Common Poorwill Phalaenoptilus nuttallii Audubon        Field Guide IDs: NG-260; G-182; PE-184; PW-pl 38; AW-pl 249; AM(II)-184 Nest Location Nest Type Eggs & Mating System Dev. & Parental Care Primary & 2ndary Diet.. Foraging Strategy NO NEST MF I: ? DAYS SEMIPRECOCIAL SCRAPE 2 ? F: ? DAYS MF HOVER & GLEAN BREEDING: Usu semiarid and arid habitat: scrub, brush, prairie, rocky canyon, open woodland. ? broods. DISPLAYS: ? NEST: Eggs laid on gravel or flat rock, occ in full sun, but usu partly shaded near shrub. Usu in vicinity of steep hill and dead grass. Occ slight depression scraped in dirt. Perennial site. EGGS: Usu pinkish-white/pinkish-cream, darkly mottled with lavender. 1.0" (26 mm). DIET: Hunts insects by skimming silently, low to ground. Ejects pellets. CONSERVATION: Winters s to c Mexico. NOTES: If disturbed on nest, adult tumbles, hisses with widely opened mouth like snake; otherwise motionless. Strictly nocturnal, more often heard than seen. Flits like moth on silent wings. Drinks on the wing by fluttering open-mouthed over surface of water. Wintering birds in s portions of U.S. range occ in torpid ("hibernating") condition. Formerly known as Poorwill. STANFORD. NOTES: ESSAYS: Distraction Displays; Metabolism; Temperature Regulation; Pellets. REFERENCES: Fears, 1975.