Chuck-will's-widow

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chuck-will's-widow

Adult male (upper right) and female (lower left)

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Subclass:	Neornithes
Infraclass:	Neognathae
(unranked)	Cypselomorphae
Order:	Caprimulgiformes
Family:	Caprimulgidae
Subfamily:	Caprimulginae
Genus:	Caprimulgus
Species:	C. carolinensis

Binomial name

Caprimulgus carolinensis
Gmelin, 1789

Synonyms

Antrostomus carolinensis

The Chuck-will's-widow, Caprimulgus carolinensis is a nocturnal bird of the nightjar family Caprimulgidae. It is found in the southeastern United States near swamps, rocky uplands, and pine woods. It migrates to the West Indies, Central America, and northwestern South America.

This bird is sometimes confused with the Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus)^[1], due to the peculiar and somewhat similar names. Though rather closely related, they are two distinct species however.

Sound sample:

Song of the Chuck-will's-widow (in background)

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

A fairly generic nightjar, it has mottled brownish underparts, a buff throat, reddish-brown feathers lined with black, and brown and white patterning on head and chest, differing from the gray and black of its more common cousin. Males have patches of white on their outer tail feathers. Its size ranges from 11 to 13 inches (28 to 33 cm) long with a 25 inch (62 cm) wingspan, large for a nightjar and like all of them with a short bill and long tail.

Its common name derives from its continuous, repetitive song that is often heard at night. This consist of a series of calls with a vibrating middle note between two shorter notes, not much shifting in pitch. It is slower, lower-pitched and less piercing than the song of the Whip-poor-will. "Chuckwuts-widow" is another common name less often found, but also imitating the rhythm of the bird's calls.

It eats primarily insects, particular those active at night such as moths, beetles, and winged ants. It will also eat small birds, swallowing them whole^{[citation needed]}.

Females do not build nests, but rather lay eggs on patches of dead leaves on the ground. The eggs, which are pink with spots of brown and lavender, are subsequently incubated by the female.

[edit] Footnotes

^ For example, Henninger (1906) combines the old scientific name of C. carolinensis with the common name "Whip-poor-will". As C. carolinensis does not occur in the area discussed, he obviously refers to C. vociferus. In other cases, the specific identity of birds may not be determinable.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Caprimulgus carolinensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern.
Henninger, W.F. (1906): A preliminary list of the birds of Seneca County, Ohio. Wilson Bull. 18(2): 47-60. DjVu fulltext PDF fulltext
Stager, Kenneth E. (2007): Chuck-Will's-Widow. In: Encyclopedia Americana.