Melozone leucotis
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The white-eared ground sparrow (Melozone leucotis) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The white-eared ground sparrow was formally described in 1861 with its present binomial Melozone leucotis.
The last had originally been described as a species, and following two 2017 studies most taxonomic systems again recognized it as one, the grey-crowned ground sparrow, though some did not do so until 2025. However, in both 2018 and 2023 the American Ornithological Society declined to make the change, and as of 2025 AviList intends to revisit the issue.
This article follows the two-subspecies model. The white-eared ground sparrow is about 18 cm (7.1 in) long and weighs about 42 g (1.5 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a mostly black head with white patches in front of the eye and on the ear coverts, a broken white eye-ring, a... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | El Triunfo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-eared Ground-Sparrow sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 442nd most-seen of the 503 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-eared Ground-Sparrow in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-eared Ground-Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate White-eared Ground-Sparrow sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (Costa Rica, about 40%), El Triunfo (Mexico, about 30%) and Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (Costa Rica, under 5%).
Same family: Passerellidae
The closest relatives of the White-eared Ground-Sparrow that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (family Passerellidae, New World Sparrows) are Black-striped Sparrow (about 40%), Orange-billed Sparrow (about 30%) and Rufous-collared Sparrow (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-eared Ground-Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (22 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.
