Selenidera spectabilis
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The yellow-eared toucanet (Selenidera spectabilis) is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found from Honduras to Ecuador. Despite its placement in genus Selenidera, the yellow-eared toucanet might be more closely related to the mountain toucans of genus Andigena. It is monotypic.
The yellow-eared toucanet is 36 to 38 cm (14 to 15 in) long and weighs 175 to 245 g (6.2 to 8.6 oz). It is the largest and most distinctively plumaged member of its genus. Males and females have the same bill pattern but the female's bill is shorter. The bill has a vertical black line at its base. The maxilla is yellow with a triangle of olive brown below it narrowing from the base and horn-colored tips on the tomium. The mandible is dark olive to brownish black. Adult males have a black cap that extends down the hindneck, blue to green bare skin around the eye, and a large yellow tuft that extends back behind the eye. Their back and uppertail coverts are green and their tail blackish. They are black from their chin to their belly with a yellow patch on the flank, chestnut thighs, and red undertail coverts. Adult females have a chestnut... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Utría National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Pico Bonito National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 10 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 11 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-eared Toucanet sighting in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, based on 228 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 262nd most-seen of the 467 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-eared Toucanet in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–September and November–March, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-eared Toucanet sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Yellow-eared Toucanet sightings, Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Darién National Park (Panama, about 20%), Chagres National Park (Panama, about 10%) and Tenorio Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
Same family: Ramphastidae
The closest relatives of the Yellow-eared Toucanet that you can see in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (family Ramphastidae, Toucans) are Northern Emerald-Toucanet (about 20%), Keel-billed Toucan (about 10%) and Fiery-billed Aracari (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-eared Toucanet is recorded against all the birds logged in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (228 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.
