Definition of "whippoorwill"

whippoorwill

/ˈʍɪp.ɚˌwɪl/

noun
plural whippoorwills
1. A nocturnal insectivorous bird of North America (Antrostomus vociferus, syn. Caprimulgus vociferus), a type of nightjar, named after its characteristic call.
  Quotations
  “Seems like I heard a whippoorwill callinʼ, and I thought to myself, Go on away from here, weʼll whip ole Will when we find him.”
  1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 55
2. The distinctive call of the above bird.