Common Poorwill
Art by Jackie Blurton
Nature Note by the late Dr. Roland Shook
This species, as well as some others, is included in a group called goatsuckers. Since the time of Aristotle, goatsuckers have had the mistaken reputation of attacking the udders of goats for food. The legend includes the fact that the udder withers when it has been sucked and that the goat goes blind. The family name for this group, Caprimulgidae, is derived from the Latin meaning "to milk goats", thus maintaining the legend.
Like many others of its ilk, the name Common Poorwill comes from its soft whistled call, heard in the evening, at night, or at dawn. This species is active from dusk until dawn roosting on roadways or roadsides. In the light of automobile headlights, it often flies up with its noticeable red eyes. Because of this behavior of roosting on roadways, Common Poorwills are often struck and killed by automobiles. The populations once common in Silver City no longer exist. Common Poorwills still occupy dry hillsides in our area.
This species is nocturnal and is rarely found in the day owing to its cryptic "dead leaf" coloration of browns and tans, which allows it to blend into its background.
Common Poorwills are known to hibernate during the colder times of the year, thus saving them from expending energy to migrate to warmer climes.
