Bird

Chuck-will's-widow

Caprimulgus carolinensis

A summer resident that nests in Alabama. Found in all 67 counties, across 14 habitats.

Here: Summer
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 14

Adult Chuck-will's-widow, whole bird — **Adult**. (c) Jared Shorma, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 296287800. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: Summer
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 14
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 14

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 14

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal GrasslandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

SummerSouthern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904), a neighboring state.In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerRidge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

SummerCumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Other habitats in its models (73)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

In Alabama 1

Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.

Elsewhere in the South (29)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer.
Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
South Florida Cypress Dome Winter.
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Winter.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter.
South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Winter.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer.

Northeast (6)

Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Winter.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Winter.
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Summer.

Land cover and other classes (37)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer.
Recently Burned Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

Summer: nests here, in all 67 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.