Sapajus apella
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The tufted capuchin (Sapajus apella), also known as brown capuchin, black-capped capuchin, or pin monkey, is a New World primate from South America and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. The tufted capuchin is omnivorous, mostly feeding on fruits and invertebrates, although it sometimes feeds on small vertebrates (e.g. lizards and bird chicks) and other plant parts. It can be found in many different kinds of environment, including moist tropical and subtropical forest, dry forest, and disturbed or secondary forest.
Like other capuchins, it is a social animal, forming groups of 8 to 15 individuals that are led by an alpha or dominant male. At one point, all tufted capuchins were classified as Cebus apella. Under such taxonomy, the range of C. apella would extend throughout much of South America from Colombia to northern Argentina. Although she did not describe specific or subspecific nomenclature, Torres de Assumpção (1983; 1988) described differences between tufted capuchins from five distinct geographic regions of Brazil and high phenotypic variation of individuals in a sixth area that had a greater selection pressure. In 2001, Silva Júnior... Wikipedia →
Call0:16
French Guiana · 2020
© Brice de la Croix · XC984449 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:20
Bolivia · 2026
© Betty Flores Llampa · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:26
Brazil · 2022
© Gustavo Gonsioroski · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Capuchin sighting in Manu National Park on a given day, based on 151 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 42 mammals 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.
January, March, June–August and November
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Capuchin in Manu National Park on a given day, against about 30% in April, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Capuchin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Brown Capuchin sightings, Manu National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Tambopata National Reserve (Peru, about 50%).
Same family: Cebidae
The closest relatives of the Brown Capuchin that you can see in Manu National Park (family Cebidae, Cebid Monkeys) are Black-capped Squirrel Monkey (about 50%) and Shock-headed Capuchin (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown Capuchin is recorded against all the mammals logged in Manu National Park (151 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.
