The name of this bird is an interpretation of its song. It is a nocturnal bird and not often seen. If it is spotted during the day, it may be lying lengthwise on a horizontal tree limb, almost appearing as part of the branch. The Whip-poor-will has a very large mouth, adapted for catching large insects, such as moths, cicadas and june bugs.

Species Description:
Length: 22.8 to 24.7 cm (5 to 6 inches)

Physical characteristics: This bird has a very short bill and rounded wings. The plumage is mostly a mottled gray-brown. Both the male and female have a black throat, which is bordered by a white band in the male and a buff band in the female. The outer tail feathers are tipped in white in the male and buff in the female.

Voice: Song is a rapid series of whip-poor-will phrases.

Breeding habitat:
The Whip-poor-will prefers open, fairly dry woodlands (although it will sometimes nest near a stream or river), from lowlands to mountainous areas. Their coloration lends them the perfect camouflage for life on the forest floor.

Mating system:
Monogamous; One brood, or occasionally two, is produced in a season.

Nest:
The female lays her eggs on the ground among the dry, dead leaves. There is no nest construction. Any depression around the eggs is the result of the weight of the parents? bodies during incubation.

Eggs:
The usual number of eggs in a Whip-poor-will clutch is two. The eggs are white, dotted with grays or browns. 30mm (1.2'').

Chick development:
Both the male and female incubate the eggs for 19 ? 20 days. When hatched the chicks are semi-precocial. This bird?s reproductive cycle is synchronized with the lunar cycle, so moonlit nights are available in which to forage to feed the nestlings. Both parents care for the nestlings, but the male will take over the brood if the female starts on a second brood. The young will fledge after 20 days.

Diet:
This bird is a nocturnal feeder who forages for insects, particularly moths, on the wing. It hunts mostly by sight rather than by sound, flying with its mouth open to snatch its prey.

Conservation Biology:
The Whip-poor-will is fairly common in its range, but its population is believed to be declining slightly.

Breeding: The Whip-poor-will is found in areas of southeastern Canada and the eastern half of the United States. It also occurs in the southwestern United States from southern California through parts of Nevada, Arizona and Texas.

Winter: This bird is a neotropical migrant who winters in Florida and the Gulf Coast and south through to Central America.

In Park: The Whip-poor-will is found during migration and the breeding season mostly at low elevation in open woodland and forest edge habitat, especially in the western parts of the Park, Cades Cove, and along the Park boundary. Because this species is so seldom detected when it is not calling, we know little about its distribution in the Park.

References:

Alsop, F. J. III. 1991. Birds Of The Smokies. Great Smoky Mountains History Association, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Bent, A. C. and Collaborators. 1996 - 2002. Whip-poor-will, In Life Histories of Familiar North American Birds, ed., Patricia Query Newforth

Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 2000. Forty-second supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 117: 847-858.

Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 2002. Forty-third supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 119: 897-906.

Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. Check-list of North American Birds: the Species of Birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands, 7th ed

Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The Birder's Handbook: a Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York.

Elphick, C., J. B. Dunning, Jr., and D. A. Sibley, eds. 2001. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Gough, G. A., Sauer, J. R., Iliff, M. Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter. 1998. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Stupka, A. 1963. Notes on the Birds of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. University of Tennessee Press.