Piranga leucoptera
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The white-winged tanager (Piranga leucoptera) is a medium-sized American songbird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found from Mexico, through Central America, across northern South America and as far south as Bolivia.
The white-winged tanager and the other species of genus Piranga were originally placed in the family Thraupidae, the "true" tanagers. Since approximately 2008 they have been placed in their current family. It and the red-headed tanager (Piranga erythrocephala) have sometimes been placed in genus Spermagra.
The white-winged tanager is approximately 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs 13 to 20 g (0.46 to 0.71 oz). The nominate male is mostly red, with a black "mask" and black wings with white wing bars. The female is dull olive-yellow, but retains the black wings and white wing bars. The juvenile is similar to the female, but duller. The male P. l. latifasciata is darker red and the female a more intense yellow; both sexes have broader... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amboró National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | El Triunfo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 7 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 9 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 11 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 13 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 14 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 2 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leipzig Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Zoologischer Garten Leipzig | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Wolfgang-Köhler-Primaten-Forschungszentrum | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-winged Tanager sighting in Los Quetzales National Park on a given day, based on 87 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 144th most-seen of the 252 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-winged Tanager in Los Quetzales National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-winged Tanager sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate White-winged Tanager sightings, Los Quetzales National Park ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in Amboró National Park (Bolivia, about 30%), El Triunfo (Mexico, about 30%) and Volcán Barú National Park (Panama, about 10%).
Same genus: Piranga
The closest relatives of the White-winged Tanager that you can see in Los Quetzales National Park (genus Piranga, Piranga Tanagers) are Flame-colored Tanager (about 70%) and Summer Tanager (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-winged Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Quetzales National Park (87 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.
