Cyanocompsa parellina
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The blue bunting (Cyanocompsa parellina) is a species of passerine in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte described the blue bunting in 1850 as Passerina parellina, and then Cyanoloxia parellina. German ornithologist Jean Cabanis defined the genus Cyanocompsa in 1861, giving it its current binomial name.
The blue bunting is the only member of its genus. The nominate subspecies of blue bunting is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long. Males weigh 11 to 24 g (0.39 to 0.85 oz) and females 9.8 to 21 g (0.35 to 0.74 oz). The nominate male is various shades of blue, sky blue on the forehead and cheek, blackish blue on the upperparts, ultramarine on the rump, and the underparts from chin to belly deep blue. The adult and immature females are overall dull brownish, with a reddish tinge to the belly. The immature male is overall... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Tikal National Park | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 4 | Cañón del Sumidero National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Biotopo Cerro Cahuí | 🇬🇹 Guatemala |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xcaret | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Bunting sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 362 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 79th most-seen of the 288 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January to March
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Bunting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in May and July–August, the lowest months. Those are among Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain a month against 230 mm in June.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue Bunting sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Blue Bunting sightings, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 30%).
Same family: Cardinalidae
The closest relatives of the Blue Bunting that you can see in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (family Cardinalidae, Cardinals and Allies) are Summer Tanager (about 20%), Rose-throated Tanager (about 10%) and Northern Cardinal (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue Bunting is recorded against all the birds logged in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (362 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.
