Selasphorus flammula
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The volcano hummingbird (Selasphorus flammula) is a species of hummingbird in tribe Mellisugini of subfamily Trochilinae, the "bee hummingbirds". It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. This hummingbird is the one that appears on the 20 thousand colones bill from Costa Rica.
All three have at times been treated as color morphs rather than subspecies and at other times as individual species. The volcano hummingbird is 7.5 to 8 cm (3.0 to 3.1 in) long. Males weigh about 2.5 g (0.088 oz) and females 2.8 g (0.099 oz). Both sexes of all subspecies have a short, straight, black bill and a small white spot behind the eye. The adult male of the nominate subspecies has bronze-green upperparts and rufous-edged black outer tail feathers. Its gorget is mauve-purple and the rest of the underparts mostly white. The sides of the breast have a buffy to pale cinnamon wash and green speckles. The adult female is also bronze-green above. Its central tail feathers are green and the rest have rufous bases, a black band near the end, and buffy to white... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Volcano Hummingbird sighting in La Amistad International Park (Panama) on a given day, based on 568 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 255th 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 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Volcano Hummingbird in La Amistad International Park (Panama) on a given day, against under 5% in April to January, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Volcano Hummingbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Volcano Hummingbird sightings, La Amistad International Park (Panama) ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Irazú Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 90%), Los Quetzales National Park (Costa Rica, about 80%) and Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (Costa Rica, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Volcano Hummingbird is recorded against all the birds logged in La Amistad International Park (Panama) (568 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.
