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Webster's 1913 Dictionary

POOR-WILL

Poor "-will `, n. Etym: [So called in imitation of its note. ] (Zoöl.)

 

Defn: A bird of the Western United States (Phalænoptilus Nutalli ) allied to the whip-poor-will.

 

POOR-WILLIE

Poor "-wil `lie, n. Etym: [So called in imitation of its note. ] (Zoöl.)

 

Defn: The bar-tailed godwit. [Prov. Eng. ]

 

New American Oxford Dictionary

poor-will

poor-will |ˈpo͝or ˌwil pʊrˈwɪl |(also poorwill ) ▶noun a small nightjar found mainly in central and western North America. [Three genera in the family Caprimulgidae: four species, in particular the common poor-will (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii ), which hibernates in cold weather. ] ORIGIN late 19th cent.: imitative of its call.