What is the querequequé?

An onomatopoeic name

SOPI calls Chordeiles gundlachii Querequequé and its relative Chordeiles minor Querequequé Migratorio. The Spanish Ornithological Society uses Añapero Querequeté. In the Dominican Republic it is called querebebé. English Wikipedia describes both names as onomatopoeic and of Taíno origin.

The call sounds like repeated syllables, “que-re-que-té” or “que-re-be-bé,” stressed on the last one. English guides transcribe it as “pikadik” or “killy-ka-dick.” It is short and dry, usually heard from overhead, and often given at night or on cloudy days.

What it looks like in the air

It is about 20–23 cm (8–9 in) long with a wingspan of roughly 53–58 cm (21–23 in). It is mottled gray-brown above and barred below, with long, pointed black wings crossed by a white bar in the primaries, smaller in females. Males have a white throat and a white tail band; females have a pale buff throat. There are gray and rufous morphs.

Its flight is erratic, with deep wingbeats and short glides. At dusk males climb and then dive, pulling out a few feet above the ground; air rushing through the feathers makes a distinctive booming buzz. That sound, together with the call, is often the first sign nighthawks are around.

When and where to hear it in Puerto Rico

It is a summer resident. In Puerto Rico it is a locally common breeder from May to August, and across its range it is present from late April to September. After breeding it leaves the region; its wintering range is poorly known, though its presence has been confirmed in Colombia.

Look over flat, open ground: pastures, savannas, gravel beaches, rocky outcrops, and coastal fringes. Guides also mention recently cleared land, airport fields, and cane fields. The best time is the half hour before and after sunset, when it comes out to hunt insects.

A nest that is not a nest, sometimes on your roof

The Antillean Nighthawk builds no nest. It lays one or two eggs directly on bare ground, leaves, sand, or gravel, and sometimes on raised spots such as stumps or flat gravel roofs, a habit well known in cities. The female does most of the incubation, which lasts about 20 days, and the young fledge at roughly 20 days.

Because the eggs and the adult blend with the ground, a nest goes unnoticed until someone steps on it or mows over it. If a nighthawk flushes at your feet on a beach or rooftop between May and August, step away and leave the area quiet; the species is Least Concern globally, but every local clutch counts.

Antillean or Common Nighthawk

The Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), called Querequequé Migratorio, is nearly identical and occurs in Puerto Rico as a migrant or accidental visitor. It measures 22–25 cm. Compared with the Antillean, it shows buffy marks on the underwing coverts and belly that the Antillean lacks, and the two also differ in voice and in the length of their glides.

On a perched bird, pale, contrasting tertials at the back of the wing point to Antillean Nighthawk. The Common Nighthawk sometimes gives a similar call, but not as consistently. So outside the breeding season, or with a silent bird, the honest entry is “nighthawk sp.” with the recording or photo saved.

Not to be confused with the Puerto Rican Nightjar

The Puerto Rican Nightjar (Guabairo) belongs to the same family, but it is endemic and tied to dry limestone forest, coastal dry forest, and scrub. The Antillean Nighthawk, by contrast, is seen flying high over open ground and calls on the wing. Silhouette, habitat, and behavior separate them before color does. Chuck-will's-widow, another relative, reaches the island only as an accidental visitor.

To record the call, a phone is enough if you are outdoors and quiet at dusk. Note the date, time, and place. Recordings on Xeno-canto and in the Macaulay Library's Puerto Rico collection are useful for comparing what you heard before you submit a record.

What is the querequequé?

It is the Antillean Nighthawk (Chordeiles gundlachii), a nightjar-family bird that hunts insects on the wing at dusk. Its name imitates the call it repeats from overhead, “que-re-que-qué.”

When can you hear the querequequé in Puerto Rico?

Mainly from May to August, when it breeds on the island; across its range it is present from late April to September. The call is heard at dusk, dawn, at night, or on cloudy days.

Is the querequequé an owl?

No. It is a nighthawk in the family Caprimulgidae, related to the Puerto Rican Nightjar, not to owls. It has a tiny bill, a large mouth, and long pointed wings for catching insects in the air.

Where does the querequequé nest?

It builds no nest. It lays one or two eggs directly on bare ground, sand, gravel, or flat gravel roofs. Incubation lasts about 20 days and is mostly done by the female.

Where does the name querequequé come from?

It is an onomatopoeia of the bird's call. English Wikipedia states that querequequé in Puerto Rico and querebebé in the Dominican Republic are onomatopoeic terms of Taíno origin.

Where does the querequequé go in winter?

It leaves the Antilles after breeding, but its wintering range is poorly known. There is evidence of migration toward South America and confirmed presence in Colombia.