Dusky Nightjar

Dusky Nightjar

Antrostomus saturatus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

In 3 days <5%

13 Verified sightings at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve From 2019 to 2026
1,866 In all 8 parks
October Best month
🌙 Nocturnal When it's spotted

About the Dusky Nightjar

The dusky nightjar or dusky whip-poor-will (Antrostomus saturatus) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The dusky nightjar was originally described as Antrostomus saturatus; that genus was later merged into Caprimulgus and later still restored to generic status. It appears to be most closely related to the eastern and Mexican whip-poor-wills (A. vociferus and A. arizonae, respectively). The dusky nightjar is monotypic.

The dusky nightjar is 21 to 25 cm (8.3 to 9.8 in) long. A male weighed 52.9 g (1.9 oz) and a female 51 g (1.8 oz). The adult male's upperparts are sooty black with fine reddish cinnamon spots and bars. Much of the face is also reddish cinnamon. The central tail feathers are sooty black with reddish cinnamon bars; the outer three pairs have wide white tips and less barring. The wings are blackish with reddish cinnamon bars. The throat and breast are sooty black with scattered white spots and have a narrow band of white and buff separating them. The belly is cinnamon to buff with narrow black bars. The adult female is similar to the male, but the reddish buff markings... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song1:01

Costa Rica · 2019

© Hans Matheve · XC517732 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:59

Panama · 2017

© Kent Livezey · XC394882 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:26

Costa Rica · 2010

© Peter Boesman · XC274284 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
2 Irazú Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
3 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
4 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
5 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
6 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
7 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
8 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Dusky Nightjar in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Nightjar sighting in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 359th most-seen of the 412 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Dusky Nightjar in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Nightjar in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Dusky Nightjar?

Between 6 and 9 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dusky Nightjar sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.

Where does the Dusky Nightjar sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Dusky Nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (13 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.

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