Chuck-will's-widow vs Sparkling Violetear

Antrostomus carolinensis compared with Colibri coruscans

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chuck-will's-widow	Sparkling Violetear
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Caprimulgiformes (Caprimulgiformes)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Caprimulgidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Antrostomus	Colibri
Species	Antrostomus carolinensis	Colibri coruscans

Evolutionary Relationship

Chuck-will's-widow and Sparkling Violetear share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Chuck-will's-widow

LC — Least Concern

Sparkling Violetear

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chuck-will's-widow	Sparkling Violetear
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chuck-will's-widow

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Norway, and Venezuela.

Sparkling Violetear

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

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.

Sparkling Violetear

A large, brilliant hummingbird of the Andes and high Venezuelan tepuis, sparkling violetears display glittering blue-green plumage with an iridescent violet-blue ear patch and chin that sparkle intensely in sunlight — delivering on their evocative name. Found at elevations of 1,200–3,000 meters across Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru in montane forest and scrub. Among the most common Andean hummingbirds, they are highly aggressive and vocal territory defenders at flower patches.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇳🇴 Norway 🇻🇪 Venezuela