Steatornis caripensis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The oilbird (Steatornis caripensis), locally known as the guácharo, is a bird species found in the northern areas of South America including the Caribbean island of Trinidad. It is the only living species in the genus Steatornis, the family Steatornithidae, and the order Steatornithiformes. Nesting in colonies in caves, oilbirds are nocturnal feeders on the fruits of the oil palm and tropical laurels. They are the only nocturnal flying fruit-eating birds in the world (the kākāpō, also nocturnal, is flightless). They forage at night, with specially adapted eyesight. However, they navigate by echolocation in the same way as bats, one of the few birds to do so. They produce a high-pitched clicking sound of around 2 kHz that is audible to humans.
Oilbirds are related to the nightjars, both being in Strisores, and were previously placed alongside nightjars in the order Caprimulgiformes. However, the nightjars and their relatives are insectivores while the oilbird is a specialist frugivore, and it is now deemed sufficiently distinctive to be placed in its own order Steatornithiformes, suborder Steatornithes, and family Steatornithidae.
The specific name caripensis... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama |
No species of the same family or order lives in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Oilbird sighting in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 371st most-seen of the 412 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Oilbird in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oilbird 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 Oilbird sightings, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Corcovado National Park (Costa Rica, under 5%) and Parque Natural Metropolitano (Panama, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oilbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (38 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.
