'Caprimulgus carolinensis' definitions:
Definition of 'Caprimulgus carolinensis'
From: WordNet
noun
Large whippoorwill-like bird of the southern United States [syn: chuck-will's-widow, Caprimulgus carolinensis]
Definition of 'Caprimulgus carolinensis'
From: GCIDE
- Caprimulgidae \Caprimulgidae\ n. [L. capris goat + mulgere to milk.] a widely distributed natural family of nocturnally active birds including the whip-poor-will ({Caprimulgus vociferus}), the chuck-will's-widow ({Caprimulgus carolinensis}), and the common nighthawk ({Chordeiles minor}); -- called popularly the goatsuckers or nightjars. The nighthawks are sometimes active during the day.
- Syn: goatsuckers, nightjars, family Caprimulgidae. [PJC]
- The family . . . is alternately known as the nightjars (derived from the "churring" sounds of several species -- "jarring" the night air), or goatsuckers, a nonsense name that should be discontinued as it has its origin in the preposterous myth that the birds sucked the milk of nanny goats until they were dry. --Terence Michael Short (Wild Birds of the Americas)
Definition of 'Caprimulgus carolinensis'
From: GCIDE
- Caprimulgus \Caprimulgus\ n. the type genus of the Caprimulgidae, including the whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus) and the chuck-will's-widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis).
- Syn: genus Caprimulgus. [WordNet 1.5 +PJC]
Definition of 'Caprimulgus carolinensis'
From: GCIDE
- Chuck-Will's-widow \Chuck`-Will's-wid"ow\, n. (Zool.) A large whippoorwill-like bird (a species of goatsucker) (Caprimulgus carolinensis, formerly {Antrostomus Carolinensis}), of the southern United States; -- so called from its note. [1913 Webster]