Glaucidium costaricanum
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The Costa Rican pygmy owl (Glaucidium costaricanum) is a small "typical owl" in subfamily Surniinae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. Initially, the Costa Rican pygmy owl was described as a subspecies of the Andean pygmy owl (G. jardinii); in 2000, the North American Classification Committee (NACC), of what was then the American Ornithologists' Union (now the American Ornithological Society), accepted it as a separate species, with other taxonomic systems following-suit. The Costa Rican pygmy owl is more closely related to the northern pygmy owl complex (G. gnoma sensu lato) than to the Andean. The species is monotypic.
The Costa Rican pygmy owl is around 14.5 to 17 cm (5.7 to 6.7 in) long, with males weighing about 53 to 70 g (1.9 to 2.5 oz), while the larger females weigh as much as 99 g (3.5 oz). Adults have two color morphs; one is mostly brown and the other is rufous. The head and upper body parts are a basal color with lighter, paler spots; the tail is the same color, with four white bands and a white tip. The nape has a pair of blackish spots with pale borders that resemble "eyes" on the back of the head. The breast and belly... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl sighting in La Amistad International Park (Panama) on a given day, based on 271 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 348th most-seen of the 657 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl in La Amistad International Park (Panama) on a given day, against under 5% in May to March, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl sightings, La Amistad International Park (Panama) ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Volcán Barú National Park (Panama, about 10%), Los Quetzales National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Irazú Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in La Amistad International Park (Panama) (271 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.
