Heliomaster constantii
Silhouette: Cristian Gutierrez-Ibanez · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The plain-capped starthroat (Heliomaster constantii) is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems", tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from Mexico to Costa Rica. The plain-capped starthroat is 11 to 13 cm (4.3 to 5.1 in) long. Males weigh about 7.4 g (0.26 oz) and females about 7.2 g (0.25 oz). Both sexes of all subspecies have a long, almost straight, black bill and a white streak behind the eye. The sexes have essentially the same plumage.
The nominate subspecies has metallic bronze green upperparts with a wide white streak on the rump; the crown is less metallic than the rest. Much of the face is dusky, with a wide white "moustache". The chin is sooty to blackish and the gorget ranges from several shades of bright metallic red to purplish red. The underparts are browish gray with a white belly. The undertail coverts are pale gray with wide white tips. The flanks have a large tuft of white feathers. The central pair of tail feathers are bronze green with dusky ends and the rest bronze green... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cañón del Sumidero National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Las Baulas Marine National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Ostional Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | La Tigra National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 9 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Masaya Volcano National Park | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 11 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | |
| 3 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Plain-capped Starthroat sighting in Ostional Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 129th most-seen of the 182 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.
March, October and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Plain-capped Starthroat in Ostional Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, April–September and November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Plain-capped Starthroat 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 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Plain-capped Starthroat sightings, Ostional Wildlife Refuge ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Cañón del Sumidero National Park (Mexico, about 20%), Santa Rosa National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Las Baulas Marine National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Plain-capped Starthroat that you can see in Ostional Wildlife Refuge (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Cinnamon Hummingbird (about 20%), Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (about 20%) and Canivet's Emerald (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Plain-capped Starthroat is recorded against all the birds logged in Ostional Wildlife Refuge (22 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.
