Cryptic night bird, more often heard than seen. Listen for namesake song, a whistled "whip-poor-WILL," repeated endlessly. Found in forests, often with a mixture of pines and deciduous trees with open areas nearby for foraging. Forages for flying insects from the ground at night. Intricately patterned with gray, brown, and black. Similar to Chuck-will's-widow but with smaller head and shorter wings and tail. Eastern and Mexican Whip-poor-wills were recently split into separate species; they differ mainly in voice and do not overlap in range.