Myioborus pictus
Silhouette: Sam Jones · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The painted redstart or painted whitestart (Myioborus pictus) is a species of New World warbler found in mountainous areas across inland Central America. They are among the largest warblers, reaching the length of 6 inches (150 mm), tail included. Adult birds have glossy black plumage, with white strips on the wing and a bright red belly. Female and male birds have similar appearance. Unusually for warblers, females are known to be as proficient at singing as their male counterparts.
When he first described the species in 1829, naturalist William Swainson assigned it to the genus Setophaga — the same genus as that of the American redstart — where it remained for nearly a century and a half, though one naturalist placed it in the Old World flycatcher genus Muscicapa during that time. By the mid 1960s, researchers recommended that it be moved to its current genus, Myioborus, based on various similarities with the other whitestarts. The painted redstart is the sister taxon to all the other species in the genus Myioborus.
There are two subspecies, which differ only slightly in appearance: M. p. pictus is found from Arizona and New Mexico in the southern United States to... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Celaque National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | La Tigra National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Cusuco National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 7 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 3 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Painted Redstart sighting in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 70th most-seen of the 103 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Painted Redstart in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca on a given day, against under 5% in February and October, the lowest months. That is one of Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 270 mm in July. April and June–September have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Painted Redstart 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 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Painted Redstart sightings, Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (Mexico, about 40%), Celaque National Park (Honduras, about 10%) and La Tigra National Park (Honduras, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Painted Redstart is recorded against all the birds logged in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (21 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.
