White-throated Spadebill

White-throated Spadebill

Platyrinchus mystaceus

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at São Paulo

In 3 days <5%

24 Verified sightings at São Paulo
3,420 In all 21 parks From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the White-throated Spadebill

The white-throated spadebill (Platyrinchus mystaceus) is a tiny passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, on Trinidad and Tobago, and in every mainland South American country except Chile, French Guiana, Uruguay, and Suriname.

The white-throated spadebill's taxonomy has not been settled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), the Clements taxonomy, and the American Ornithological Society (AOS) assign it these 14 subspecies: However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) treats the first five subspecies as the "western white-throated spadebill" (P. albogularis) and the other nine as the "eastern white-throated spadebill" (P. mystaceus). One author who advocates the two-species model calls them respectively the "white-throated" and "yellow-crested" spadebills. The Clements taxonomy and the AOS partition the subspecies as the albogularis and mystaceus groups within the species.

What is now the stub-tailed spadebill (P. cancrominus) was treated by several early twentieth century authors as another subspecies of P. mystaceus. This article follows the one species... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:20

Argentina · 2026

© Faustino Hollmann · XC1176794 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:33

Brazil · 2023

© Franciel da Silva Lima · XC1138033 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Alarm call0:30

Brazil · 2012

© Fernando Igor de Godoy · XC299011 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
2 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
3 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
4 Main Ridge Forest Reserve 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
~10%
5 Emas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
6 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
7 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
8 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
9 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
10 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
11 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
12 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
13 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
14 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
15 Henri Pittier National Park 🇻🇪 Venezuela
<5%
16 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
17 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
18 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
19 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
20 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
21 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
2 Campo Grande 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a White-throated Spadebill in São Paulo?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-throated Spadebill sighting in São Paulo on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 269th most-seen of the 353 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 White-throated Spadebill in São Paulo?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-throated Spadebill in São Paulo on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a White-throated Spadebill?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-throated Spadebill 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 São Paulo the best place to see a White-throated Spadebill?

Among the best

Of the 3 cities where we can rate White-throated Spadebill sightings, São Paulo ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Curitiba (Brazil, under 5%) and Campo Grande (Brazil, under 5%).

Which relatives of the White-throated Spadebill live in São Paulo?

Same family: Tyrannidae

The closest relatives of the White-throated Spadebill that you can see in São Paulo (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (over 90%), Tropical Kingbird (about 30%) and Boat-billed Flycatcher (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the White-throated Spadebill sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the White-throated Spadebill is recorded against all the birds logged in São Paulo (24 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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