Hemithraupis flavicollis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The yellow-backed tanager (Hemithraupis flavicollis) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Panama and every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The yellow-backed tanager was formally described in 1818 by Louis Pierre Vieillot with the binomial Nemosia flavicollis. By 1912 it had been reassigned to its current genus Hemithraupis. The genus name Hemithraupis combines the Ancient Greek words hēmi, meaning "half" or "small" and thraupis, which refers to an unidentified small bird mentioned by Aristotle. In ornithology, it is typically used to refer to tanagers. The specific epithet flavicollis is derived from Latin, meaning "yellow-necked".
The yellow-backed tanager has these 11 subspecies: The yellow-backed tanager is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs 11 to 15 g (0.39 to 0.53 oz). It is a smallish tanager with a relatively slender bill. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies H. f. flavicollis have a mostly brownish black head and upper back. Their lower back and rump are bright yellow. Their uppertail coverts... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 7 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niterói | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-backed Tanager sighting in Darién National Park on a given day, based on 72 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 90th most-seen of the 397 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-backed Tanager in Darién National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February and October, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-backed Tanager 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 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Yellow-backed Tanager sightings, Darién National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 50%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Yellow-backed Tanager that you can see in Darién National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Bananaquit (about 30%), Bay-headed Tanager (about 20%) and Blue Dacnis (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-backed Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Darién National Park (72 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.
