Caprimulgus indicus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The jungle nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus) is a species of nightjar found in the Indian subcontinent. It is found mainly on the edge of forests where it is seen or heard at dusk. The taxonomy of this and related nightjars is complex and a range of treatments have been followed that cover this and several other nightjars in the Asian region. It was formerly called the grey nightjar or Indian jungle nightjar and sometimes included the East Asian grey nightjar (C. jotaka) as a subspecies.
The jungle nightjar is about 21–24 cm long with the Sri Lankan population (ssp. kelaarti) being smaller. Mostly grey with black streaks on the crown, it lacks a conspicuous wing patch which is rufous. The tail is greyish with well separated narrow black bars. The male has a white throat patch that is broken at the middle. The female has a rufous throat patch and submoustachial streaks. The usual call is a series of thacoo or chuck notes (at the rate of 5 every 2 seconds) like a distant engine. The song is a slow and regular, series of FWik-m notes, repeated for as long as 10 seconds. This sometimes ends in quick whistling foo-foo with the quality of sounds obtained when air is blown... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 7 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 12 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Jungle Nightjar sighting in Yala National Park on a given day, based on 46 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 147th most-seen of the 220 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.
May–June and November–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Jungle Nightjar in Yala National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–April and July–October, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Jungle Nightjar sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
6th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Jungle Nightjar sightings, Yala National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Mudumalai National Park (India, about 20%), Keoladeo National Park (India, about 10%) and Gir National Park (India, about 10%).
Same genus: Caprimulgus
The closest relatives of the Jungle Nightjar that you can see in Yala National Park (genus Caprimulgus, Old World Nightjars) are Indian Nightjar (about 20%) and Jerdon's Nightjar (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Jungle Nightjar is recorded against all the birds logged in Yala National Park (46 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.
