The Common Poorwill is famous as the first known hibernating bird. When the weather cools down, like it has in South Lake Tahoe, it may enter a torpid state. While scientists published this observation in the 1940s, the Hopi people already knew this. Their name for Poorwill means ‘the sleeping one.’ Torpor is similar to hibernation, a state of lowered body temperature and metabolic activity assumed by many animals in response to adverse environmental conditions. The torpid state may last overnig

Meet the Common Poorwill, a nocturnal bird from the nightjar family that is found throughout the arid west. Although some populations don’t migrate, like those in the warm southwest, northern poorwills do head to warmer climates in the winter. Peak migration is between August and October. Poorwills don’t migrate in large groups. They prefer to travel independently or in small, casual flocks, following the Rocky Mountains south to their winter home. During this time, collisions with windows are a

Common poorwill Protects her eggs well in the nest | Natural Bird Check