CLIPBOARD : BREEDING BIRDS: COMMON POORWILL (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii)

Description: This smallest of the nightjar family (a group of nocturnal birds) has short, rounded wings that lack the white bar characteristic in nightjars. The tail is short and round with white-tipped corners. It has large eyes with long bristles below and a small beak. The grayish-brown plumage includes a white band across dark throat and breast. Length: 7 3/4 inches.

Habitat: Open brush, dirt roads, rocky canyon and semiarid habitat.

Diet: Insects.

Displays: If adult is disturbed while sitting on eggs in nest, it will tumble over and hiss like a snake, with widely opened mouth.

Nest: Lays eggs on gravel or rock near steep hill and dead grass; occasionally scrapes depression into dirt. Perennial site.

Eggs: Pinkish-cream mottled with lavender. Length: 1 inch.

Call: Poor-will , with a barely audible ip note at the end of song.

Note: Nightjars are more frequently heard than seen, and are identified by their calls. The roost in daytime on the ground or by sitting horizontally on tree limb, camouflaged by a feather pattern resembling dead leaves.

Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas, call Sea and Sage Audubon Society members Sylvia Gallagher, (714) 962-8990, or Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160.

Note: Map is divided into 5-kilometer squares so that Audubon Society volunteers can more easily survey areas on a regular basis.

Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981).