Loriotus luctuosus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The white-shouldered tanager (Loriotus luctuosus) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found from Honduras to Panama, on Trinidad, and in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The white-shouldered tanager was formally described in 1837 with the binomial Tachyphonus luctuosus. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Tachyphonus was polyphyletic. In the subsequent reorganization the genus Loriotus was resurrected for the white-shouldered tanager and two other species. The genus had been introduced in 1821 by the Polish zoologist Feliks Paweł Jarocki.
The IOC, AviList, the Clements taxonomy, and the North and South American Classification Committees have adopted the new genus. However, in 2016 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) instead assigned the white-shouldered tanager and the other two species to the genus Islerothraupis and retains them there as of late 2025. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-shouldered Tanager sighting in Guayaquil on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 144th most-seen of the 167 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-shouldered Tanager in Guayaquil on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months. That is one of Guayaquil's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 220 mm in February.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-shouldered Tanager sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate White-shouldered Tanager sightings, Guayaquil has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Panama City (Panama, under 5%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the White-shouldered Tanager that you can see in Guayaquil (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Blue-gray Tanager (about 90%), Saffron Finch (about 70%) and Variable Seedeater (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-shouldered Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Guayaquil (9 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.
