Southern Bentbill

Southern Bentbill

Oncostoma olivaceum

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

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

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

3,693 Verified sightings at Soberanía National Park From 2019 to 2026
4,415 In all 6 parks
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Southern Bentbill

The southern bentbill (Oncostoma olivaceum) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Colombia and Panama. The southern bentbill was originally described in 1862 as Todirostrum olivaceum. It was later moved to genus Oncostoma that Philip Sclater had created that same year.

The southern bentbill is monotypic. It shares genus Oncostoma with the northern bentbill (O. cinereigulare); in the early twentieth century at least one author considered them to be conspecific. The two form a superspecies.

The southern bentbill is about 9 cm (3.5 in) long and weighs about 6 to 7 g (0.21 to 0.25 oz). It has a distinctive fairly thick downcurved bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly olive head with a whitish area above the lores. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are olive. Their wings are dusky with lemon yellow edges on the flight feathers and greenish yellow tips on the coverts; the latter show as two indistinct wing bars. Their tail is dusky olive. Their throat and breast are yellowish white with olive streaks, their belly yellow, and their flanks olive-yellow with some olive... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:31

Colombia · 2010

© Alonso Quevedo · XC504554 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:07

Panama · 2017

© Kent Livezey · XC373603 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:19

Panama · 2019

© Jerome Fischer · XC454081 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
2 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
3 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
4 Tayrona National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
5 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
6 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Panama City 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Southern Bentbill in Soberanía National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Bentbill sighting in Soberanía National Park on a given day, based on 3,693 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 52nd most-seen of the 449 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 Southern Bentbill in Soberanía National Park?

April–May and October

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Bentbill in Soberanía National Park on a given day, against about 30% in June–September and November–March, the lowest months.

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

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Bentbill 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 Soberanía National Park the best place to see a Southern Bentbill?

Yes

Of the 6 parks where we can rate Southern Bentbill sightings, Soberanía National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come San Lorenzo Protected Forest (Panama, about 30%) and Parque Natural Metropolitano (Panama, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Southern Bentbill live in Soberanía National Park?

Same family: Tyrannidae

The closest relatives of the Southern Bentbill that you can see in Soberanía National Park (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Tropical Kingbird (about 60%), Social Flycatcher (about 50%) and Great Kiskadee (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Southern Bentbill sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Southern Bentbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Soberanía National Park (3,693 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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