Phaeochroa cuvierii
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The scaly-breasted hummingbird or scaly-breasted sabrewing (Phaeochroa cuvierii) is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Most major taxonomic systems place the scaly-breasted hummingbird by itself in genus Phaeochroa. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) places it in the large genus Campylopterus and calls it the scaly-breasted sabrewing. All but HBW follow the findings of a 2014 study that found Campylpterus to be polyphyletic and resulted in the move of several species to other genera.
The worldwide systems agree that the scaly-breasted hummingbird has these six subspecies: The scaly-breasted hummingbird is 11.5 to 13 cm (4.5 to 5.1 in) long and weighs about 8 to 10 g (0.28 to 0.35 oz). All of the subspecies... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Scaly-breasted Hummingbird sighting in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, based on 67 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 159th most-seen of the 277 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–May, August and November–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Scaly-breasted Hummingbird in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, against under 5% in January, June–July and September–October, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Scaly-breasted Hummingbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 29
Of the 29 parks where we can rate Scaly-breasted Hummingbird sightings, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary ranks 10th at about 10%. The best odds are in Arenal Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%), Tenorio Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%) and Carara National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Scaly-breasted Hummingbird that you can see in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (about 60%), Stripe-throated Hermit (about 40%) and Long-billed Hermit (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Scaly-breasted Hummingbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (67 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.
