Zentrygon lawrencii
Silhouette: Natalia Ladino · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The purplish-backed quail-dove (Zentrygon lawrencii) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The purplish-backed quail-dove is monotypic. However, the population of it in northwestern Costa Rica was at one time considered a subspecies. The purplish-backed quail-dove and the Tuxtla quail-dove (Zentrygon carrikeri) of Mexico were previously considered conspecific.
Male purplish-backed quail-doves are 26 to 27 cm (10 to 11 in) long and females are about 25 cm (9.8 in) long. The species weighs about 220 g (7.8 oz). Adults have a grayish white forehead and a bluish to greenish gray crown, nape, and hindneck. The mantle is dull purple and the rest of the upperparts and the wings are olive-brown to blackish brown with some reddish tinge. The central tail feathers are purple-brown and the outer ones blackish with gray tips. The face and throat are white with a black malar line and a line from the bill to the eye. The neck and breast are slate gray with greenish sides, the belly center pale buff to cinnamon, and the flanks chocolate. The eye is browish orange to red surrounded by bare magenta skin... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Purplish-backed Quail-Dove sighting in Chagres National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 322nd most-seen of the 372 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purplish-backed Quail-Dove in Chagres National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Chagres National Park's wettest months, with about 270 mm of rain against 30 mm in February.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purplish-backed Quail-Dove sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Purplish-backed Quail-Dove sightings, Chagres National Park ranks 4th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Arenal Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, under 5%), Tenorio Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, under 5%) and Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (Costa Rica, under 5%).
Same family: Columbidae
The closest relatives of the Purplish-backed Quail-Dove that you can see in Chagres National Park (family Columbidae, Pigeons and Doves) are Scaled Pigeon (about 30%), White-tipped Dove (about 30%) and Ruddy Ground-Dove (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purplish-backed Quail-Dove is recorded against all the birds logged in Chagres National Park (8 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.
