Common Wood-Nymph

Common Wood-Nymph

Cercyonis pegala

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Chicago

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

54 Verified sightings at Chicago
216 In all 11 parks From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Common Wood-Nymph

The common wood-nymph (Cercyonis pegala) is a North American species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is also known as the wood-nymph, grayling, blue-eyed grayling, and the goggle eye. All individuals are brown with two eyespots on each forewing – the lower one often being larger than the upper one. Some may have many, few, or no eyespots on the ventral surface of the hindwing. In the southeastern part of its range, it has a large yellow... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Elk Island National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
2 Isle Royale National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Riding Mountain National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
4 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
11 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Edmonton 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
2 Calgary 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
3 Toronto 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
4 Portland 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
5 Chicago 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
6 Denver 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
7 Washington 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 Boston 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 Montreal 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
10 New York City 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Common Wood-Nymph in Chicago?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Wood-Nymph sighting in Chicago on a given day, based on 54 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 285th most-seen of the 978 insects 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.

When is the best time to see a Common Wood-Nymph in Chicago?

July

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Wood-Nymph in Chicago on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Common Wood-Nymph?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Wood-Nymph sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Chicago the best place to see a Common Wood-Nymph?

5th of 10

Of the 10 cities where we can rate Common Wood-Nymph sightings, Chicago ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Edmonton (Canada, about 10%), Calgary (Canada, about 10%) and Toronto (Canada, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Common Wood-Nymph live in Chicago?

Same family: Nymphalidae

The closest relatives of the Common Wood-Nymph that you can see in Chicago (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Monarch (about 40%), Red Admiral (about 20%) and Pearl Crescent (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Common Wood-Nymph sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Common Wood-Nymph is recorded against all the insects logged in Chicago (54 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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