Platyrinchus platyrhynchos
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The white-crested spadebill (Platyrinchus platyrhynchos) is a species of passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The white-crested spadebill was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the todies in the genus Todus and coined the binomial name Todus platyrhynchos. The specific epithet is from Ancient Greek platurrhunkhos meaning "broad-billed" or "broad-beaked" (from platus meaning "broad" or "wide" and rhunkhos meaning "bill"). Gmelin based his description on the "Todi Leucocephali" that had been described and illustrated in 1769 by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas. Pallas did not specify a locality but this was subsequently designated as Suriname. The white-crested spadebill is now one of seven spadebills placed in the genus Platyrinchus that was introduced in 1805 by Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest.
The white-crested spadebill has these four subspecies: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brownsberg Nature Park | 🇸🇷 Suriname | |
| 2 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-crested Spadebill sighting in Brownsberg Nature Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 168th most-seen of the 221 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April, October and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-crested Spadebill in Brownsberg Nature Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, August–September and November, the lowest months. May to July have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-crested Spadebill sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 parks where we can rate White-crested Spadebill sightings, Brownsberg Nature Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Tambopata National Reserve (Peru, under 5%) and Manu National Park (Peru, under 5%).
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the White-crested Spadebill that you can see in Brownsberg Nature Park (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Rusty-margined Flycatcher (about 40%), Slender-footed Tyrannulet (about 40%) and McConnell's Flycatcher (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-crested Spadebill is recorded against all the birds logged in Brownsberg Nature Park (12 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.
