Catharus frantzii
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush (Catharus frantzii) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes and allies. It is found from Mexico to Panama. The ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush was originally described by German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1861 with its current binomial Catharus frantzii. Its specific epithet commemorates the German naturalist Alexander von Frantzius. Its closest living relatives appear to be the North American species complex containing the veery (C. fuscescens) and the gray-cheeked thrush (C. minimus).
Though the ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush was described as a species, for much of the twentieth century it was treated as a subspecies of the russet nightingale-thrush (C. occidentalis). The two are sister species. The ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, AviList, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) assign it these eight subspecies: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | El Triunfo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | La Tigra National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 7 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Celaque National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 13 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush sighting in Braulio Carrillo National Park on a given day, based on 421 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 142nd most-seen of the 505 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush in Braulio Carrillo National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December, the lowest month.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush sightings, Braulio Carrillo National Park ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Los Quetzales National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%), Volcán Barú National Park (Panama, about 40%) and Irazú Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).
Same genus: Catharus
The closest relatives of the Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush that you can see in Braulio Carrillo National Park (genus Catharus, Brown Thrushes and Nightingale-Thrushes) are Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush (about 10%) and Swainson's Thrush (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Braulio Carrillo National Park (421 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.
