Mexican Whip-poor-will

Mexican Whip-poor-will

Antrostomus arizonae

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
at Saguaro National Park
4 Verified sightings at Saguaro National Park From 2019 to 2026
349 Verified sightings across all 7 parks From 2019 to 2026
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted at dawn and dusk

About the Mexican Whip-poor-will

The Mexican whip-poor-will, (Antrostomus arizonae), is a medium-sized nightjar of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and northern Central America. Until 2010 the Mexican whip-poor-will and what is now the eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) were considered conspecific under the name whip-poor-will. They were separated based on differences in their genetics, morphology, and vocalizations. The two remain sister species and with the Puerto Rican nightjar (A. noctitherus) form a superspecies. The Mexican whip-poor-will has these five subspecies:

A. a. arizonae Brewster (1881) A. a. setosus van Rossem (1934) A. a. oaxacae Nelson (1900) A. a. chiapensis Nelson (1900) A. a. vermiculatus Dickey & van Rossem (1928) The Mexican whip-poor-will is 23 to 24 cm (9.1 to 9.4 in) long and weighs 45 to 50 g (1.6 to 1.8 oz). In general its upperparts are grayish brown with blackish brown streaks; the crown has wide blackish brown stripes. The throat and breast are blackish with a thin white band on the lower throat between them. The belly is buff with brown bars. The male's outermost three pairs of tail feathers have broad white tips; the... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
3 Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
4 Celaque National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
Insufficient data
5 La Tigra National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
Insufficient data
6 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
7 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
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