Common Nighthawk,Chordeiles minor.
April 24+ to October 16. Common migrant and summer resident. This species commonly passes through the
region in large flocks, often with more than 100 individuals, during late August and the first half of
September. Scattered individuals are seen thereafter. The 96 seen at Fayetteville on October 12, 1985,
was a high count so late in the season. A total of 250 migrated southward over Fayetteville on August 27,
1987, during the passage of heavy rain storms.
Chuck-will's-widow,Caprimulqus carolinensis.
April 14 to September 13. Common summer resident. This and the following species are often called "whip-poor-wills"
by those unfamiliar with the distinctions in their songs. "chucks" usually inhabit the dry open woods near open
farmland or other types of forest clearings, especially those in bottomlands, low hills, and low ridges.
Two eggs are laid on leaves, often under a cedar or other small tree. During the course of a research project
conducted on low forested hillsides southeast of Fayetteville in 1984 and 1985, at least six clutches of eggs
or new hatchlings were observed, with dates ranging between May 24 and July 17.
Whip-poor-will,Caprimulqus vociferus.
March 28 to September 22. "Whips" usually arrive in the Ozarks before the "chucks", and their calls may be
heard almost anywhere, including yards in towns, during the spring migration. During the breeding season
they are locally common in the upland forests where there are farms and other types of clearings. The ranges
of "whips" and "chucks" overlap, and it is not unusual to hear both species singing in some places in the
Arkansas Ozarks.