Tigrisoma mexicanum
Silhouette: Mannheim Reinhard Jahn (photograph) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The bare-throated tiger heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum) is a wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, found from Mexico to northwestern Colombia, with one recorded sighting from the United States in Hidalgo County, Texas. It is 80 cm (31 in) in length and weighs 1,200 g (42 oz).
This large species is found in more open habitats than other Tigrisoma herons, such as river and lake banks. It waits often motionless for suitable prey such as fish, frogs or crabs to come within reach of its long bill.
This is a solitary breeder, not normally found in heron colonies. The nest is a small flattish stick platform in a tree into which 2–3 green-tinged white eggs are laid. The throat is bare and is greenish-yellow to orange in all plumages. The adult has black crown and light grey sides of the head, the sides of the neck and the upperparts otherwise blackish narrowly barred buff. The median stripe down the fore-neck is white-bordered with black; the remaining underparts are dull cinnamon brown. The juvenile is buff coarsely barred with black, more mottled and vermiculated on wings; the throat, median underparts, and belly are whitish.
The flight is heavy, and the call is a hoarse... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | Barranquilla | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aviario Nacional de Colombia | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Zoológico Thomas Belt | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 4 | Tracy Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 6 | International Animal Rescue – Costa Rica | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bare-throated Tiger Heron sighting in Santa Rosa National Park on a given day, based on 84 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 80th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Bare-throated Tiger Heron in Santa Rosa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, the lowest month.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bare-throated Tiger Heron sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
15th of 35
Of the 35 parks where we can rate Bare-throated Tiger Heron sightings, Santa Rosa National Park ranks 15th at about 10%. The best odds are in Palo Verde National Park (Costa Rica, about 70%), Tortuguero National Park (Costa Rica, about 60%) and Carara National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Ardeidae
The closest relatives of the Bare-throated Tiger Heron that you can see in Santa Rosa National Park (family Ardeidae, Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) are Snowy Egret (about 10%), Great Egret (about 10%) and Green Heron (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bare-throated Tiger Heron is recorded against all the birds logged in Santa Rosa National Park (84 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.
