The Mexican Whip-poor-will, so named from its distinctive all, is a resident of the Santa Rita Mountains while its cousin, the Eastern Whip-poor-will is found back east. This separation of species happened fairly recently, when they were thought to be the same bird.
The Mexican Whip-poor-will is a medium nightjar. The upper body is brown and gray mottled, while the underside is gray to brown. The black throat is accented with a white band. Their long tail is rounded with white edges on the corners.
The egg laying is timed to a full moon. This strategy allows the parents to hunt for food by moonlight, as the eggs hatch about 10 days prior.
At one time, it was thought nightjars suckled goats.
If you glimpsed a group of nightjars, the correct terms to describe them includes an “invisibility” or a “seek” of nightjars.
Reference: The Nature of Madera Canyon by Douglas W. Moore, Friends of Madera, 1999; whatbird.com
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