Tigrisoma mexicanum
Silhouette: Mannheim Reinhard Jahn (photograph) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The bare-throated tiger heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum) is a wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, found from Mexico to northwestern Colombia, with one recorded sighting from the United States in Hidalgo County, Texas. It is 80 cm (31 in) in length and weighs 1,200 g (42 oz).
This large species is found in more open habitats than other Tigrisoma herons, such as river and lake banks. It waits often motionless for suitable prey such as fish, frogs or crabs to come within reach of its long bill.
This is a solitary breeder, not normally found in heron colonies. The nest is a small flattish stick platform in a tree into which 2–3 green-tinged white eggs are laid. The throat is bare and is greenish-yellow to orange in all plumages. The adult has black crown and light grey sides of the head, the sides of the neck and the upperparts otherwise blackish narrowly barred buff. The median stripe down the fore-neck is white-bordered with black; the remaining underparts are dull cinnamon brown. The juvenile is buff coarsely barred with black, more mottled and vermiculated on wings; the throat, median underparts, and belly are whitish.
The flight is heavy, and the call is a hoarse... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | Barranquilla | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aviario Nacional de Colombia | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Zoológico Thomas Belt | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 4 | Tracy Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 6 | International Animal Rescue – Costa Rica | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Bare-throated Tiger Heron sighting in Carara National Park on a given day, based on 3,720 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 12th most-seen of the 414 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February to June
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Bare-throated Tiger Heron in Carara National Park on a given day, against about 30% in October, the lowest month.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bare-throated Tiger Heron sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 35
Of the 35 parks where we can rate Bare-throated Tiger Heron sightings, Carara National Park ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Palo Verde National Park (Costa Rica, about 70%) and Tortuguero National Park (Costa Rica, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bare-throated Tiger Heron is recorded against all the birds logged in Carara National Park (3,720 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.
