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[[Image:ChuckwillsWidow.jpg]]

'''Common Name:''' Chuck-will's Widow<br>
'''Scientific Name:''' Antrostomus carolinensis

'''Size:''' 11-13 inches (29-33 cm); '''Wingspan:''' 23-26 inches (58-66 cm)

'''Habitat:''' The Americas; summering in the Southeastern United States.  It winters in the West Indies, Central America, and northwestern South America. In, migration, males generally move before females do.

It is found near swamps, rocky uplands, and deciduous woods and forests, mixed woodlands of pines and oaks. Outside breeding season, it is also found in thick woodlands, open woodlands, scrub and palmetto thickets, tangled riverside vegetation, mature hedgerows and second-growth woodlands.

'''Status:''' Least Concern. '''Global population:''' Unknown amount of adult individuals with an increasing population trend. Increases have been noted in Massachusetts and New York.

'''Diet:'''  Nocturnal insects such as moths, flying ants, cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, damselflies, dragonflies and beetles. It has been known to take small birds such as hummingbirds, sparrows and swallows and shellfish (bivalves).

It hunts in flight along woodland edges and over open areas, often flying low over ground. It also forages by making short fly-catching sallies from perches.When in heavy molt, it may feed on ground by scuttling about after prey.

'''Nesting:''' Sexes are dimorphic. It has a short bill and a long tail (typical of the family). This species has mottled brownish under parts, a buff throat, reddish-brown feathers lined with black, and brown and white patterning on head and chest, differing from the gray and black of its more common cousin. The male has white inner webs on its three outermost tail feathers, outer webs being tawny, speckled or barred black; the female lacks white on its tail. The iris is dark brown, the bill dusky flesh colored with black tip and the legs and feet are dull tan.

Females do not build nests, but rather lay eggs on patches of dead leaves on the ground. The eggs, which are pink with spots of brown and lavender, are subsequently incubated by the female.

'''Cool Facts:''' Its common name derives from its continuous, repetitive song that is often heard at night. This consist of a series of calls with a vibrating middle note between two shorter notes, not much shifting in pitch. It is slower, lower-pitched and less piercing than the song of the whip-poor-will. "Chuckwuts-widow" is another common name less often found, but also imitating the rhythm of the bird's calls. Other alternative names include "Chip-fell-out-of-a-oak".

It is the largest nightjar in North America.


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