Burhinus senegalensis
Silhouette: Auckland Museum · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Senegal Thick-knee sighting in Lagos on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 40th most-seen of the 72 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Senegal Thick-knee in Lagos on a given day, against about 10% in July, October and December–April, the lowest months. That is one of Lagos's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain against 25 mm in December. June, August–September and November have too few records to rate.
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.
6th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Senegal Thick-knee sightings, Lagos ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Accra (Ghana, about 50%), Serrekunda (Gambia, about 30%) and Dakar (Senegal, about 30%).
Same order: Charadriiformes
The closest relatives of the Senegal Thick-knee that you can see in Lagos (order Charadriiformes, Shorebirds and Allies) are Spur-winged Lapwing (about 30%), Common Sandpiper (about 20%) and Whimbrel (about 20%), 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 Lagos (10 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.
