Least Nighthawk
Chordeiles pusillus
The least nighthawk is 15 to 25 cm (5.9 to 9.8 in) long, making it one of the smallest species in family Caprimulgidae. Two females weighed 27.8 and 33.4 g (0.98 and 1.18 oz) The general plumage pattern is brown upperparts with gray, rufous, and buff spots, and whitish or buff underparts with brown bars. The throat has a narrow white patch or small white patches on either side of it. The four outermost primaries have a white band that is highly visible in flight. Males also have white tips on some other wing feathers. Voice: The least nighthawk's flight call has been variously described as "a low churr and a weak nasal beep or week" and as "a short, sharp whit or bit". It sings from the ground or a bush, "a fast cur-cur-cur-curry (or chu-chu-chu-chu-chuEE).
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sand-colored Nighthawk
Chordeiles rupestris
The sand-colored nighthawk is 20.5 to 22 cm (8.1 to 8.7 in) long. Its upperparts are pale grayish brown with darker brown streaks, bars, and spots. The chin and throat are white to buffy white, the breast grayish white with a cinnamon tinge and brown bars and spots, and the belly white with brown spots on its upper part. The underside of the wing is also mostly white. Voice: The sand-colored nighthawk apparently seldom sings, but it does so from the ground, "a gurgling purr...interspersed with quiet throat-clearing sound and loud grawh notes." It also makes a variety of other vocalizations when chasing another bird or defending a nest.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Least Nighthawk and Sand-colored Nighthawk.