Sporophila corvina
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The variable seedeater (Sporophila corvina) is a passerine bird which breeds from southern Mexico through Central America to the Chocó of northwestern South America. The taxonomy is confusing, and it was formerly considered a subspecies of Sporophila americana (see Taxonomy). Even within the variable seedeater as presently defined, there are great variations in plumage.
The variable seedeater is a small, robust bird with a black conical bill. It is 10.5 cm (4.1 in) long and weighs 11 g (0.39 oz). Adult males are entirely black apart from a small white wing-speculum and white wing linings.
Males resemble males S. c. corvina, but with white half-collar, rump and belly (the rump often intermixed with grey and the flanks retain some black mottling or barring). Males resemble S. c... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 3 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Seedeater sighting in Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 768 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 17th most-seen of the 329 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, May, July and September
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Seedeater in Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against about 20% in December, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Variable Seedeater sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 38
Of the 38 parks where we can rate Variable Seedeater sightings, Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge ranks 5th at about 40%. The best odds are in Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 60%), Chagres National Park (Panama, about 50%) and Bastimentos Island National Marine Park (Panama, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Sporophila
The closest relatives of the Variable Seedeater that you can see in Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge (genus Sporophila, Typical Seedeaters and Seed-Finches) are Thick-billed Seed-Finch (about 10%) and Morelet's Seedeater (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Variable Seedeater is recorded against all the birds logged in Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge (768 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.
