Laniocera rufescens
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The speckled mourner (Laniocera rufescens) is a species of bird in the family Tityridae. It is found in Mexico, in every Central American country except El Salvador, and in Colombia and Ecuador. The speckled mourner was originally described in 1858 as Lipaugus rufescens, placing it in the family Cotingidae. It was later reassigned to genus Laniocera that Lesson had erected in 1841. Well into the twentieth century authors variously placed that genus in Cotingidae, the manakin family Pipridae, or the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. Several early twenty-first century studies confirmed the placement of Laniocera in Tityridae and taxonomic systems made the reassignment. In 1998 the American Ornithological Society was unsure where to place the genus and listed its members as incertae sedis but in 2011 moved them to Tityridae.
The speckled mourner shares genus Laniocera with the cinereous mourner (L. hypopyrra) and the two form a superspecies. The speckled mourner is 19 to 21.5... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | Pico Bonito National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Mourner sighting in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 202nd most-seen of the 240 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Mourner in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in July to April, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Speckled Mourner sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Speckled Mourner sightings, Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Darién National Park (Panama, about 10%).
Same family: Cotingidae
The closest relatives of the Speckled Mourner that you can see in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (family Cotingidae, Cotingas) are Masked Tityra (about 30%), Russet-winged Schiffornis (about 20%) and Rufous Piha (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Speckled Mourner is recorded against all the birds logged in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (12 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.
