Spindalis nigricephala
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The Jamaican spindalis (Spindalis nigricephala) is one of four species of bird in family Spindalidae. It is endemic to Jamaica. Historically, the genus Spindalis consisted of a single polytypic species, Spindalis zena (with the common name of stripe-headed tanager), with eight recognized subspecies. The genus was in the "true" tanager family Thraupidae. Beginning in 1997, based primarily on morphological and vocalization differences, three of the subspecies were elevated to species status of which the Jamaican spindalis is one, and S. zena was renamed western spindalis. Beginning in 2017, taxonomic systems moved the four spindalis species to the newly created family Spindalidae, which is not closely related to the tanagers.
The Jamaican spindalis is monotypic. The Jamaican spindalis is about 18 cm (7.1 in) long and weighs 38 to 65 g (1.3 to 2.3 oz). Adult males have a black head with a wide white supercilium and "moustache". It has a white chin and upper throat. Its back is yellowish olive, its rump tawny yellow, and its uppertail coverts black. Its tail is black with wide white edges to the feathers. Its wings are black with white edges... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park | 🇯🇲 Jamaica |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Very likely
About 90% of wildlife watchers report a Jamaican Spindalis sighting in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 1,026 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 91 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, April, July–September and November–December
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Jamaican Spindalis in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park on a given day, against about 70% in May, the lowest month. June has too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Jamaican Spindalis sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, in our data
Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Jamaican Spindalis sightings: about 90% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Jamaican Spindalis that you can see in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are White-chinned Thrush (about 90%), Bananaquit (about 90%) and Orangequit (about 90%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Jamaican Spindalis is recorded against all the birds logged in Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (1,026 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.
