Nyctiprogne leucopyga
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The band-tailed nighthawk (Nyctiprogne leucopyga) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is widely spread throughout northern and central South America. Five subspecies are recognised. They are nocturnal birds that feed on flying insects. As with almost all nightjars, they lay their eggs directly on the ground and rely their camouflaged plumage to avoid predation.
The band-tailed nighthawk was formally described and illustrated in 1825 by the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix under the binomial name Caprimulgus leucopygus. Spix specified the habitat as the wooded shores of the Amazon. The specific epithet is derived from Ancient Greek λευκοπυγος/leukopugos meaning "with white rear", from λευκος/leukos meaning "white" and -πυγος/-pugos meaning "-rumped". The band-tailed nighthawk is now placed together with the plain-tailed nighthawk in the genus Nyctiprogne that was introduced in 1847 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.
There are 5 recognized subspecies which differ in size, colour and vocalizations. The subspecies N. l. latifascia has been suggested to be a separate species. It is visually distinct from the other... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Band-tailed Nighthawk sighting in Anavilhanas National Park on a given day, based on 106 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 53rd most-seen of the 291 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Band-tailed Nighthawk in Anavilhanas National Park on a given day, against about 10% in January–February, April and September–October, the lowest months.
Between 5 and 8 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Band-tailed Nighthawk sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Band-tailed Nighthawk sightings, Anavilhanas National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas (Brazil, about 40%).
Same family: Caprimulgidae
The closest relatives of the Band-tailed Nighthawk that you can see in Anavilhanas National Park (family Caprimulgidae, Nightjars and Allies) are Common Pauraque (about 10%) and Ladder-tailed Nightjar (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Band-tailed Nighthawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Anavilhanas National Park (106 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
