Question: What is a goatsucker, and why is it called that?
Answer: It is the common name for nocturnal birds of the order Caprimulgiformes, which in Collier County include the Common Nighthawk, Chuck-will's-widow, and the Whippoorwill. The Nighthawk is the most diurnal, flying at dawn and dusk, while the other two only fly at night.
With their long pointed wings and wide-gaping bills fringed with hairs or bristles, goatsuckers have been accurately called "flying insect traps."
The name goatsucker is based on an ancient belief that these birds fed on goats' milk at night, but their nighttime attraction to goats and other livestock was probably due to the presence of insects that were attracted to the animals. That, plus the structure of their feathers which rendered their flight almost noiseless and their monotonous repetitious songs, contributed to the myth.
The Whippoorwill's range is the eastern United States, the larger Chuck-will's-widow, right, is found in the South, and the Nighthawk is common throughout North America north to Labrador. Other goatsuckers are the Poorwill in the American West; Oilbirds in South America; the Pauraque or Cujejo in Central America, and the Frogmouth in Asia and Australia.