Thryorchilus browni
Silhouette: Matt Wilkins · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The timberline wren (Thryorchilus browni) is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Costa Rica and western Panama. The timberline wren is the only member of genus Thryorchilus, but its taxonomy at the subspecies level is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) considers it to be monotypic. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Birds of the World lists three subspecies, but notes that this treatment is disputed and that timberline wren should be "perhaps better considered monotypic." The Clements taxonomy and the Handbook of Birds of the World list the same three subspecies without comment.
The timberline wren is 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs 14 g (0.49 oz). The adult of the nominate subspecies has rich chestnut brown crown and upperparts and a reddish brown tail with thin dark bars. It has a broad gray-white supercilium, a chocolate brown stripe behind the eye, and grayish cheeks with narrow black markings. Its throat and chest are grayish white, its upper belly a mottled grayish white... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Timberline Wren sighting in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, based on 1,618 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 58th most-seen of the 467 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.
July and December–April
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Timberline Wren in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, against about 10% in May–June and August–November, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Timberline Wren 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 Timberline Wren sightings, Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Irazú Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%).
Same family: Troglodytidae
The closest relatives of the Timberline Wren that you can see in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (family Troglodytidae, Wrens) are Gray-breasted Wood-Wren (about 30%), Southern House Wren (about 10%) and Ochraceous Wren (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Timberline Wren is recorded against all the birds logged in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (1,618 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.
