Campephilus guatemalensis
Silhouette: Arthur A. Allen (modified) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The pale-billed woodpecker (Campephilus guatemalensis) is a species of woodpecker of the genus Campephilus. It is found from Mexico to Panama. The pale-billed woodpecker is 35.5 to 38 cm (14 to 15 in) long. Both sexes of the nominate subspecies have black upperparts from nape to rump. They have vertical white or buffy white stripes on the sides of their neck that continue onto their back and nearly or fully form a "V". Their tail is dull brown with dull olive-brown on the underside of the outer feathers. Their wings are black except for the outer primaries, whose upper surface has dull brown outer webs above and are greenish olive-yellow below. Their throat and upper breast are black and the rest of their underparts light yellowish buff with narrow black bars. Their bill is a long ivory yellow chisel, their iris light cream-buff, and their legs... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Pale-billed Woodpecker sighting in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, based on 504 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 277 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Pale-billed Woodpecker in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, against about 30% in January, March, June, August and November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pale-billed Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 34
Of the 34 parks where we can rate Pale-billed Woodpecker sightings, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Tikal National Park (Guatemala, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Pale-billed Woodpecker that you can see in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Golden-fronted Woodpecker (about 20%), Smoky-brown Woodpecker (about 20%) and Black-cheeked Woodpecker (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pale-billed Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (504 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
