Burhinus senegalensis
Silhouette: Auckland Museum · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% 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...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 2 | Mole National Park | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 3 | Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 4 | Saloum Delta National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 5 | Chinko Conservation Area | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | |
| 6 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 8 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 9 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Senegal Thick-knee sighting in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on a given day, based on 62 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 64th most-seen of the 173 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and April
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Senegal Thick-knee in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on a given day, against about 30% in February and November, the lowest months. Those are among Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary's driest months, with almost no rain against 55 mm in August. May to October 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.
3rd of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Senegal Thick-knee sightings, Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal, about 50%) and Mole National Park (Ghana, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Charadriiformes
The closest relatives of the Senegal Thick-knee that you can see in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (order Charadriiformes, Shorebirds and Allies) are Black-winged Stilt (about 80%), Spur-winged Lapwing (about 80%) and Little Stint (about 70%), 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 Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (62 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.
