Caprimulgus donaldsoni
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Donaldson Smith's nightjar (Caprimulgus donaldsoni) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania. It was named in honor of the 19th-century American explorer Arthur Donaldson Smith. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar sighting in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 226th most-seen of the 341 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, August–September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in May–July, October and December–March, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar sightings, Samburu National Reserve ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Meru National Park (Kenya, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in Samburu National Reserve (32 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.
