Mexican Whip-poor-will

Mexican Whip-poor-will

Antrostomus arizonae

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Guadalupe Mountains National Park

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

6 Verified sightings at Guadalupe Mountains National Park From 2019 to 2026
437 In all 4 parks
May Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Mexican Whip-poor-will

The Mexican whip-poor-will, (Antrostomus arizonae), is a medium-sized nightjar of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and northern Central America. Until 2010 the Mexican whip-poor-will and what is now the eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) were considered conspecific under the name whip-poor-will. They were separated based on differences in their genetics, morphology, and vocalizations. The two remain sister species and with the Puerto Rican nightjar (A. noctitherus) form a superspecies. The Mexican whip-poor-will has these five subspecies:

In general its upperparts are grayish brown with blackish brown streaks; the crown has wide blackish brown stripes. The throat and breast are blackish with a thin white band on the lower throat between them. The belly is buff with brown bars. The male's outermost three pairs of tail feathers have broad white tips; the... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:14

Guatemala · 2024

© Brendan Sloan · XC917659 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Recording0:31

Mexico · 2022

© Francisco A. Ortiz Navarro · XC731960 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:48

United States · 2020

© Richard E. Webster · XC700906 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
3 El Triunfo 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
4 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Mexico City 🇲🇽 México
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Mexican Whip-poor-will in Guadalupe Mountains National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Whip-poor-will sighting in Guadalupe Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 134th most-seen of the 141 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Mexican Whip-poor-will in Guadalupe Mountains National Park?

May

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Whip-poor-will in Guadalupe Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Mexican Whip-poor-will?

Between 6 and 9 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mexican Whip-poor-will sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Guadalupe Mountains National Park the best place to see a Mexican Whip-poor-will?

4th of 4

Of the 4 parks where we can rate Mexican Whip-poor-will sightings, Guadalupe Mountains National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Big Bend National Park (United States, about 10%), Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (Mexico, about 10%) and El Triunfo (Mexico, under 5%).

Where does the Mexican Whip-poor-will sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Mexican Whip-poor-will is recorded against all the birds logged in Guadalupe Mountains National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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