How can you tell a Whip-poor-will from a Nighthawk?

Answer 1

This website you click on the animal you want to hear, then on the horn symbol. The whippoorwill is more or a higher pitched rising fast cadence tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet. The night hawk sounds more like blowing into an empty bottle, more baritone and slower cadence. Who-Who, Who-who. Sort of like an owl. And you hear the nighthawk more at dawn or dusk anyway, not during the day like the other one.

On this second link click on the little triangle to the right that looks like a play button. I was wrong about the sound. More of a MEW-MEW-MEW. But not as shrill as the whippoorwill.

Insofar as their physical appearance whippoorwills look like this:

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. Picture here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Caprimulgus_vociferusAAP065B.jpg

Common nighthawks look like this:

The adults have dark with brown, grey and white patterning on the upperparts and breast; the long wings are black and reveal a white bar when in flight. The tail is dark with white barring; the underparts are white with black bars. The adult male has a white throat; the female has a light brown throat. Picture here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chordeiles_minorEJN31CB.jpg

The common nighthawk is smaller than the whippoorwill.

Answer 2

The Nighthawk has a band of white feathers on it's wings, and the Whip-poor-will does not. The Nighthawk is more active in daylight, while the Whip-poor-will is active in darkness or semi-darkness.

Answer 3

In additon to the band of white strips visible on the wing underesides of the nighthawk "bullbat" , the nighthawk is smaller and when they dive at insects they often make a distinctive buzz.

Answer 4

Nighthawks drink coffee at all night diners.

An Edward Hopper joke.

If you're in US this year, enjoy the exhibition of my favourite painter of C20th