Southern Yellowthroat

Southern Yellowthroat

Geothlypis velata

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Serra da Canastra National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

101 Verified sightings at Serra da Canastra National Park From 2019 to 2026
2,271 In all 14 parks
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Southern Yellowthroat

The southern yellowthroat (Geothlypis velata) is a species of bird in the family Parulidae, the New World warblers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The southern yellowthroat was formally described in 1809 with the binomial Sylvia velata, mistakenly classing it with the Old World warblers.

The southern yellowthroat's taxonomy is not yet resolved. Well into the twenty-first century it was treated as a subspecies of the masked yellowthroat (Geothlypis aequinoctialis). In 2015 the IOC recognized it again as a full species and in 2022 the Clements taxonomy followed suit. The initial version of AviList in 2025 also treats it as a species. However, as of late 2025 and early 2026, respectively, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) and the South American Classification Committee retain it as a subspecies of the masked yellowthroat.

The southern yellowthroat is 13 to 14.3 cm (5.1 to 5.6 in) long and weighs 11 to 17 g (0.39 to 0.60 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males have a wide black mask from their forehead and forecrown around the eye and including the ear coverts... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:43

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1136832 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:48

Argentina · 2023

© Marcos E. Sosa · XC1018812 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:13

Brazil · 2016

© Mateus G. Santos · XC357645 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
2 El Palmar National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
3 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
4 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
5 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
6 Emas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
7 El Impenetrable National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
8 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
9 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
10 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
11 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
12 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
13 Amboró National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
<5%
14 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
2 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
3 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
4 Rosario 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
5 Campinas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
6 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
7 Santos 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
8 Asuncion 🇵🇾 Paraguay
<5%
9 Belo Horizonte 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
10 Montevideo 🇺🇾 Uruguay
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Southern Yellowthroat in Serra da Canastra National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Yellowthroat sighting in Serra da Canastra National Park on a given day, based on 101 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 99th most-seen of the 294 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Southern Yellowthroat in Serra da Canastra National Park?

October

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Yellowthroat in Serra da Canastra National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Southern Yellowthroat?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Yellowthroat sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Serra da Canastra National Park the best place to see a Southern Yellowthroat?

3rd of 14

Of the 14 parks where we can rate Southern Yellowthroat sightings, Serra da Canastra National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Chapada Diamantina National Park (Brazil, about 30%) and El Palmar National Park (Argentina, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Southern Yellowthroat live in Serra da Canastra National Park?

Same family: Parulidae

The closest relatives of the Southern Yellowthroat that you can see in Serra da Canastra National Park (family Parulidae, New World Warblers) are Golden-crowned Warbler (about 20%), Flavescent Warbler (about 20%) and Tropical Parula (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Southern Yellowthroat sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Southern Yellowthroat is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra da Canastra National Park (101 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.

← Back to Serra da Canastra National Park