Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush

Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush

Catharus fuscater

Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Braulio Carrillo National Park

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%

380 Verified sightings at Braulio Carrillo National Park From 2019 to 2026
6,652 In all 13 parks
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush

The slaty-backed nightingale-thrush (Catharus fuscater) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes and allies. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. The slaty-backed nightingale-thrush was originally described in 1845 by as Myioturdus fuscater. It was later reassigned to its present genus Catharus that had been erected in 1850.

The slaty-backed nightingale's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, AviList, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assign it these seven subspecies: The Clements taxonomy recognizes four more subspecies:

They treat... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:35

Ecuador · 2025

© Manuel Sánchez-Nivicela · XC1157586 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:08

Ecuador · 2002

© Brian Cox · XC730765 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:49

Peru · 2013

© Fabrice Schmitt · XC243437 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
2 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
3 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
4 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
5 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
6 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
7 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
8 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
9 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
10 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
11 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
12 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
13 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 San José 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush in Braulio Carrillo National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush sighting in Braulio Carrillo National Park on a given day, based on 380 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 153rd most-seen of the 505 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush in Braulio Carrillo National Park?

November

In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush in Braulio Carrillo National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August, the lowest month. That is one of Braulio Carrillo National Park's wettest months, with about 550 mm of rain against 170 mm in April.

What time of day is best to see a Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Slaty-backed 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.

Is Braulio Carrillo National Park the best place to see a Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush?

3rd of 13

Of the 13 parks where we can rate Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush sightings, Braulio Carrillo National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (Costa Rica, about 30%) and Poás Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush live in Braulio Carrillo National Park?

Same genus: Catharus

The closest relatives of the Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush that you can see in Braulio Carrillo National Park (genus Catharus, Brown Thrushes and Nightingale-Thrushes) are Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush (about 10%) and Swainson's Thrush (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Braulio Carrillo National Park (380 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.

← Back to Braulio Carrillo National Park