foreign object by a Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) in Florida
Daniel U. Greene,
Robert A. McCleery
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The Wilson Journal of Ornithology
Vol. 132 • No. 2
June 2020
Vol. 132 • No. 2
June 2020
breeding
Caprimulgiformes
foreign object
goatsucker
incubation
nightjar