Buckthorn Roller vs Chuck-will's-widow

Ancylis unculana compared with Antrostomus carolinensis

Key Differences

• Buckthorn Roller is Near Threatened while Chuck-will's-widow is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Buckthorn Roller	Chuck-will's-widow
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Caprimulgiformes (Caprimulgiformes)
Family	Tortricidae	Caprimulgidae
Genus	Ancylis	Antrostomus
Species	Ancylis unculana	Antrostomus carolinensis

Evolutionary Relationship

Buckthorn Roller and Chuck-will's-widow share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Buckthorn Roller

NT — Near Threatened

Chuck-will's-widow

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Buckthorn Roller	Chuck-will's-widow
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Buckthorn Roller

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Chuck-will's-widow

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Norway, and Venezuela.

Buckthorn Roller

The Buckthorn Roller (Ancylis unculana) is a species in the genus Ancylis. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Chuck-will's-widow

The Chuck-will's-widow (Antrostomus carolinensis) is the largest nightjar in North America, named for its distinctive far-carrying call — a resonant four-syllable whistle repeated persistently on warm nights. It breeds across the southeastern United States, from the Atlantic coastal plain through the Gulf states and up the Mississippi Valley to southern Indiana and Kansas. The species migrates southward in autumn to winter quarters in the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America. Like all nightjars, it is a crepuscular and nocturnal insectivore, capturing large moths, beetles, and other flying insects in flight using its enormous, bristle-fringed gape. By day, the Chuck-will's-widow roosts on the ground or along horizontal branches, relying on cryptic mottled plumage for concealment. It nests directly on the leaf litter of open woodland and scrub, typically in pine-oak forests, dry forests, and woodland edges. The IUCN classifies this species as Least Concern, though Breeding Bird Survey data suggest moderate long-term population declines linked to forest fragmentation and light pollution that disrupts insect prey availability. Conservation of large-scale woodland tracts in the southeastern United States benefits this species and its associated nightjar community.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway