Description
These medium-sized nightjars measure 22–27 cm (8.7–11 in) in length, span 45–50 cm (18–20 in) across the wings and weigh 42–69 g (1.5–2.4 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 14.7 to 16.9 cm (5.8 to 6.7 in), the tail is 10.5 to 12.8 cm (4.1 to 5.0 in), the bill is 1 to 1.4 cm (0.39 to 0.55 in) and the tarsus is 1.5 to 1.8 cm (0.59 to 0.71 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.
Read more about this topic: Eastern Whip-poor-will
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“He hath achieved a maid
That paragons description and wild fame;
One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Do not require a description of the countries towards which you sail. The description does not describe them to you, and to- morrow you arrive there, and know them by inhabiting them.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)