Chuck-will's-widow Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  The surprisingly large Chuck-will’s-widow has a huge flat head and long wings. It's significantly larger than Common Nighthawk and Whip-poor-will.

  Relative Size

  between robin and crow

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 11.0-12.6 in (28-32 cm)
    • Weight: 2.3-6.6 oz (66-188 g)
    • Wingspan: 22.8-24.0 in (58-61 cm)

  © Luke Seitz / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Warm brown tones with intricately patterned feathers make them extremely well-camouflaged. The wings are entirely brown; the outer tail feathers have white inner webs that you might see as one flushes from a roost or passes through your headlights. More often, you won't see white in the tail—this helps separate it from Whip-poor-will, in which the white is more prominent.

• Behavior

  Calls at dusk, predawn, and at night. Chuck-will’s-widows often sit on the road and roadsides at night, where you'll occasionally spot them in headlights. Their eyes reflect a bright orange eyeshine. Also, sometimes seen at dusk gliding over trees giving their wing-clapping display or while hunting.
• Habitat

  Look for Chuck-will’s-widow roosting in dry woodlands in the southeast, from pine barrens to oak-hickory and mixed deciduous woodlands.