Mexican Whip-poor-will

The Mexican Whip-poor-will was formerly considered part of the same species as the Eastern Whip-poor-will before being recognized as distinct in 2010, based mainly on differences in voice and range. In appearance it is nearly identical to its eastern counterpart, cloaked in cryptic mottled gray-brown-black plumage that provides excellent camouflage on the forest floor by day. It replaces the Eastern Whip-poor-will in the mountain woodlands of the southwestern United States and Mexico, where its slower, huskier nighttime song is the most reliable way to tell the two species apart.

Key Field Marks

• Nearly identical in plumage to the Eastern Whip-poor-will: mottled gray-brown-black camouflage, rounded wings, long rounded tail with pale outer feathers
• Song is slower and huskier than the Eastern Whip-poor-will's, often rendered as a more drawn-out "whip-purr-WEEL"
• Found in higher-elevation pine-oak woodland rather than lowland deciduous forest

Similar Species

• Eastern Whip-poor-will is essentially identical in plumage; range (southwestern mountains vs. eastern lowlands) and the slower, huskier song are the best distinguishing features.
• Common Poorwill is smaller and shorter-tailed with a simpler two-note song.

Habitat

Mexican Whip-poor-wills favor pine-oak and mixed conifer woodlands in mountain canyons, typically at higher elevations than the Eastern Whip-poor-will's lowland forest habitat.

Range

In the United States they breed in the mountains of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and the Chisos Mountains of west Texas, with the range extending south through the highlands of Mexico to Honduras.

Migration

U.S. populations largely withdraw south into Mexico for the winter, arriving back on breeding grounds in spring.

Behavior

Like other nightjars, it is strictly nocturnal, resting camouflaged on the forest floor by day and becoming active to hunt insects after dark.

Voice

The song is the best field mark separating this species from the Eastern Whip-poor-will: slower in pace and huskier or more slurred in tone.

Feeding

Mexican Whip-poor-wills catch moths and other large flying insects on the wing, sallying from low perches or the ground in open understory habitat.

Nesting

No nest is built; eggs are laid directly on leaf litter or bare ground in shaded mountain woodland.