Saltator maximus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The buff-throated saltator (Saltator maximus) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Mexico, every Central American country except El Salvador, and every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The buff-throated saltator was formally described in 1776 with the binomial Tanagra maxima. The buff-throated saltator is about 20 cm (7.9 in) long. Males weigh an average of about 46 g (1.6 oz) and females about 49 g (1.7 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies S. m. maximus have a mostly gray head with a greenish gray crown and a short white supercilium. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are olive-green. Their chin and upper throat are white and their lower throat buffy with a black line on each side of the full length. Their breast, belly, and flanks are gray and their lower belly and undertail coverts buffy.
The other subspecies of the... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belém | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Niterói | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Maceió | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 9 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Buff-throated Saltator sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 9,492 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 11th most-seen of the 503 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December to March
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Buff-throated Saltator in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against about 50% in April to November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Buff-throated Saltator sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 50 parks where we can rate Buff-throated Saltator sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Poás Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Saltator
The closest relatives of the Buff-throated Saltator that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (genus Saltator, Typical Saltators) are Black-headed Saltator (about 10%) and Cinnamon-bellied Saltator (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Buff-throated Saltator is recorded against all the birds logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (9,492 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.
