Eastern whip-poor-will
Scientific name: Antrostomus vociferus (A. Wilson, 1812)
Overview
The eastern whip-poor-will is a medium-sized bird within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, from North America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its range, but less often seen because of its camouflage. It is named onomatopoeically after its song.
From the Wikipedia article “Eastern whip-poor-will”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Near threatened on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.3.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: North America.
Common names
Also known in English as Whip-poor-wil.
Names in other languages (8)
- Chinese
- 三聲夜鷹
- French
- Engoulevent bois-pourri
- German
- Schwarzkehl-Nachtschwalbe
- Japanese
- ホイップアーウィルヨタカ
- Persian
- شبگرد شرقی
- Portuguese
- noitibó-cantor, noitibó-cantor-norte-americano
- Russian
- Жалобный козодой
- Spanish
- Caprimulgus vociferus, Chotacabras cuerporruín norteño
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q1268205, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Eastern whip-poor-will”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Cephas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026