Basileuterus melanotis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 Volcán Barú National Park on a given day, based on 60 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 161st most-seen of the 296 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.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Costa Rican Warbler in Volcán Barú National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
4th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Costa Rican Warbler sightings, Volcán Barú National Park ranks 4th 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%).
Same genus: Basileuterus
The closest relatives of the Costa Rican Warbler that you can see in Volcán Barú National Park (genus Basileuterus) are Black-cheeked Warbler (about 40%) and Golden-crowned Warbler (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Costa Rican Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Volcán Barú National Park (60 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.
