Whip-Poor-Will (Caprimulgus vociferus)


Group	Goatsuckers
Code	ABNTA07070
Order	Caprimulgiformes
Family	Caprimulgidae
Author	Wilson, 1812
Rank	G5 (definitions)
Occurrence	SM (definitions)
Scale	C (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	Menominee, Marquette, Ontonagon, Baraga, Delta, Iron, Houghton, Dickinson, Gogebic
Eastern UP	all
Northern LP	all
Southern LP	Muskegon, Montcalm, Tuscola, Livingston, Ottawa, Jackson, Lapeer, Saginaw, St. Clair, Washtenaw, Sanilac, Oakland, Van Buren, St. Joseph, Cass, Berrien, Allegan, Hillsdale, Kent, Kalamazoo, Barry, Ionia, Eaton, Huron, Genesee

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes

Nesting and Foraging Habitat Requirements may be distributed across the COMPARTMENT

Nesting Habitat 1st alternative:
      (Any Upland Deciduous (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven)
      or (Any Upland Mixed (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven)
   adjacent to:
      Grass
      or Field/Pasture

Nesting Habitat 2nd alternative:
      Upland Brush
      or Savanna

Foraging Habitat 1st alternative:
      Grass
      or Savanna

Foraging Habitat 2nd alternative:
      Field/Pasture
   adjacent to:
      Edge

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	no	no	YES	YES	YES	-
Paper Birch	no	no	YES	YES	YES	-
Oak	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Assorted Hardwoods	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Northern Hardwoods	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Mixed Upland Conifer	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Mixed Pine	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	Grass, Upland Brush, Savanna, Fields/Pastures
Special Features	Edges

view size class definitions

Literature:

Eastman, J. 1991. Whip-poor-will. Pages 252-253 In: R. Brewer, G. A. McPeek, and R. J. Adams, Jr. (eds.) The atlas of breeding birds of Michigan. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing. 594 pp.

Habitat: This bird seems fairly flexible in its use of various forest types for breeding habitat. New York and Ontario atlas observers found that it preferred dry deciduous or mixed forests in those areas. Atlas Habitat Survey data, though meager for this species, included seven forest types. More important than woodland composition, apparently, is the degree of openness in the forest understory.

Common elements of most nesting locales include abundant shade, the near presence of open areas, and a sparsity of ground cover. No nest is constructed, the eggs being laid directly on the forest litter. Placement is often beneath overhanging branches of a small shrub, never against the plant base.

Areas of greatest concentration generally conform with the relatively open-forested regions of the state.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.

Habitat: Breeding: Dry, open, predominantly deciduous woodlands-often with small to medium trees of pine, oak, and beech. Less common breeder in mature forests; avoids mountains.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 675 pp.

Habitat: Leafy woodlands. In the east, breeds in rich moist woodlands, either deciduous or mixed; seems to avoid purely coniferous forest.

Diet: Insects. Feeds on night-flying insects, especially moths, also beetles, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, many others. Forages by flying out from a perch in a tree or in low continuous flight along the edges of woods and clearings.

Nest: Site is on ground, in shady woods but often near the edge of a clearing, on open soil covered with dead leaves. No nest built, eggs laid on flat ground.