Gactornis enarratus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The collared nightjar (Gactornis enarratus) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. The collared nightjar was formally described in 1871 by the English zoologist George Gray with the binomial name Caprimulgus enarratus based on a specimen collected in Madagascar. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "explained in detail".
A molecular phylogenetic study by Kin-Lan Han and collaborators published in 2010 found that the collared nightjar was not closely related to any other species of nightjar. The authors therefore introduced a new genus Gactornis to accommodate the species. The genus name combines the four single letter abbreviations for the DNA nucleotides (G, A, C, T for guanine, adenine, cytosine, thymine) and the Ancient Greek word ornis meaning "bird". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
Collared nightjars are 24cm long, with females weighing around 57 g (2.0 oz) and males around 48 g (1.7 oz). Otherwise sexes are similar. Forages for insects by hawking both above and below forest canopy... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Mantadia National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Collared Nightjar sighting in Mantadia National Park on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 87th most-seen of the 98 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Collared Nightjar in Mantadia National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season. January to April have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Collared Nightjar sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Collared Nightjar sightings, Mantadia National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Ranomafana National Park (Madagascar, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Collared Nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in Mantadia National Park (26 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.
