Psarocolius montezuma
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The Montezuma oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma) is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in the Caribbean coastal lowlands from southeastern Mexico to central Panama, but is absent from El Salvador and southern Guatemala. It also occurs on the Pacific slope of Nicaragua and Honduras and northwestern and southwestern Costa Rica. It is among the oropendola species sometimes separated in the genus Gymnostinops. The English and scientific names of this species commemorate the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II.
Adult males are mainly chestnut with a blackish head and rump, and a tail which is bright yellow apart from two dark central feathers. There is a bare blue cheek patch and a pink wattle, the iris is brown, and the long bill is black at the base with a red tip. Females are similar, but smaller than males with a smaller wattle. Young birds are duller than adults and have a paler and less demarcated bill. No subspecies are currently recognized.
The sexes are very different in size; the male is 50 cm (20 in) long and weighs 520 g (18 oz); the smaller female is 38 cm (15 in) long and weighs 230 g (8.1 oz). In total body mass, the males are 100% bigger... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Paz Waterfall Gardens | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Montezuma Oropendola sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 13,072 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 503 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–March, May and July
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Montezuma Oropendola in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against about 50% in September, the lowest month.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Montezuma Oropendola sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 31
Of the 31 parks where we can rate Montezuma Oropendola sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 6th at about 70%. The best odds are in Pico Bonito National Park (Honduras, about 80%), Tortuguero National Park (Costa Rica, about 80%) and Lago de Yojoa (Honduras, about 80%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Montezuma Oropendola is recorded against all the birds logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (13,072 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.
