Acanthidops bairdi
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The peg-billed finch (Acanthidops bairdi) is a passerine bird endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. Despite its name, it is not a true finch, but now recognized as a member of the tanager family (Thraupidae), after being long placed in the Emberizidae. It is the only member of the genus Acanthidops. The scientific name commemorates the American ornithologist Spencer Fullerton Baird.
The peg-billed finch was formally described in 1882 by the American ornithologist Robert Ridgway from a specimen collected near the Irazú Volcano in Costa Rica. To accommodate the new species Ridgway introduced the genus Acanthidops and coined the binomial name Acanthidops bairdi. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek akanthis meaning "spiky" with ōps meaning "face". The specific epithet honours the American naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird. No subspecies are recognised.
The peg-billed finch is a long-tailed species, 13.5 cm long and weighing 16 g. It has a distinctive long upturned bill with a black upper mandible and yellow lower mandible. The adult male is slate grey, becoming paler on the belly. The female is olive-brown above, becoming paler... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Peg-billed Finch sighting in Braulio Carrillo National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 450th most-seen of the 505 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 Peg-billed Finch in Braulio Carrillo 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 Peg-billed Finch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Peg-billed Finch sightings, Braulio Carrillo National Park ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%), Irazú Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Los Quetzales National Park (Costa Rica, under 5%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Peg-billed Finch that you can see in Braulio Carrillo National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Blue-gray Tanager (about 50%), Scarlet-rumped Tanager (about 40%) and Variable Seedeater (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Peg-billed Finch is recorded against all the birds logged in Braulio Carrillo National Park (20 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.
