Daily Bird 2024: Eastern Whip-poor-will

Eastern Whip-poor-will, photo by Laura Gooch/Carolinabirds.org

Eastern Whip-poor-will
Antrostomus vociferus

May 13, 2024 — The first bird of the Migration Magic Big Day was Eastern Whip-poor-will, which the Connecticut Audubon team heard calling at 4:12 a.m.in Meshomasic State Forest, just east of the Connecticut River.

It was not a random observation. Whip-poor-wills have become scarce enough in Connecticut that hearing one requires some planning; the Big Day team chose that location specifically so they could check whip-poor-will off their list and move on.

Read about the Migration Magic Big Day HERE.

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The eBird map on this page shows just how sporadic reports of the bird are. The red pins indicate observations within the last 30 days. The North American Breeding Bird Survey reports that the Eastern Whip-poor-will population fell by about 2% a year from 1966 through 2019, and about 61% overall.

The mark the bird’s appearance on the Big Day checklist, we’re republishing this slightly revised account written several years ago by Helena Ives, who is the director of education at the Maine TREE Foundation and Maine Coordinator for Project Learning Tree; in 2017 she was a coastal ranger at our Milford Point Coastal Center.

Where to find them: In their breeding and winter habitats, Eastern Whip-poor-wills spend most of their time in forested areas.They roost on tree limbs during the day and create nests in leaf litter on the forest floor, but tend to remain in a relatively small area for most of their time in their territory.

The forests they prefer have little to no understory, likely because it provides the leaf litter they prefer to nest in and helps them to remain unseen in their habitat.

Researchers have also found that populations of Eastern Whip-poor-wills perhaps base their habitat decisions on the species of tree within a certain forested area, favoring high densities of white pine, aspen, birch, and oak.

The red pins on this eBird map show observations of Eastern Whip-poor-will over the last 30 days.

What it looks and sounds like: Because they are elusive to see, Eastern Whip-poor-wills are typically identified by their song. As a “name-sayer,” the vocalization of Eastern Whip-poor-will is distinctive and clearly resembles its name.

If you do get a lucky glimpse of one, you’ll notice that it is incredibly effective at remaining unseen in the forested ecosystems it inhabits.

Eastern Whip-poor-will’s overall plumage is gray-brown with streaks of black, brown, and tawny. A band of white on the lower portion of the throat, and spots and speckles of buff and tawny throughout the wing feathers, aid in the resemblance to leaf litter and tree bark.

Their body form is also distinctive of the nighthawk family they are a member of. Their large head is flattened on both sides, while the body is longer horizontally than it is vertically.

If you ever get a close up look at their heads, you’ll notice feathers that look very similar to whiskers around their bill; these are called bristles and are believed to aid in the capture of insects during flight.

Behavior: Eastern Whip-poor-wills are known to be crepuscular – that is, being most active at dusk and dawn, with the exceptions of being fully nocturnal on nights with bright moonlight.

In spring, males will begin vocalizing shortly after sunset within their territories, which is a part of their courtship displays. Although hard to document due to low lighting, researchers have found courtship displays to be quite elaborate. Eastern Whip-poor-wills are believed to be monogamous.

Eastern Whip-poor-wills define and regulate their breeding territories and communicate among themselves in low, fluttering and clucking calls that are sometimes referred to as “growls” and “hisses.”

Conservation status: Because Eastern Whip-poor-will prefers densely forested areas, recent population declines could be attributed to declines in forest acreage due to human development.

Their preference for little to no understory vegetation could mean that Eastern Whip-poor-wills are dependent on a certain age of forest. Typically, young forests have a higher density of understory because more sunlight gets through under-developed tree canopies. Older forests have much lower percentages of understory vegetation because of dense canopies that let hardly any sunlight through to the forest floor.

Due to widespread agriculture in the mid-nineteenth century, most areas of old growth forests in Connecticut were reduced to create more open space. Because of this, much of the forest in Connecticut is currently mid-growth forest, which presents difficulties for species like Eastern whip-poor-will that are considered habitat specialists.