Hydropsalis climacocerca
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The ladder-tailed nightjar (Hydropsalis climacocerca) is a species of bird in the nightjar family Caprimulgidae. It is one of four species in the genus, Hydropsalis. It is found in the Amazon Basin of Brazil, the Guianas, Suriname, and also Amazonian Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia; it is also in Venezuela.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, rivers, and freshwater lakes. This bird is highly camouflaged and has the colors of 'ground cover', as do most of the nightjars. The colors are broken with white patches, grays, both dark, and light, and some brown, especially around the neck and head. Many of the nightjar species also have the distraction display, which helps lead unwary predators farther distances from the nest, young, or eggs.
As a species that hunts airborne insects at night, it has large eyes and a large wide gape to allow this feeding strategy. The ladder-tailed nightjar was formally described in 1844 by the Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob von Tschudi under the binomial name Caprimulgus climacocercus based on a specimen collected in Peru. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek κλιμαξ/klimax, κλιμακος/klimakos meaning... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 5 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 7 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ladder-tailed Nightjar sighting in Manu National Park on a given day, based on 217 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 280th most-seen of the 641 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.
January–March, May, July and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ladder-tailed Nightjar in Manu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, June, August–October and December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ladder-tailed 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.
Among the best
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Ladder-tailed Nightjar sightings, Manu National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 10%) and Anavilhanas National Park (Brazil, about 10%).
Same family: Caprimulgidae
The closest relatives of the Ladder-tailed Nightjar that you can see in Manu National Park (family Caprimulgidae, Nightjars and Allies) are Common Pauraque (about 10%), Sand-colored Nighthawk (about 10%) and Ocellated Poorwill (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ladder-tailed Nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in Manu National Park (217 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.
