Neocrex erythrops
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The paint-billed crake (Mustelirallus erythrops) is a species of bird in the subfamily Rallinae of the rail, crake, and coot family Rallidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
The paint-billed crake was initially placed in genus Porzana and later moved to genus Neocrex to join the Colombian crake (N. colombiana). The two have been sometimes been considered conspecific. In 2015 the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and the Clements taxonomy moved both species to genus Mustelirallus. In 2023 the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) moved them to genus Mustelirallus. However, the North American Classification Committee of AOS (NACC), and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) retain them in Neocrex.
This article uses the IOC/NACC/HBW genus. The paint-billed crake is 18 to 20 cm (7.1 to 7.9 in) long and weighs about 40 to 70 g (1.4 to 2.5 oz). One specimen had... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Paint-billed Crake sighting in Palo Verde National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 218th most-seen of the 274 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Paint-billed Crake in Palo Verde National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Palo Verde National Park's wettest months, with about 300 mm of rain against almost none in February.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Paint-billed Crake 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 Paint-billed Crake sightings, Palo Verde National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Galápagos Islands (Ecuador, under 5%).
Same family: Rallidae
The closest relatives of the Paint-billed Crake that you can see in Palo Verde National Park (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are American Purple Gallinule (about 40%), Common Moorhen (about 10%) and Sora (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Paint-billed Crake is recorded against all the birds logged in Palo Verde National Park (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.
