Antrostomus vociferus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus; also called "whip-o-will", "whip o' will", etc.) is a medium-sized (22–27 cm or 8.7–10.6 in) bird within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, from North America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its range, but less often seen because of its camouflage. It is named onomatopoeically after its song.
This medium-sized nightjar measures 22–27 cm (8+1⁄2–10+1⁄2 in) in length, spans 45–50 cm (17+1⁄2–19+1⁄2 in) across the wings and weighs 42–69 g (1+1⁄2–2+7⁄16 oz). Further standard measurements are a wing chord of 14.7 to 16.9 cm (5+13⁄16 to 6+5⁄8 in), a tail of 10.5 to 12.8 cm (4+1⁄8 to 5+1⁄16 in), a bill of 1 to 1.4 cm (3⁄8 to 9⁄16 in) and a tarsus of 1.5 to 1.8 cm (9⁄16 to 11⁄16 in). Adults have mottled plumage: the upperparts are grey, black and brown; the lower parts are grey and black. They have a very short bill and a black throat. Males have a white patch below the throat and white tips on the outer tail feathers; in the female, these parts are light brown.
This bird is sometimes confused with the related chuck-will's-widow (Antrostomus carolinensis) which has a similar but lower-pitched and slower call.... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Whip-poor-will sighting in Point Pelee National Park on a given day, based on 373 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 181st most-seen of the 278 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Whip-poor-will in Point Pelee National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Whip-poor-will sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Eastern Whip-poor-will sightings, Point Pelee National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Great Smoky Mountains National Park (United States, under 5%) and Everglades National Park (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Whip-poor-will is recorded against all the birds logged in Point Pelee National Park (373 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.
