Leucopternis princeps
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The barred hawk (Morphnarchus princeps) is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It has also been known as the black-chested hawk. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. 10,000 to 100,000 barred hawks are thought to exist throughout Central and South America. Barred hawks mainly live in the dense forests of the lowland and mountainous areas.
Philip Sclater first classified the barred hawk in 1865. Barred hawks are in the family Accipitridae that contains all the hawks, eagles, and old world vultures. Recent research-using mtDNA to analyze the phylogeny of this genus has been done. What researchers found was that the black and white plumage of genus Leucopternis has evolved at least twice, and the widespread occurrence of this plumage pattern may result from plumage convergence in forested habitats. In classical taxonomy, the black and white plumage pattern was overemphasized in the grouping of Leucopternis and plumage patterns alone may not be reliable taxonomic markers in this family. Studies... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 10 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 13 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aviario Nacional de Colombia | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Parque Cóndor | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Barred Hawk sighting in Chirripó National Park on a given day, based on 41 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 203rd most-seen of the 332 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Barred Hawk in Chirripó National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–July and September–December, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Barred Hawk sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Barred Hawk sightings, Chirripó National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park (Colombia, about 20%), Poás Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (Costa Rica, under 5%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Barred Hawk that you can see in Chirripó National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Broad-winged Hawk (about 20%), Roadside Hawk (about 10%) and American Swallow-tailed Kite (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Barred Hawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Chirripó National Park (41 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.
