Cyanerpes lucidus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The shining honeycreeper (Cyanerpes lucidus) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Mexico, every Central American country except El Salvador, and Colombia. The shining honeycreeper was formally described in 1859 with the binomial Coereba lucida, as a member of a genus now occupied solely by the bananaquit (C. flaveola). It now shares genus Cyanerpes with three other species. Some early twentieth century authors considered it and the purple honeycreeper (C. caeruleus) to be conspecific but they are sympatric in Panama and Colombia.
The shining honeycreeper is 10 to 11 cm (3.9 to 4.3 in) long and weighs an average of about 11 g (0.39 oz). It has a slender, decurved, longish bill and a short tail. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are mostly ultramarine blue. They have a lighter, more azure head with a small black mask from the lores to just past the eye, a black throat and upper breast, and black wings and tail. Adult... Wikipedia →
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leipzig Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Zürich Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 3 | Zoologischer Garten Leipzig | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Shining Honeycreeper sighting in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, based on 47 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 363rd most-seen of the 467 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Shining Honeycreeper in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months. That is one of Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park's wettest months, with about 570 mm of rain against 160 mm in February.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Shining Honeycreeper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
23rd of 25
Of the 25 parks where we can rate Shining Honeycreeper sightings, Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park ranks 23rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Chagres National Park (Panama, about 50%), Bastimentos Island National Marine Park (Panama, about 30%) and Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Shining Honeycreeper that you can see in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Slaty Flowerpiercer (about 40%), Blue-gray Tanager (about 30%) and Silver-throated Tanager (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Shining Honeycreeper is recorded against all the birds logged in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (47 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.
