Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush

Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush

Catharus gracilirostris

Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
at Irazú Volcano National Park

In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%

479 Verified sightings at Irazú Volcano National Park From 2019 to 2026
11,244 In all 8 parks
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush

The black-billed nightingale-thrush (Catharus gracilirostris) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes and allies. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The black-billed nightingale-thrush was originally described in 1865 with its current binomial Catharus gracilirostris.

The black-billed nightingale's further taxonomy is unsettled. The Clements taxonomy recognizes two by including bensoni within accentor. This article follows the three-subspecies model. The black-billed nightingale-thrush is about 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighs about 20 g (0.71 oz) The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a slate-gray forecrown, an olive-brown crown, and a slate-gray face. Their upperparts, wings, and the upper side of their tail are olive-brown. Their throat is whitish, the middle of their lower belly light gray to whitish, and the rest of their underparts slate-gray with an olivaceous... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:37

Costa Rica · 2024

© Johan Chaves · XC891993 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call1:30

Costa Rica · 2019

© Odirlei Vieira da Fonseca · XC498300 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:42

Costa Rica · 2010

© Peter Boesman · XC274290 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Irazú Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~60%
2 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~50%
3 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~40%
4 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
5 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
6 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
7 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
8 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush in Irazú Volcano National Park?

Likely

About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush sighting in Irazú Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 479 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 12th most-seen of the 121 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.

When is the best time to see a Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush in Irazú Volcano National Park?

June and October

In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush in Irazú Volcano National Park on a given day, against about 30% in January and February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where does the Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Irazú Volcano National Park (479 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.

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