Phaenostictus mcleannani
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The ocellated antbird (Phaenostictus mcleannani) is a species of antbird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The ocellated antbird was formally described in 1861 by the American amateur ornithologist George Newbold Lawrence and given the binomial name Phlogopsis mcleannani (misspelled as Meleannani). The ocellated antbird is now placed in the genus Phaenostictus that was erected in 1909 by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek phainō meaning "to display" and stiktos for "spotted". The specific epithet honors James McLeannan, a railway engineer on the Panama Canal Railway, who had collected the type specimen in Panama. Ridgway considered that the species was related to the genus Phlegopsis (the bare-eyes) but that it differed in having a longer tail, rounded nostrils and a few other characters.
Molecular phylogenetic studies of the antbird family, Thamnophilidae, have found that the ocellated antbird sits in the tribe Pithyini and its closest relatives are in genus Pithys. The ocellated... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | San Lorenzo Protected Forest | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 10 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ocellated Antbird sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 744 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 197th most-seen of the 503 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.
February–March, July and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ocellated Antbird in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–June, August–September and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ocellated Antbird 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 11 parks where we can rate Ocellated Antbird sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 5th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Darién National Park (Panama, about 10%), Soberanía National Park (Panama, about 10%) and Chagres National Park (Panama, about 10%).
Same family: Thamnophilidae
The closest relatives of the Ocellated Antbird that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (family Thamnophilidae, Typical Antbirds) are Spotted Antbird (about 20%), Dusky Antbird (about 10%) and Dull-mantled Antbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ocellated Antbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (744 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.
