Whip-poor-will

Caprimulgus vociferusOrder: CAPRIMULGIFORMES Family: Nighthawks and Nightjars (Caprimulgidae)

Codes: Common Name: WPWI Scientific Name: CAPVOC ITIS Taxonomic No.: 177961

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Whip-poor-will

Whip-poor-will: Medium-sized nightjar with gray-brown-black mottled upperparts and pale gray-black underparts. Throat is black; eyebrows and neckband are white. Tail is long and rounded with large white corner patches. Brown legs and feet. Erratic mothlike flight, flies close to the ground at night.

● Song: "WHIP-poor- WEEA”

● Foraging & Feeding: Whip-poor-will: Feeds on flying insects, usually at night, finding prey by sight and sound. Small bill opens into a huge, gaping maw when it flies after prey. Foraging results in erratic flight that includes wheeling, circling, gliding, and hovering.

● Breeding & nesting: Whip-poor-will: Two gray-and-brown scrawled, white eggs are laid in a shallow depression among dead leaves, often in younger growth near a woodland edge. Incubation ranges from 19 to 20 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Whip-poor-will: Chuck-will's-widow is larger, has more pointed wings, and is more rufous overall.

Flight Pattern

Erratic mothlike flight.

● Range & Habitat: Whip-poor-will: Breeds from Saskatchewan and Maritime Provinces south to Kansas, northern Louisiana, and northern Georgia, and in Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. Spends winters in Florida and along the Gulf Coast southward to Panama. Prefers open woodlands with well-spaced trees.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationYes but uncommon

^MigrationMost migrate

^Weight2 Ounces

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Whip-poor-will

Whip-poor-will

Flight Pattern