Burhinus senegalensis
Silhouette: Auckland Museum · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The Senegal thick-knee (Burhinus senegalensis) is a stone-curlew, a group of waders in the family Burhinidae. Their vernacular scientific name refers to the prominent joints in the long yellow or greenish legs. It is a resident breeder in Africa between the Sahara and the equator, and in the Nile valley.
Senegal thick-knees are medium-large waders with strong black and yellow black bills, large yellow eyes — which give them a reptilian appearance — and cryptic plumage. They are similar but slightly smaller than the Eurasian stone-curlew, which winters in Africa. The long dark bill, single black bar on the folded wing, and darker cheek stripe are distinctions from the European species. Senegal thick-knee is striking in flight, with a broad white wing bar.
This species has a preference for dry open habitats with some bare ground, preferably near water. It lays two blotchy light brown eggs on a ground scrape. It is most active at dawn and dusk. The song is a loud pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi.
Food is insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates. It will also take other small prey. The field characters... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 2 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 4 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 5 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 6 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Senegal Thick-knee sighting in Dakar on a given day, based on 66 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 40th most-seen of the 152 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Senegal Thick-knee in Dakar on a given day, against about 20% in February, May–August and October–November, the lowest months. That is one of Dakar's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 190 mm in August.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Senegal Thick-knee sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Senegal Thick-knee sightings, Dakar ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Accra (Ghana, about 50%) and Serrekunda (Gambia, about 30%).
Same order: Charadriiformes
The closest relatives of the Senegal Thick-knee that you can see in Dakar (order Charadriiformes, Shorebirds and Allies) are Sandwich Tern (about 50%), Common Sandpiper (about 50%) and Spur-winged Lapwing (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Senegal Thick-knee is recorded against all the birds logged in Dakar (66 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.
