Chordeiles nacunda
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The nacunda nighthawk (Chordeiles nacunda) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and heavily degraded former forest.
The nacunda nighthawk was formally described in 1817 by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot under the binomial name Caprimulgus nacunda based on a specimen collected in Paraguay. The species was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Podager, but was moved into the genus Chordeiles based on the results of a 2010 molecular phylogenetic study. The former generic name podager originates from the Latin meaning "a man suffering from gout" and reflects the awkward walking manner of this nighthawk. The specific name nacunda is derived from the Guaraní word for a "big-mouth".
Genetic studies have shown that the Nacunda nighthawk is sister to the much smaller least nighthawk (Chordeiles pusillus). Two subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Chapada dos Guimarães National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 2 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Ñacundá Nighthawk sighting in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 240th most-seen of the 273 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Ñacundá Nighthawk in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season. February to April have too few records to rate.
Between 5 and 8 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ñacundá Nighthawk sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Ñacundá Nighthawk sightings, Chapada dos Guimarães National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas (Brazil, about 10%) and Iberá National Park (Argentina, under 5%).
Same family: Caprimulgidae
The closest relatives of the Ñacundá Nighthawk that you can see in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (family Caprimulgidae, Nightjars and Allies) are Common Pauraque (about 30%), Rufous Nightjar (about 10%) and Little Nightjar (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ñacundá Nighthawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (10 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.
