Platyrinchus cancrominus
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The stub-tailed spadebill (Platyrinchus cancrominus) is a passerine bird in the Tyrannidae family. It is commonly found in tropical dry rainforests or tropical moist lowlands throughout Central America. First scientifically described in 1860, it was originally thought to be the same as Platyrinchus mystaceus but was later reclassified as a sympatric species. The stub-tailed spadebill may grow up to 9.5 cm (3.74 in) long and may weigh up to 12 g (0.42 oz). It has a white throat, yellow breast, and brown mantle and wings. The stub-tailed spadebill is most easily recognizable due to its stubby tail, broad bill, and its distinctive bird song. Some morphological differences like its greatly reduced crown differentiate it from other related species.
The stub-tailed spadebill is found in elevation ranges up to 500 m (1,640 ft) above sea level. As an omnivore it feeds on both arthropods such as spiders, beetles, and ants as well as low hanging berries and fruits in the lower strata of the rainforests. While many individuals may live in solitude, pairs that live together often nest in deep cone-shaped nests made with scavenged fibres. Stub-tailed spadebills also engage in mixed-species foraging flocks with other species commonly found in the same habitat. Engaging in this flocking behaviour is still not fully understood and is believed to be done for protection from predation. It is categorized as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tikal National Park | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 2 | Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇧🇿 Belize | |
| 3 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Bastimentos Island National Marine Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | Biotopo Cerro Cahuí | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 8 | El Triunfo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 9 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 11 | Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 12 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 13 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 14 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 15 | Pico Bonito National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Stub-tailed Spadebill sighting in El Triunfo on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 200th most-seen of the 221 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Stub-tailed Spadebill in El Triunfo on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–May and July–November, the lowest months. Those are among El Triunfo's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 420 mm in June. June has too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Stub-tailed 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.
8th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Stub-tailed Spadebill sightings, El Triunfo ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Tikal National Park (Guatemala, about 30%), Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (Belize, about 20%) and Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 20%).
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Stub-tailed Spadebill that you can see in El Triunfo (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Social Flycatcher (about 60%), Dusky-capped Flycatcher (about 50%) and Guatemalan Paltry Tyrannulet (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Stub-tailed Spadebill is recorded against all the birds logged in El Triunfo (7 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.
