Stripe-breasted Wren

Stripe-breasted Wren

Cantorchilus thoracicus

Silhouette: Matt Wilkins · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Arenal Volcano National Park

In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%

5,219 Verified sightings at Arenal Volcano National Park From 2019 to 2026
9,392 In all 11 parks
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Stripe-breasted Wren

The stripe-breasted wren (Cantorchilus thoracicus) is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. The stripe-breasted wren is monotypic. It has at times been treated as conspecific with the stripe-throated wren (Cantorchilus leucopogon) and the two form a superspecies.

The stripe-breasted wren is 11.5 to 12.5 cm (4.5 to 4.9 in) long and has a mean weight of 17.6 g (0.62 oz). Adults have a gray-brown crown, dark umber shoulders, back, and rump, and a dull blackish tail with buffy bars. Their face and sides of the neck have white streaks over a blackish base. Their throat and chest have black, white, and gray lengthwise streaks that stop abruptly at the plain olive-brown lower belly. Juveniles' upperparts are more russet than the adults' and the throat and chest have grayish brown, white, and dusky stripes.

The stripe-breasted wren is found on the Caribbean slope of Middle America from eastern Honduras south through northeastern Nicaragua and eastern Costa Rica into Panama almost to the Canal Zone. It inhabits thick vegetation along woodland edges... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Alarm call0:54

Costa Rica · 2013

© Albert Lastukhin · XC1088633 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:28

Costa Rica · 2024

© Scott Olmstead · XC949651 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:30

Costa Rica · 2019

© GABRIEL LEITE · XC489527 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
2 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
3 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
4 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
5 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
6 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
7 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
8 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
9 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
10 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
11 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Stripe-breasted Wren in Arenal Volcano National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Stripe-breasted Wren sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 5,219 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 503 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Stripe-breasted Wren in Arenal Volcano National Park?

September and October

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Stripe-breasted Wren in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against about 20% in January, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Stripe-breasted Wren?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Stripe-breasted Wren sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Arenal Volcano National Park the best place to see a Stripe-breasted Wren?

Yes

Of the 11 parks where we can rate Stripe-breasted Wren sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Tenorio Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%) and Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).

Where does the Stripe-breasted Wren sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Stripe-breasted Wren is recorded against all the birds logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (5,219 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.

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