Chordeiles nacunda
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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 |
No species of the same family or order lives in Brasilia, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Ñacundá Nighthawk sighting in Brasilia on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 137th most-seen of the 141 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ñacundá Nighthawk in Brasilia on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months. That is one of Brasilia's driest months, with almost no rain against 220 mm in December.
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.
Among the best
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Ñacundá Nighthawk sightings, Brasilia ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Asuncion (Paraguay, under 5%) and Curitiba (Brazil, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ñacundá Nighthawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Brasilia (9 verified sightings), 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.
