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July 2020 - Common Poorwill

Picture
Bears hibernate. Skunks and deer mice go into torpor (light hibernation) when weather is too cold. But birds? Hummingbirds go into torpor at night to conserve energy. But only one bird hibernates – the Common Poorwill. When weather is really cold, or food isn’t available, the poorwill will hibernate. It can even hibernate while waiting for chicks to hatch!

Edmund Jaeger, an American biologist, was the first to document the extended torpor, or near hibernation, of the common poorwill. He and two of his students found a common poorwill in a canyon wall, cold to the touch with no signs of heartbeat or respiration. While being handled, and hence warmed, the poorwill opened one eye and yawned. This poorwill returned to the same site three years in a row to hibernate. At the opposite end of the temperature spectrum when it is too hot, poorwills will pant and often flutter their throat muscles and release water through their skin.

In size, they are between a robin and a crow. They are a stubby looking bird with a very short neck, mottled brown and gray feathers with a bit of white on the collar. Their coloring gives the impression of dead leaves providing superior camouflage which is why they are more often heard than seen. Their call is a whistled “poor-will”.

They roost on the ground and sometimes in family groups. They may sit in the middle of a gravel road and fly into the headlights of a car like an enormous moth. Flying birds move in moth like patterns with irregular wingbeats to catch moths and other insects in their mouth.

Dinner time is at dusk and just before dawn. They perch low to the ground searching for insects. Then fly out and catch them in their large mouths. Similar to hawks and owls, poorwills cough up pellets of indigestible material from the moths and beetles that make up most of their diet. Grasshoppers and flies are also on the menu.

Common poorwills live in rocky foothills, ranchlands, and suburbs between 1,000- and 7,000-feet elevation.

Where many birds use their beak to preen, poorwills do this with a “pectinated claw” which is a toenail with comb like serrations. This is used to scratch and straighten feathers. This claw is also used to straighten the “rictal bristles” – the stiff hair like feathers around their mouth used to sense prey. These bristles also may aid in moving prey into their mouth.

The poorwill makes a shallow nest on stony ground or in leaf litter usually near a south-facing shrub or rocky outcrop. And it isn’t really a nest in the common sense of a bird nest. It’s just a scrape in the ground. Two eggs are laid and incubated by both parents for 20-21 days. If the nest is disturbed, the parents may move the eggs or the young to another location. Both parents will brood and feed the young regurgitated insects. Nestlings take 20-23 days to fledge. The female will incubate a second clutch while the male continues feeding the first clutch.

The common poorwill will leave in late August to September for the warm winters in Mexico and will return here in the spring.  

This is another bird named for Thomas Nuttall, a botanist and zoologist from England. The common poorwill’s proper name is Phalaenoptilus nuttallii. The Nuttall’s Woodpecker and the yellow-billed magpie (Pica nuttalli) are also named for him.

Tri County Wildlife Care, a local nonprofit started in 1994, is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of our native wildlife and helping our community live in balance with wildlife. They envision a world where wildlife and people thrive together. For more information call (209) 283-3245, or visit pawspartners.org.

