Aegotheles cristatus
Silhouette: Christopher Watson (photo) and T. Michael Keesey (vectorization) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The Australian owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus) is a nocturnal bird found in open woodland across Australia and in southern New Guinea. It is the smallest nocturnal bird found in Australia, making it prone to predation. It is colloquially known as the moth owl or fairy owl and Jarlajirrpi by the Warlpiri people. It is the most common nocturnal bird in Australia. Despite suffering from predation and competition by introduced species, it is not considered threatened.
The Australian owlet-nightjar was formally described as Caprimulgus cristatus in 1790 by the English naturalist George Shaw based on a specimen collected in New South Wales, Australia. The species was described in the same year by John Latham as Caprimulgus novaehollandiae but Shaw's account is believed to be earlier and thus has precedence. The Australian owlet-nightjar was previously placed in Caprimulgiformes but updated taxonomy now places it in Aegotheliformes. The Australian owlet-nightjar is now one of ten species placed in the genus Aegotheles that was introduced in 1827 by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield. It is the type species of the genus. The specific epithet cristatus... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Territory Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Owlet-nightjar sighting in Kakadu National Park on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 135th most-seen of the 186 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and June
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Australian Owlet-nightjar in Kakadu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, May and July–January, the lowest months. Those are among Kakadu National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 350 mm in January. February has too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Australian Owlet-nightjar sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
6th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Australian Owlet-nightjar sightings, Kakadu National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (Australia, about 10%), Nitmiluk National Park (Australia, under 5%) and Kosciuszko National Park (Australia, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Australian Owlet-nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in Kakadu National Park (49 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.
