A small nightjar related to whippoorwills and chuck-will's-widows. Among the very few US birds known to enter torpor (hibernation-like state) during cold periods.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The common poorwill is a nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae, the nightjars. It is found from British Columbia and southeastern Alberta, through the western United States to northern Mexico. The bird's habitat is dry, open areas with grasses or shrubs, and even stony desert slopes with very little vegetation.
Source: Wikipedia — Common poorwill Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Small, stubby, round-winged nightjar mottled gray with a short tail tipped white at the corners and a black throat patch above a white collar.
Similar species. Whip-poor-wills and the Pauraque are larger and longer-tailed; the Poorwill is small, short-tailed, and gives a different call.
Voice. A soft, rolling, repeated 'poor-will' (sometimes a third syllable) given at dusk and through the night.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Flying insects caught at dusk/night.
Behavior. The smallest North American nightjar and the only bird known to enter prolonged torpor (a hibernation-like state) for weeks in cold weather; hunts insects from the ground in arid country.
§ Range
Western US
§ Habitat
Arid open habitats
§ Threats
Habitat loss, vehicle strikes.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the common poorwill is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support southwestern habitat conservation. Drive slowly at night.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Common poorwill
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Phalaenoptilus nuttallii
- IUCN Red List — search for Phalaenoptilus nuttallii
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Phalaenoptilus nuttallii
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
