Hydropsalis cayennensis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The white-tailed nightjar (Hydropsalis cayennensis) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in the tropic regions of Central and South America. The white-tailed nightjar was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other nightjars in the genus Caprimulgus and coined the binomial name Caprimulgus cayennensis. Gmelin based his description on "L'engoulevent varié de Cayenne" that was described in 1779 by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. A hand-coloured illustration was also published.
Based on a molecular phylogenetic study by Kin-Lan Han and collaborators published in 2010, the white-tailed nightjar is now placed with three other species in the genus Hydropsalis. This genus was introduced in 1832 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek hudro- meaning "water-" with psalis meaning "pair of scissors". The specific epithet cayennensis is from Cayenne, French Guiana, the type locality.
Six subspecies are recognised... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 2 | Tayrona National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 3 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-tailed Nightjar sighting in Tayrona National Natural Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 240th most-seen of the 285 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-tailed Nightjar in Tayrona National Natural Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-tailed Nightjar sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate White-tailed Nightjar sightings, Tayrona National Natural Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (Trinidad and Tobago, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-tailed Nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in Tayrona National Natural Park (9 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.
