Glaucidium griseiceps
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The Central American pygmy owl (Glaucidium griseiceps) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) treats the Central American pygmy owl as monotypic.
The Central American pygmy owl is 13 to 18 cm (5.1 to 7.1 in) long. Males weigh 50.6 to 58.8 g (1.78 to 2.07 oz) and females about 56 g (2.0 oz). Adults' crown and nape are grayish brown; the crown has buff to whitish spots and the nape dark "false eyes". Their upperparts and tail are rich brown and the tail has pale bars across it. Their underparts are whitish with reddish brown streaks. The juvenile's crown and nape are gray; the crown is unspotted and the nape's false eyes are sooty.
The Central American pygmy owl is found from Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas in southern Mexico through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama into... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Pico Bonito National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 5 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Cahuita National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Tortuguero National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Central American Pygmy-Owl sighting in Cahuita National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 260th most-seen of the 303 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Central American Pygmy-Owl in Cahuita National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months. That is one of Cahuita National Park's wettest months, with about 560 mm of rain against 170 mm in March.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Central American Pygmy-Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Central American Pygmy-Owl sightings, Cahuita National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Darién National Park (Panama, about 20%), Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 10%) and Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge (Costa Rica, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Central American Pygmy-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Cahuita National Park (9 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.
