Euphonia imitans
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The spot-crowned euphonia (Euphonia imitans) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae, the finches and euphonias. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The spot-crowned euphonia was originally described in 1936 with the binomial Tanagra imitans and the English name "tawny-bellied euphonia". The genus Tanagra (Tangara) is a member of the family Thraupidae, the "true" tanagers, where the species remained after being reassigned to genus Euphonia. Multiple studies in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries resulted in Euphonia being reassigned to its present place in the family Fringillidae.
The spot-crowned euphonia is monotypic. The spot-crowned euphonia is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs about 14 g (0.49 oz). It is a small euphonia with a stubby bill. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males have a bright yellow forehead; the patch extends to the rear of the eye and is speckled with black. The rest of their crown and their face, nape, throat, chest, and upperparts are steely blue-black. Their upperwing coverts are a slightly glossy blue-black. Their flight feathers are dusky with a blue-black tinge and white... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spot-crowned Euphonia sighting in Carara National Park on a given day, based on 721 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 176th most-seen of the 414 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.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spot-crowned Euphonia in Carara National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August, the lowest month. That is one of Carara National Park's wettest months, with about 590 mm of rain against 35 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spot-crowned Euphonia sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Spot-crowned Euphonia sightings, Carara National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%), Chirripó National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%) and Corcovado National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).
Same genus: Euphonia
The closest relatives of the Spot-crowned Euphonia that you can see in Carara National Park (genus Euphonia, Typical Euphonias) are Yellow-throated Euphonia (about 20%), Yellow-crowned Euphonia (about 10%) and Scrub Euphonia (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spot-crowned Euphonia is recorded against all the birds logged in Carara National Park (721 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.
