Geothlypis velata
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | El Palmar National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 5 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Emas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | El Impenetrable National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 8 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 9 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 11 | Chapada dos Guimarães National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 12 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 13 | Amboró National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 14 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Rosario | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 5 | Campinas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Santos | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 9 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Yellowthroat sighting in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 216th most-seen of the 336 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, March, May and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Yellowthroat in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, April, June–August and October–December, the lowest months.
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.
10th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Southern Yellowthroat sightings, Serra dos Órgãos National Park ranks 10th at under 5%. The best odds are in Chapada Diamantina National Park (Brazil, about 30%), El Palmar National Park (Argentina, about 20%) and Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 20%).
Same family: Parulidae
The closest relatives of the Southern Yellowthroat that you can see in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (family Parulidae, New World Warblers) are Golden-crowned Warbler (about 40%), White-browed Warbler (about 20%) and Tropical Parula (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Yellowthroat is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (28 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.
