Catharus gracilirostris
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
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 →
| # | 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 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush sighting in Los Quetzales National Park on a given day, based on 4,660 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 21st most-seen of the 252 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and May–September
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush in Los Quetzales National Park on a given day, against about 40% in April and October–January, the lowest months.
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.
2nd of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush sightings, Los Quetzales National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%. The best odds are in Irazú Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Catharus
The closest relatives of the Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush that you can see in Los Quetzales National Park (genus Catharus, Brown Thrushes and Nightingale-Thrushes) are Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush (about 40%) and Swainson's Thrush (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Quetzales National Park (4,660 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.
