Antrostomus saturatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Nightjar sighting in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, based on 814 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 125th most-seen of the 467 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and December–May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Nightjar in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–August and October–November, the lowest months.
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.
Among the best
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Dusky Nightjar sightings, Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Los Quetzales National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Irazú Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dusky Nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (814 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.
