Colinus leucopogon
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The spot-bellied bobwhite (Colinus leucopogon) is a ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. It is sometimes considered to be conspecific with the crested bobwhite, Colinus cristatus. As the latter species expands north into Costa Rica, it is likely that the two species will overlap in range in the future, but the Costa Rican subspecies of the spot-bellied is the least similar to the crested.
The spot-bellied bobwhite is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica in open savanna with bushes and trees and other open woodland. This species is 22–24 cm long and shows geographically variable male plumage amongst its six subspecies. All forms have a brown back with black spotting on the nape. The head has a white supercilium, a dark line through the eye, a white or brown throat and a short crest. The lower belly is spotted but the rest of the underparts are pale, entirely spotted, or spotted with a rufous chest depending on the subspecies. The male weighs 140 g on average. The female is duller than the male with a buff supercilium and mottled throat; her average weight is 115 g.
The song, most often given by males in spring and summer... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celaque National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | La Tigra National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Masaya Volcano National Park | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 8 | Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 9 | Las Baulas Marine National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spot-bellied Bobwhite sighting in Palo Verde National Park on a given day, based on 107 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 114th most-seen of the 274 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June, August and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spot-bellied Bobwhite in Palo Verde National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to March, the lowest months. Those are among Palo Verde National Park's wettest months, with about 390 mm of rain a month against almost none in February.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spot-bellied Bobwhite sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Spot-bellied Bobwhite sightings, Palo Verde National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Celaque National Park (Honduras, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spot-bellied Bobwhite is recorded against all the birds logged in Palo Verde National Park (107 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.
