Myioborus melanocephalus
Silhouette: Sam Jones · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The spectacled whitestart or spectacled redstart (Myioborus melanocephalus) is a species of bird in the family Parulidae, the New World warblers. It is found from Colombia to Bolivia. The spectacled whitestart was formally described in 1844 with the binomial Setophaga melanocephala, from a type specimen collected in Maraynioc, Peru. It forms a monophyletic clade with the golden-fronted whitestart (M. ornatus) and white-fronted whitestart (M. albifrons). Some authors have suggested that the spectacled and golden-fronted whitestarts should be treated as conspecific. The ranges of the northernmost spectacled and southernmost golden-fronted overlap and intermediate types and hybrids have been recorded. They are sister species.
As of July 2026, taxonomists recognize these five subspecies of the spectacled whitestart: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quito | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Spectacled Redstart sighting in Quito on a given day, based on 45 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 83rd most-seen of the 167 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 November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spectacled Redstart in Quito on a given day, against under 5% in February–October and December, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spectacled Redstart sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Quito, in our data
Quito is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Spectacled Redstart sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spectacled Redstart is recorded against all the birds logged in Quito (45 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.
