Incilius luetkenii
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Incilius luetkenii (formerly Bufo luetkenii, common name yellow toad) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in Mesoamerica along the Pacific versant from central Costa Rica to extreme southern Chiapas, Mexico (including the intervening Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua), as well as dry interior valleys of Guatemala and Honduras and San Juan River drainage in Costa Rica on the Atlantic versant. It occurs in open areas, including disturbed pasturelands in lowland dry forests, and to a lesser extent, in lowland moist and premontane moist forests. It breeds in temporary pools. It is a common species that is not facing major threats. Additionally, this species of toad is known for using their vocal behaviors in order to call for mating. This can sometimes lead to aggression between those who are male in the species. Wikipedia →
Recording0:59
El Salvador · 2023
© Carlos Funes · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Recording0:14
Costa Rica · 2026
© julie richardson · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Ostional Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow Toad sighting in Carara National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 22 amphibians 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.
April
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow Toad in Carara National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Carara National Park's driest months, with about 180 mm of rain against 730 mm in October.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow Toad sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Yellow Toad sightings, Carara National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Santa Rosa National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%), Palo Verde National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%) and Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve (Costa Rica, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Incilius
The closest relatives of the Yellow Toad that you can see in Carara National Park (genus Incilius, Central American Toads) are Rainforest Toad (about 20%) and Dry Forest Toad (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow Toad is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Carara 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.
