Cantorchilus semibadius
Silhouette: Matt Wilkins · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The riverside wren (Cantorchilus semibadius) is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The riverside wren has sometimes been treated as conspecific with bay wren (Cantorchilus nigricapillus) but their plumages are quite different as are DNA analyses. The species is monotypic.
The riverside wren is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 17 g (0.60 oz). The adults have a bright orange-brown crown; chestnut nape, back, and rump; and a blackish tail with buff-white bars. They have a black-over-white supercilium and the rest of the face is streaked and spotted black and white. From throat to vent their underparts are pale gray with narrow black bars; the gray becomes somewhat buffy to the rear. Juveniles are duller overall, have fine black scaling on the crown, and the underparts' black bars are not as crisp.
The riverside wren is found along the Pacific slope from Costa Rica's Gulf of Nicoya into western Panama. It inhabits dense vegetation, preferably along watercourses, swampy edges of woodlands, or on steep precipices. In elevation it ranges from sea level... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Riverside Wren sighting in Corcovado National Park on a given day, based on 1,600 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 332 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, August and December
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Riverside Wren in Corcovado National Park on a given day, against about 30% in October, the lowest month.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Riverside Wren sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Riverside Wren sightings, Corcovado National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Riverside Wren is recorded against all the birds logged in Corcovado National Park (1,600 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.
