Indian Nightjar

Indian Nightjar

Caprimulgus asiaticus

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Solapur

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

7 Verified sightings at Solapur
1,111 In all 15 parks From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Indian Nightjar

The Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) is a small nightjar which is a resident breeder in open lands across South Asia and Southeast Asia. Like most nightjars it is crepuscular and is best detected from its characteristic calls at dawn and dusk that have been likened to a stone skipping on a frozen lake - a series of clicks that become shorter and more rapid. They are sometimes spotted on roads when their eyes gleam red in the spotlight of a vehicle. There is considerable plumage variation across its range and can be hard to differentiate from other nightjars in the region especially in the field.

This nightjar is small and short-tailed with white corners to the tail, a golden nape and collar, dark cheeks and white patches on the sides of the throat. The crown is grey and the breast is finely barred in brown. The males have more white on the tail while the female is more heavily streaked on the crown. It is differentiated from Sykes's nightjar by the dark undertail and from Jerdon's nightjar by the shorter tail and white patches on the sides of the throat.

The call is distinctive and has been likened to a stone skipped on a frozen lake (due to which it was also... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song1:00

Thailand · 2025

© Ding Li Yong · XC961729 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:13

India · 2021

© Sandip das · XC642141 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:35

Thailand · 2020

© Peter Ericsson · XC611999 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%
2 Gir National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
3 Udawalawe National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
4 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
5 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
6 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
7 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
9 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
11 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
12 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
13 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
14 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
15 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Solapur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
2 Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar 🇮🇳 India
<5%
3 Raipur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
4 Jaipur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
5 Pune 🇮🇳 India
<5%
6 Nagpur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
7 Thrissur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
8 Bhopal 🇮🇳 India
<5%
9 Hyderabad 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Jabalpur 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Indian Nightjar in Solapur?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Nightjar sighting in Solapur on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 78th most-seen of the 86 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Indian Nightjar in Solapur?

February–March and November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Nightjar in Solapur on a given day, against under 5% in April–July, September–October and December–January, the lowest months. Those are among Solapur's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 140 mm in September. August has too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see an Indian Nightjar?

Between 4 and 7 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Nightjar 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.

Is Solapur the best place to see an Indian Nightjar?

Yes

Of the 16 cities where we can rate Indian Nightjar sightings, Solapur has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (India, under 5%) and Raipur (India, under 5%).

Where does the Indian Nightjar sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Indian Nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in Solapur (7 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.

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