Burhinus capensis
Silhouette: Auckland Museum · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis), also known as the spotted dikkop or Cape thick-knee, is a wader in the family Burhinidae. It is native to tropical regions of central and southern Africa. The spotted thick-knee, which can reach up to 45.5 cm (17.9 in) in height, has long legs and brown-and-white speckled plumage which provides camouflage, making it difficult to spot the bird in the grasslands and savannas where it roams. Its head is large and round with a prominent yellow eye and a short, stout beak. When in flight or standing in a characteristic position with its wings raised, it shows a striking contrasting pattern. Its legs are long and yellow and the tibiotarsal joint is expanded, giving it the name "thick-knee".
The spotted thick-knee is nocturnal and squats on the ground during the daytime, making it difficult to spot. It hunts exclusively on the ground, feeding on insects, small mammals and lizards. It nests on the ground, lining a scrape with grasses, feathers, pebbles and twigs. The female typically lays two eggs, and males and females rear the offspring together, with both bringing food back to the nest. The birds... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Maputo | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 5 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Thick-knee sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 612 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 98th most-seen of the 223 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.
September and December–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Thick-knee in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–August and October–November, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Thick-knee sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
21st of 29
Of the 29 parks where we can rate Spotted Thick-knee sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 21st at under 5%. The best odds are in De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 30%), Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 30%) and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Thick-knee is recorded against all the birds logged in Table Mountain National Park (612 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.
