Jerdon's Nightjar
Jerdon's NightjarJerdon's NightjarJerdon's NightjarJerdon's Nightjar

Jerdon's Nightjar

Caprimulgus atripennis

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
5–10% · With luck
overall probability at Minneriya National Park
17 Verified records at Minneriya National Park
April Best month highest sighting rate
🌅 Crepuscular When it's active at dawn and dusk

Jerdon's nightjar (Caprimulgus atripennis) is a medium-sized nightjar species native to southern India and Sri Lanka. Formerly considered as a subspecies of the long-tailed nightjar, it is best recognized by its distinctive call which sounds like a wooden plank being beaten periodically with each note ending in a quaver. The common name commemorates Thomas C. Jerdon who described the species. Wikipedia →

5–10% of wildlife watchers report a Jerdon's Nightjar sighting in Minneriya National Park, based on 17 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Closest Relatives at Minneriya National Park

Indian Nightjar
LC

Indian Nightjar

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Caprimulgus asiaticus

<5% · Rare
Jungle Nightjar
LC

Jungle Nightjar

Bird

Caprimulgus indicus

Insufficient data
Ceylon Frogmouth
LC

Ceylon Frogmouth

🌅 Crepuscular Bird

Batrachostomus moniliger

Insufficient data

📅 Monthly Probability

10–20
Jan
<5
Feb
<5
Mar
20–30
Apr
10–20
May
<5
Jun
<5
Jul
5–10
Aug
<5
Sep
<5
Oct
10–20
Nov
<5
Dec

🌅 When They're Spotted

Most active at dawn and dusk · across all parks (global)

🌅Crepuscular
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
10–20%
2 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
10–20%
3 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
5–10%
4 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
5–10%
5 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
5–10%
6 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
5–10%
7 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
8 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Jerdon's Nightjar in Minneriya National Park?

About 8% of wildlife watchers report a Jerdon's Nightjar sighting in Minneriya National Park, based on 17 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Jerdon's Nightjar in Minneriya National Park?

April has the highest sighting rate for Jerdon's Nightjar in Minneriya National Park in our monthly data.

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