feathersandbeaks:“The Common Poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii) is a nocturnal bird of
feathersandbeaks: “The Common Poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii) is a nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae, the nightjars. It is found from British Columbia and southeastern Alberta, through the western United States to northern Mexico. The bird’s habitat is dry, open areas with grasses or shrubs, and even stony desert slopes with very little vegetation. Many northern birds migrate to winter within the breeding range in central and western Mexico, though some remain further north. Remarkably, the Common Poorwill is the only bird known to go into torpor for extended periods (weeks to months).[2] This happens on the southern edge of its range in the United States, where it spends much of the winter inactive, concealed in piles of rocks. This behavior has been reported in California and New Mexico. Such an extended period of torpor is close to a state of hibernation, not known among other birds. It was described definitively by Dr. Edmund Jaeger in 1948 based on a Poorwill he discovered hibernating in the Chuckwalla Mountains of California in 1946.” (Source: Common Poorwill) The extended period of torpor is highly unusual — really interesting life history trait! The first time I ever saw one of these in life, it was dead, and was missing its head…at night. I was SO CONFUSED as I inspected it in my headlights. Their feather texture and patterning matched "owl” in my head (they have similar sound-dampening edges and velvety-ness to them). But the feet were clearly not owl feet and the wings were the completely wrong shape. It would have been obvious what it was if the head was there, but I was baffled. It was fun looking it up and figuring out what it was.Here is a common poorwill feather (photo not mine, source): Here is a screech owl feather (photo not mine, source): A great horned owl feather looks more similar, but is MUCH larger than a poorwill’s feather (photo not mine, source): And here is a comparison of the remiges in general, both images from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Feather Atlas (not mine): As you can see, overall wing shape was different, and thus my confusion. So yay poorwills! It was great to get to see a common poorwill, since they are quite elusive. I’d seen common nighthawks flying around all the time, which are in the same family (Caprimulgidae), but never saw a common poorwill. Too bad it was dead! But to not end this on a sad note, here is a photo I got in Costa Rica of another caprimulgid, a common pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis), that I found by investigating some eye-shine: Also, fun fact, Caprimulgid translates to “goat milker/sucker” C: -- source link
#caprimulgid#common poorwill#poorwill#nighthawk#pauraque#nyctidromus albicollis#chordeiles minor#phalaenoptilus nuttallii#caprimulgidae#owl feathers#feathers