CreatureData

Spotted thick-knee

Burhinus capensis (M. H. K. Lichtenstein, 1823)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis) is a species in the family Burhinidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 423 g to 490 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis)
Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the spotted thick-knee

Weight
423 g – 490 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the spotted thick-knee

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis)
Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the spotted thick-knee live?

Not recorded

What is the spotted thick-knee?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis), also known as the spotted dikkop or Cape thick-knee, is a wader in the family Burhinidae. It is native to tropical regions of central and southern Africa.

From the Wikipedia article “Spotted thick-knee” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spotted_thick-knee&oldid=1380598284), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the spotted thick-knee endangered?

The spotted thick-knee is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the spotted thick-knee classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyBurhinidae
  6. genusBurhinus
  7. SpeciesBurhinus capensis (M. H. K. Lichtenstein, 1823)

Synonyms Burhinops capensis, Burhinus capensis capensis, Oedicnemus capensis

Other names and names in other languages (56)
  • Cape thick-kneeEnglish
  • Cape thick-kneeEnglish
  • Spotted dikkopEnglish
  • Spotted dikkopEnglish
  • SPTKEnglish
  • NagkiewietAfrikaans
  • Gewone DikkopAfrikaans
  • KommandovoëlAfrikaans
  • كروان منقطArabic
  • Kap pərttəgözüAzerbaijani
  • Bourlagad ar C'habBreton
  • torlit pigallatCatalan
  • dytík skvrnitýCzech
  • rhedwr brychWelsh
  • Plettet TrielDanish
  • KaptrielGerman
  • Kaba trieloEsperanto
  • Alcaraván de El CaboSpanish
  • täpik-jämejalgEstonian
  • suomupaksujalkaFinnish
  • Œdicnème tachardFrench
  • Oedicnème tachardFrench
  • Glúintiubh ballachIrish
  • כרוון הכףHebrew
  • pjegava ćukavicaCroatian
  • fokföldi ugartyúkHungarian
  • Occhione del CapoItalian
  • Occhione maculatoItalian
  • ケアプイシチドリJapanese
  • ケープイシチドリJapanese
  • ke-puishichidoriJapanese
  • Eswaitakwn
  • Kapinis storkulnisLithuanian
  • Dėmėtasis storkulnisLithuanian
  • punktainais lielacisLatvian
  • Goditání łikizhígííNavajo
  • flekktrielNorwegian Bokmål
  • Kaapse GrielDutch
  • kulon plamistyPolish
  • Alcaravão do CaboPortuguese
  • alcaravão-do-caboPortuguese
  • Капская авдоткаRussian
  • ležiak škvrnitýSlovak
  • GwarimutondoShona
  • Khoho-ea-liraSouthern Sotho
  • UmunkonkoniSwati
  • FläcktjockfotSwedish
  • ChekehukwaSwahili
  • Benekli kocagözTurkish
  • KgoadirêTswana
  • mongwangwaTswana
  • MtshikuyanaTsonga
  • лежень плямистийUkrainian
  • IngqangqoloXhosa
  • 斑石鸻Chinese
  • umBangaqhwaZulu

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the spotted thick-knee

Other species in the same genus Burhinus.

CompareSpotted thick-knee vs Eurasian stone-curlewSpotted thick-knee vs Senegal thick-kneeSpotted thick-knee vs Water thick-kneeSpotted thick-knee vs Bush stone-curlew

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the spotted thick-knee?

An adult spotted thick-knee weighs 423 g – 490 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the spotted thick-knee endangered?

The spotted thick-knee is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the spotted thick-knee?

The spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis) belongs to the family Burhinidae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-thick-knee

MLA

“Spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-thick-knee.

BibTeX
@misc{spotted_thick_knee_2026,
  title = {Spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-thick-knee},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}