Chuck-will's-widow

Jerry Kerschner photographed this Chuck-will's-widow on 26 July 2008 in his yard in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

Field guides are not very helpful in separating Chuck-will's-widow from Whip-poor-will from this perspective, and your webeditor will entertain arguments in favor of a Whip-poor-will identification. Points in favor of Chuck-will's-widow: Jerry estimated the length at 12 inches, right for chuck. Last month he had heard a chuck in his yard. There are dark streaks on the crown but they do not form a bold median stripe (a distinction mentioned by Sibley and by Brinkley [NWF Guide]). The head appears proportionally large and somewhat flattened rather than smaller and more rounded, as mentioned by several references. The chest appears darker, not lighter, than the throat, a difference noted by Kaufman and the National Geographic guide. The primary projection is quite long, in keeping with the difference illustrated in Sibley's paintings and the photos in Brinkley, Floyd (Smithsonian Guide) and Kaufman respectively. Kaufman and NGS both note that roosting whips are often approachable while chucks flush readily, the only thing that does not fit here.