Eastern whip-poor-will
Antrostomus vociferus (A. Wilson, 1812)
The eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) is a species in the family Caprimulgidae, order Caprimulgiformes. Recorded adults weigh 50.3 g to 56.5 g and live up to 4 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.
Quick facts about the eastern whip-poor-will
- Weight
- 50.3 g – 56.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 4 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 15 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 19 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.4 – 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the eastern whip-poor-will
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the eastern whip-poor-will live?
Not recorded
What is the eastern whip-poor-will?
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 due to its disruptive camouflage. It is named onomatopoeically after its song.
From the Wikipedia article “Eastern whip-poor-will” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eastern_whip-poor-will&oldid=1384000103), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the eastern whip-poor-will sound like?
Is the eastern whip-poor-will endangered?
The eastern whip-poor-will is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species. What the categories mean.
How is the eastern whip-poor-will classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCaprimulgiformes
- familyCaprimulgidae
- genusAntrostomus
- SpeciesAntrostomus vociferus (A. Wilson, 1812)
Synonyms Antrostomus vociferus vociferus, Caprimulgus vociferus, Caprimulgus vociferus vociferus
Other names and names in other languages (42)
- Eastern whip-poor-wilEnglish
- Eastern WhippoorwillEnglish
- Nocturnal goatsuckerEnglish
- Whip-poor-wilEnglish
- Whip-poor-wilEnglish
- Whip-poor-willEnglish
- ChokbilàkbilaAlabama
- enganyapastors cridaner septentrionalCatalan
- ᏩᎫᎵCherokee
- lelek křiklavýCzech
- Nordamerikansk NatravnDanish
- SchwarzkehlnachtschwalbeGerman
- Schwarzkehl-NachtschwalbeGerman
- kriema kaprimulgoEsperanto
- Tapacaminos comúnSpanish
- chotacabras cuerporruínSpanish
- Chotacabras cuerporruín norteñoSpanish
- Chotacabras NorteñoSpanish
- Tapacamino cuerporruín-norteñoSpanish
- Tapacaminos Cuerporruín NorteñoSpanish
- tamme-öösorrEstonian
- amerikankehrääjäFinnish
- Engoulevent bois-pourriFrench
- sivokapi leganjCroatian
- síró lappantyúHungarian
- Succiacapre vociferoItalian
- ホイップアーウィルヨタカJapanese
- niūrusis lėlysLithuanian
- WhippoorwillDutch
- eikenattravnNorwegian
- lelkowiec krzykliwyPolish
- noitibó-cantorPortuguese
- noitibó-cantor-norte-americanoPortuguese
- Noitibó-orientalPortuguese
- Жалобный козодойRussian
- lelek hlasnýSlovak
- Istočni vipurvilSerbian
- östlig skriknattskärraSwedish
- Islıkçı ÇobanaldatanTurkish
- дрімлюга канадськийUkrainian
- 三声夜鹰Chinese
- 三聲夜鷹Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the eastern whip-poor-will
Other species in the same genus Antrostomus.
Rufous nightjar
Antrostomus rufus
Dusky nightjar
Antrostomus saturatus
Chuck-will's-widow
Antrostomus carolinensis
Cuban nightjar
Antrostomus cubanensis
Silky-tailed nightjar
Antrostomus sericocaudatus
Yucatan nightjar
Antrostomus badius
CompareEastern whip-poor-will vs Rufous nightjarEastern whip-poor-will vs Dusky nightjarEastern whip-poor-will vs Chuck-will's-widowEastern whip-poor-will vs Cuban nightjar
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the eastern whip-poor-will?
An adult eastern whip-poor-will weighs 50.3 g – 56.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the eastern whip-poor-will endangered?
The eastern whip-poor-will is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.
How long does the eastern whip-poor-will live?
The eastern whip-poor-will has a recorded lifespan of 4 years.
What kind of animal is the eastern whip-poor-will?
The eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) belongs to the family Caprimulgidae in the order Caprimulgiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-whip-poor-will
“Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-whip-poor-will.
@misc{eastern_whip_poor_will_2026,
title = {Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-whip-poor-will},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}