Basileuterus melanotis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The black-eared warbler or Costa Rican warbler (Basileuterus melanotis) is a species of bird in the family Parulidae, the New World warblers. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The black-eared warbler was formally described in 1868 with its current binomial Basileuterus melanotis. For much of the twentieth century it was treated as a subspecies of the three-striped warbler (M. tristriatus). It and other subspecies were recognized as full species based on studies published in 2012 and 2014.
The black-eared warbler is monotypic. The black-eared warbler is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a buff-orange crown stripe, a long and wide black stripe below it, and a long pale grayish white supercilium with a buff tinge below that. Their lores and ear coverts are blackish and they have a pale buffy white arc under the eye. Their ear coverts have pale yellow bottom and rear edges. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are olive-gray. Their throat is whitish that becomes mostly pale olive-buff on the breast and a yellower olive-buff on the belly. The sides of their breast and their flanks have an olive-gray... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Costa Rican Warbler sighting in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, based on 110 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 309th most-seen of the 467 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Costa Rican Warbler in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Costa Rican Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Costa Rican Warbler sightings, Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (Costa Rica, about 30%), Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Chirripó National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Costa Rican Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (110 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.
