Melozone biarcuata
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Prevost's ground sparrow (Melozone biarcuata), also known as the white-faced ground sparrow, is an American sparrow. Its English name commemorates French naturalist Florent Prévost. This bird breeds at middle altitudes from southern Mexico to western Honduras. The Cabanis's ground sparrow was previously considered a subspecies. It is found typically at altitudes between 600 and 1600 m in the undergrowth and thickets of semi-open woodland, coffee plantations, hedgerows and large gardens.
Prevost's ground sparrow is on average 15 cm long and weighs 28 g. The adult has a stubby dark-grey bill, unstreaked olive-brown upperparts, a rufous crown and mainly white underparts. Young birds are browner above, have yellower underparts, and a duller indistinct head pattern. It has a simple head pattern in which the rufous of the crown extends down the sides of the neck as a half collar behind the white face.
Usually found in pairs, the bird is a shy species best seen at or near dusk. They sometimes venture in the open in the early morning. The nest, built by the female, is a neat lined cup constructed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Triunfo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Celaque National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | Cusuco National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 5 | Lago de Yojoa | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-faced Ground-Sparrow sighting in Celaque National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 85th most-seen of the 193 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.
June
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a White-faced Ground-Sparrow in Celaque National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–May and July–September, the lowest months. That is one of Celaque National Park's wettest months, with about 330 mm of rain against 60 mm in February.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-faced Ground-Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate White-faced Ground-Sparrow sightings, Celaque National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in El Triunfo (Mexico, about 20%).
Same family: Passerellidae
The closest relatives of the White-faced Ground-Sparrow that you can see in Celaque National Park (family Passerellidae, New World Sparrows) are Rusty Sparrow (about 20%), White-naped Brush-Finch (about 10%) and Rufous-collared Sparrow (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-faced Ground-Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Celaque National Park (22 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.
