Tangara arthus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The golden tanager (Tangara arthus) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is widespread and often common in highland forests of the Andes (from Bolivia and northwards) and Venezuelan Coastal Range in north-western South America.
Its plumage is overall golden-yellow with black to the back, wings, tail and ear-coverts. Some subspecies are partially/largely brown below. The golden tanager was first described as Tangara Arthus by René Lesson in 1840 on the basis of a specimen from Caracas, Venezuela. The generic name Tangara comes from the Tupí word tangara, meaning dancer. The specific name arthus is in honor of Arthus Bertrand, a French bookseller. Golden tanager is the official common name designated by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). Other names for the species include "chestnut-breasted tanager".
The golden tanager is one of 27 species in the genus Tangara. Within the genus, it is part of a species group with the blue-whiskered tanager, green-and-gold tanager, emerald tanager, silver-throated tanager, saffron-crowned tanager, golden-eared tanager, and flame-faced tanager. In the group, it is sister to a clade formed by the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 3 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 4 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eindhoven Zoo | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 2 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Golden Tanager sighting in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, based on 610 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 87th most-seen of the 424 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Golden Tanager in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, against under 5% in September, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Golden Tanager sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Golden Tanager sightings, Los Nevados National Natural Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Farallones de Cali National Natural Park (Colombia, about 70%), Henri Pittier National Park (Venezuela, about 30%) and Podocarpus National Park (Ecuador, about 20%).
Same genus: Tangara
The closest relatives of the Golden Tanager that you can see in Los Nevados National Natural Park (genus Tangara, Tangara Tanagers) are Blue-and-black Tanager (about 10%), Beryl-spangled Tanager (about 10%) and Metallic-green Tanager (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Golden Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Nevados National Natural Park (610 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.
