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 Tsavo West National Park on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 277th most-seen of the 380 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.
February and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–October and December–January, the lowest months. Those are among Tsavo West National Park's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain a month against 5 mm in July.
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.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar sightings, Tsavo West National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Meru National Park (Kenya, about 10%), Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, under 5%) and Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in Tsavo West National Park (19 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.
