Species: Phalaenoptilus nuttallii
Common Poorwill
Species
Show on Lists
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Caprimulgiformes
Family
Caprimulgidae
Genus
Phalaenoptilus
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Tapacamino Tevíi - engoulevent de Nuttall
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Caprimulgiformes - Caprimulgidae - Phalaenoptilus
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - true - true - Breeding populations in most of U.S. move south for winter. Found year-round in southern half of range.
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
true
Food Comments
Insectivorous. Feeds on or close to the ground at night. Feeds on night-flying moths, beetles, grasshoppers, locusts, etc. Catches insects on the ground or vaults upward and captures insects in the air. Sit-and-wait predator.
Reproduction Comments
Breeding begins in late March in south to late May in north. Both sexes alternate incubating 2 eggs. The nestlings are semi-precocial and downy.
Ecology Comments
Males set up territories up to 500 meters across early in the breeding season (Kalcounis et al. 1992).
Length
20
Weight
52
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-12-02
Global Status Last Changed
1996-12-02
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=__&CA.BC=S4&CA.SK=S3&US.AZ=S5&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S5&US.ID=S4&US.KS=S3&US.MT=S4&US.NN=S5&US.NE=S4&US.NV=S5&US.NM=S5&US.ND=S4&US.OK=S2&US.OR=SNR&US.SD=S3&US.TX=S4&US.UT=S4&US.WA=S3&US.WY=S5" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
BREEDS: southern British Columbia, southeastern Montana, northwestern South Dakota, Nebraska, and southwestern Iowa south on west coast from central California to southern Baja California, and through eastern Kansas and central Texas to central mainland of Mexico. WINTERS: from central California, southern Arizona, and southern Texas south to limits of breeding range in Mexico.