Chotacabras de la Carolina vs Charrán común

Antrostomus carolinensis compared with Sterna hirundo

Key Differences

• Chotacabras de la Carolina is Least Concern while Charrán común is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chotacabras de la Carolina	Charrán común
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (cordados)	Chordata (cordados)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Caprimulgiformes (Caprimulgiformes)	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)
Family	Caprimulgidae	Laridae
Genus	Antrostomus	Sterna
Species	Antrostomus carolinensis	Sterna hirundo

Evolutionary Relationship

Chotacabras de la Carolina and Charrán común share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Chotacabras de la Carolina

LC — Least Concern

Charrán común

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chotacabras de la Carolina	Charrán común
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chotacabras de la Carolina

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Norway, and Venezuela.

Charrán común

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 9 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Chotacabras de la Carolina

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.

Charrán común

El charrán común (Sterna hirundo) está clasificado como En Peligro (EN) en la Lista Roja de la UICN. En alto riesgo de extinción en estado silvestre, con un significativo declive poblacional y amenazas continuas a su supervivencia.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇳🇴 Norway 🇻🇪 Venezuela