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  • Home
    • SiteMap
  • APAL
    • A-PAL History >
      • A-PAL Humane Society Leadership Team
      • APAL Leadership Opportunities
    • APAL Programs >
      • Save the Kittens
      • Spay or Neuter
      • Second Chance K9 >
        • TCK9-2014 Graduates
      • Community Cats >
        • Understanding Feral Cats
        • How to Trap a Feral Cat
      • Special Needs >
        • Special Needs Stories
      • Adopt a Friend
      • Trap-Neuter-Return
      • APAL Tracking Our Progress
    • Support A-PAL >
      • Volunteer for APAL
      • Foster for A-Pal
      • Donate to A-PAL >
        • Donate your Car
        • Giving Tuesday 2020
      • A-PAL Wish List
      • A-PAL Facility Sponsor
    • APAL Events >
      • APAL Calendar
      • APAL Past Events >
        • SantaPaws2019
        • Bark in the Park 2019
        • Whiskers and Wine 2017
        • Whiskers and Wine 2014
        • Bark in the Park 2014
        • Whiskers and Wine 2015
        • Bark In The Park 2015
        • Maui Raffle
        • Santa Paws 2015
    • Partners >
      • Shelter Partners >
        • Shelter Partners on TSPN
        • Dec14News-PitBulls
        • Jan15News-Excel
        • Feb15News-BenefitsOfPets
        • Feb15News-HarmfulAlgaeBlooms
        • Mar15News-Hoarding
        • Apr15News-TNR
        • Sep15News-QAMargeB
        • Oct15News-ButteFire
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        • Jan16-Volunteer
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        • July16News-Center
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        • Nov17News-ServiceDogs
      • ACART >
        • Prepare
        • Volunteer
        • ACART Annual Banquet
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  • TCWC
    • Find an animal in need? >
      • Audio Wildlife Tips
      • WhereAreWe
    • TCWC History >
      • TCWC Leadership Team
      • TCWC Leadership Opportunities
    • Wildlife Programs >
      • Education >
        • TCWC Education Events >
          • TCWC Education Animals
        • WildlifeSavesUs
        • Living Wildlife Friendly >
          • Songbird Concert Tips
          • Holiday Trash
          • Alert Your Birds
          • Water to Help the Critters!
          • Bread is for Sandwiches
          • No Dogs Allowed
          • Repurpose to Feed the Birds
          • GoNative
          • Netting It Out
          • Balloons
          • E-Waste
          • Organic Food
          • AllThatGlitters
          • Fly Strips and Glue Traps
          • Toxic Household Products
          • Recycling Pumpkins
          • Tree Trimming Tips
          • Saving Venomous Species
        • Nuisance Wildlife >
          • Nuisance-SayNoToTrapping
          • Foxlights
          • Wildproof Your Home
        • Gold Country Critters
        • Keep Them Wild and Free
        • TCWC Videos
        • Points to Ponder
      • TCWC-Tracking Our Progress >
        • TCWC 2014 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2015 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2016 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2017 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2018 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2019 Impact Report
      • TCWC Patients >
        • Success Stories >
          • 1 - Opossum Call
          • 2 - Raccoon Behind the Grill!
          • 3 - Saving a Raven
          • LongTripHome
          • Anita's Bird Comes Home
          • College the Wild Way
          • Releases
        • TCWC Critter Show
    • TCWC Events >
      • TCWC Calendar >
        • GivingTuesday2020
        • TCWC-WildlifeClasses2020
        • TCWC-WildlifeWorkshop2020
        • Paws&Claws2020
      • Past TCWC Events >
        • Paws & Claws 2019
        • No Dinner-Dinner
        • Paws&Claws 2018
        • AnimalScapes
        • Paws & Claws 2016
        • TCWC Grand Opening
        • Wildlife Workshop 2014
        • Paws & Claws 2014
        • Hot Rod Heaven 2014
        • Paws & Claws 2015
        • Paws&Claws2017
        • Paws&Claws2018
        • TCWC-No Shower Baby Shower
    • Support TCWC >
      • Giving >
        • Shop-Create
        • TCWC Wish List
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        • Cockrill
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  • About
    • Contact
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      • Watson
      • Don't Fawn!
      • Art - the Cooper's Hawk
      • Mugsy-CommunityCat
      • Trash Kitty!
      • Gretchen&Ginger
      • MajesticBird
      • DuckTherapy
      • MrJunco
      • TheOddCouple
      • The Twins
      • WillToSurvive
      • MeetMandy
      • Furrever - Chloe
      • Charlie the Corgi
    • Kids
    • Shop >
      • Learn More >
        • Promote Our Store
        • Submit Art
      • Volunteer Gear
      • Shop These Stores
      • Shop PawsPartners
      • Shop TCWC
      • Shop A-PAL Humane Society
    • Site Credits