Capped Heron

Capped Heron

Pilherodius pileatus

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Asuncion

In 3 days <5%

11 Verified sightings at Asuncion
3,590 In all 10 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Capped Heron

The capped heron (Pilherodius pileatus) is a water bird endemic to the neotropics, inhabiting rainforest from the center of Panama to the south of Brazil. It is the only species of the genus Pilherodius, and one of the least known of the heron family, Ardeidae. It is superficially similar to the group of the night herons, but is active during daytime or at twilight.

The capped heron was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Ardea pileata in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The capped heron is now the only species placed in the genus Pilherodius that was erected by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1853. The genus name combines the Ancient... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:37

Brazil · 2005

© Peter Boesman · XC228070 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
2 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
~30%
3 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~20%
4 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~20%
5 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
~20%
6 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
7 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
8 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
9 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
10 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Goiânia 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
2 Campo Grande 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 Asuncion 🇵🇾 Paraguay
<5%
4 Valencia 🇻🇪 Venezuela
<5%
5 Panama City 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens 🇨🇳 China In captivity
2 Edward Youde Aviary 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Capped Heron in Asuncion?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Capped Heron sighting in Asuncion on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 190th most-seen of the 224 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Capped Heron in Asuncion?

June

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Capped Heron in Asuncion on a given day, against under 5% in July to May, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Capped Heron?

Between 3 and 6 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Capped Heron sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Asuncion the best place to see a Capped Heron?

Among the best

Of the 5 cities where we can rate Capped Heron sightings, Asuncion ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Goiânia (Brazil, under 5%) and Campo Grande (Brazil, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Capped Heron live in Asuncion?

Same family: Ardeidae

The closest relatives of the Capped Heron that you can see in Asuncion (family Ardeidae, Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) are Great Egret (about 30%), Snowy Egret (about 20%) and Striated Heron (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Capped Heron sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Capped Heron is recorded against all the birds logged in Asuncion (11 verified sightings), 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.

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