Psarocolius montezuma
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The Montezuma oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma) is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in the Caribbean coastal lowlands from southeastern Mexico to central Panama, but is absent from El Salvador and southern Guatemala. It also occurs on the Pacific slope of Nicaragua and Honduras and northwestern and southwestern Costa Rica. It is among the oropendola species sometimes separated in the genus Gymnostinops. The English and scientific names of this species commemorate the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II.
Adult males are mainly chestnut with a blackish head and rump, and a tail which is bright yellow apart from two dark central feathers. There is a bare blue cheek patch and a pink wattle, the iris is brown, and the long bill is black at the base with a red tip. Females are similar, but smaller than males with a smaller wattle. Young birds are duller than adults and have a paler and less demarcated bill. No subspecies are currently recognized.
The sexes are very different in size; the male is 50 cm (20 in) long and weighs 520 g (18 oz); the smaller female is 38 cm (15 in) long and weighs 230 g (8.1 oz). In total body mass, the males are 100% bigger... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Paz Waterfall Gardens | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Montezuma Oropendola sighting in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 195 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 240 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Montezuma Oropendola in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against about 30% in April and May, the lowest months. That is one of Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve's driest months, with about 80 mm of rain against 370 mm in June.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Montezuma Oropendola sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 31
Of the 31 parks where we can rate Montezuma Oropendola sightings, Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve ranks 10th at about 50%. The best odds are in Pico Bonito National Park (Honduras, about 80%), Tortuguero National Park (Costa Rica, about 80%) and Lago de Yojoa (Honduras, about 80%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Icteridae
The closest relatives of the Montezuma Oropendola that you can see in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (family Icteridae, New World Blackbirds and Orioles) are Melodious Blackbird (about 50%), Great-tailed Grackle (about 40%) and Yellow-billed Cacique (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Montezuma Oropendola is recorded against all the birds logged in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (195 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.
