Topaza pyra
Silhouette: John Gould (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The fiery topaz (Topaza pyra) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It has brilliant iridescent plumage and resides in northern South America, where it consumes nectar and insects. The genus Topaza and its sister genus Florisuga form the topazes group, which together with the hermits represent the most ancient branch within the family Trochilidae. The Topazes group contains some of the largest hummingbirds in the family, adult males measuring up to 23 cm and weighing up to 12 g. Topazes as a group are estimated to have diverged as a separate lineage from all other hummingbirds around 21.5 Ma, whereas the most recent common ancestor of Topaza and Florisuga lived approximately 19 Ma.
Two morphospecies are recognized within Topaza: T. pyra, and the crimson topaz, T. pella. The species status of T. pyra has been challenged by some authors, who consider this genus to be monotypic. Arguments for and against the distinction between the two have focused on the degree of similarity of the two taxa and their geographic distributions. While they are clearly closely related, proponents of T. pyra being its own species point to the obvious differences... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Fiery Topaz sighting in Yasuní National Park on a given day, based on 69 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 351st most-seen of the 533 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fiery Topaz in Yasuní National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April to February, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fiery Topaz sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Yasuní National Park, in our data
Yasuní National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Fiery Topaz sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Fiery Topaz that you can see in Yasuní National Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Great-billed Hermit (about 10%), Fork-tailed Woodnymph (about 10%) and Glittering-throated Emerald (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fiery Topaz is recorded against all the birds logged in Yasuní National Park (69 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.
