Cantorchilus semibadius
Silhouette: Matt Wilkins · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The riverside wren (Cantorchilus semibadius) is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The riverside wren has sometimes been treated as conspecific with bay wren (Cantorchilus nigricapillus) but their plumages are quite different as are DNA analyses. The species is monotypic.
The riverside wren is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 17 g (0.60 oz). The adults have a bright orange-brown crown; chestnut nape, back, and rump; and a blackish tail with buff-white bars. They have a black-over-white supercilium and the rest of the face is streaked and spotted black and white. From throat to vent their underparts are pale gray with narrow black bars; the gray becomes somewhat buffy to the rear. Juveniles are duller overall, have fine black scaling on the crown, and the underparts' black bars are not as crisp.
The riverside wren is found along the Pacific slope from Costa Rica's Gulf of Nicoya into western Panama. It inhabits dense vegetation, preferably along watercourses, swampy edges of woodlands, or on steep precipices. In elevation it ranges from sea level... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Riverside Wren sighting in Chirripó National Park on a given day, based on 153 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 111th most-seen of the 332 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.
October to December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Riverside Wren in Chirripó National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, June and September, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Riverside Wren sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Riverside Wren sightings, Chirripó National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%), Corcovado National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%) and Manuel Antonio National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Riverside Wren is recorded against all the birds logged in Chirripó National Park (153 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.
