Caprimulgus pectoralis
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The fiery-necked nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae, which is found mostly in Africa south of the equator, though it has been spotted in a few countries north of the equator. It is most often found in woodland savannas or other deciduous woodlands. It is usually distinguished by its tawny coloured collar which gives the species its common name. It has a distinctive call that many have rendered as 'good-lord-deliver-us'. The fiery-necked nightjar is an insectivorous species that mostly eats butterflies, moths and other insects. The fiery-necked nightjar breeds after the dry season and typically produce two clutches with two eggs per clutch.
The fiery-necked nightjar belongs to the family Caprimulgidae which includes roughly 90 species of nightjars, nighthawks and their relatives. These birds are all insectivorous and most active at dawn, dusk and over night. In addition, a distinguishing feature of this family is the pectinate claw, which these birds use for preening. The fiery-necked nightjar is part of the Caprimulgus genus which contains the majority of the nightjar species. The fiery-necked nightjar is most closely... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fiery-necked Nightjar sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 76 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 147th most-seen of the 283 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and June
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Fiery-necked Nightjar in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against about 10% in August and November–January, the lowest months. Those are among uMkhuze Game Reserve's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 120 mm in February.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fiery-necked 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 29
Of the 29 parks where we can rate Fiery-necked Nightjar sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Kafue National Park (Zambia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fiery-necked Nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (76 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.
