Band-tailed Barbthroat

Band-tailed Barbthroat

Threnetes ruckeri

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Piedras Blancas National Park

In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%

831 Verified sightings at Piedras Blancas National Park From 2019 to 2026
3,037 In all 21 parks
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Band-tailed Barbthroat

The band-tailed barbthroat (Threnetes ruckeri) is a medium-sized hummingbird that is found from southeastern Guatemala and Belize to western Ecuador and western Venezuela. The band-tailed barbthroat has the three subspecies listed. A fourth proposed subspecies, T. r. darienensis of the Panama-Colombia border area, shares the characteristics of all three recognized subspecies. The band-tailed barbthroat and the other two members of its genus pale-tailed barbthroat (T. lecurus) and sooty barbthroat (T. niger) form a superspecies.

The band-tailed barbthroat is 10 to 11 cm (3.9 to 4.3 in) long. Males weigh 5.5 to 7 g (0.19 to 0.25 oz) and females 5 to 7 g (0.18 to 0.25 oz).The adult male of the nominate subspecies has bronze-green upperparts, a dark ear patch and chin, and a dusky malar stripe. The tail is dark with white bases and tips to the feathers that create a black band near the end. The throat is ochraceous and the underparts are otherwise gray with some green feathers. It has a nearly straight bill. As with other hermit hummingbirds, the sexes are similar; the female's bill is somewhat more decurved than the male's and the plumage... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:48

Costa Rica · 2024

© Paul Driver · XC954849 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:18

Ecuador · 1995

© Patricio Mena Valenzuela · XC275251 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

?0:47

Colombia · 2008

© Herman van Oosten · XC18160 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
2 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
3 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
4 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
5 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
6 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
7 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
8 Cusuco National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
9 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
10 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
11 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
12 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
13 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
14 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
15 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
16 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
17 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
<5%
18 Pico Bonito National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
19 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
20 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
21 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Band-tailed Barbthroat in Piedras Blancas National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Band-tailed Barbthroat sighting in Piedras Blancas National Park on a given day, based on 831 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 45th most-seen of the 344 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Band-tailed Barbthroat in Piedras Blancas National Park?

January, March–May and July

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Band-tailed Barbthroat in Piedras Blancas National Park on a given day, against about 10% in September, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Band-tailed Barbthroat?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Band-tailed Barbthroat sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Piedras Blancas National Park the best place to see a Band-tailed Barbthroat?

Yes

Of the 21 parks where we can rate Band-tailed Barbthroat sightings, Piedras Blancas National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Corcovado National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Bastimentos Island National Marine Park (Panama, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Band-tailed Barbthroat live in Piedras Blancas National Park?

Same family: Trochilidae

The closest relatives of the Band-tailed Barbthroat that you can see in Piedras Blancas National Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (about 50%), Charming Hummingbird (about 40%) and Long-billed Hermit (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Band-tailed Barbthroat sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Band-tailed Barbthroat is recorded against all the birds logged in Piedras Blancas National Park (831 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.

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