In Orange County’s scrub country, the nights are ruled by quiet, creeping forms that specialize in navigating a low-light environment. One of them is the common poorwill. Like other nocturnal species, ...

Have you heard of caprimulgids — sometimes known as goatsuckers, nighthawks or nightjars (that jar the night with sound)? Many ranchers know at least one of them well, even if they don't have a name ...

Michael Palin presents the common poorwill from an Arizona desert. In the dead of night, loud calls pierce the stillness on a moonlit track, a small shape suddenly sprouts wings and flutters into the ...

The trip starts with a bang. A Common Poorwill, a bark-colored bird the size of your palm, jumps up from the narrow blacktop and sputters head-on into our pickup’s undercarriage. Lee Hoy, a wildlife ...

Common Poorwill Bird Walk: 7 p.m. June 26, July 3 and 31, Mount Diablo. Meet at Mitchell Canyon Trailhead, 96 Mitchell Canyon Road, Walnut Creek. Denise Wight leads this four-mile, two hour hike. $6 ...