Boat-billed Heron

Q: What are the chances of seeing a Boat-billed Heron in Ostional Wildlife Refuge?

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Boat-billed Heron sighting in Ostional Wildlife Refuge, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

Q: When is the best time to see Boat-billed Heron in Ostional Wildlife Refuge?

February has the highest sighting rate for Boat-billed Heron in Ostional Wildlife Refuge in our monthly data.

Cochlearius cochlearius

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, and Allies)
FamilyArdeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)
GenusCochlearius
SpeciesCochlearius cochlearius (Boat-billed Heron)

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

at Ostional Wildlife Refuge

10 Verified sightings at Ostional Wildlife Refuge From 2019 to 2026

6,762 Verified sightings across all 55 parks From 2019 to 2026

February Best month highest sighting rate

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Boat-billed Heron

The boat-billed heron (Cochlearius cochlearius), colloquially known as the boatbill, is an atypical member of the heron family. It is the only member of the genus Cochlearius and was formerly placed in a monotypic family, the Cochleariidae. It lives in mangrove swamps from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil. It is a nocturnal bird, and breeds semi-colonially in mangrove trees, laying two to four bluish-white eggs in a twig nest.

In 1760, the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the boat-billed heron in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in French Guiana. He used the French name La Cuillière and the Latin Cochlearius. Brisson placed the species in a new genus Cochlearius (with the same name as that of the species). When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the boat-billed heron. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Cancroma cochlearia, and cited Brisson's work.

Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Ostional Wildlife Refuge

Egretta thula

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely

Egretta caerulea

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely

Ardea alba

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely

Egretta tricolor

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

Nyctanassa violacea

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

Butorides virescens

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Ardea herodias

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Bubulcus ibis

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Tigrisoma mexicanum

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Egretta rufescens

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Nycticorax nycticorax

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pelecanus occidentalis

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas	🇧🇷 Brazil	~20%
2	Tikal National Park	🇬🇹 Guatemala	~20%
3	Palo Verde National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~20%
4	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~20%
5	Celestún Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~20%
6	Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve	🇪🇨 Ecuador	~20%
7	Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~10%
8	Yasuní National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	~10%
9	Soberanía National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	~10%
10	Cahuita National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
11	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
12	Darién National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
13	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
14	Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary	🇧🇿 Belize	<5%
15	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
16	Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
17	Anavilhanas National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	<5%
18	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
19	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
20	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
21	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
22	Caroni Swamp	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	<5%
23	Pico Bonito National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	<5%
24	Calakmul Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
25	Serra dos Órgãos National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	<5%
26	Ostional Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
27	Braulio Carrillo National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
28	Tambopata National Reserve	🇵🇪 Peru	<5%
29	Madidi National Park	🇧🇴 Bolivia	<5%
30	Carara National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
31	Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
32	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
33	Arenal Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
34	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
35	Manu National Park	🇵🇪 Peru	<5%
36	Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
37	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
38	Sierra de la Macarena National Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	<5%
39	Tenorio Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
40	Chirripó National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
41	Cañón del Sumidero National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
42	Tijuca National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
43	Noel Kempff Mercado National Park	🇧🇴 Bolivia	Insufficient data
44	Biotopo Cerro Cahuí	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
45	San Lorenzo Protected Forest	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
46	Amacayacu National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
47	Cordillera Azul National Park	🇵🇪 Peru	Insufficient data
48	Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
49	Parque Natural Metropolitano	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
50	Chapada dos Guimarães National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
51	Chagres National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
52	Chingaza National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
53	Iguaçu National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
54	Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
55	Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Boat-billed Heron in Ostional Wildlife Refuge?

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Boat-billed Heron sighting in Ostional Wildlife Refuge, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Boat-billed Heron in Ostional Wildlife Refuge?

February has the highest sighting rate for Boat-billed Heron in Ostional Wildlife Refuge in our monthly data.

← Back to Ostional Wildlife Refuge

Boat-billed Heron

About the Boat-billed Heron

Recent sightings of Boat-billed Heron in Ostional Wildlife Refuge

Closest Relatives at Ostional Wildlife Refuge

Snowy Egret

Little Blue Heron

Great Egret

Tricolored Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Green Heron

Great Blue Heron

Cattle Egret

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Reddish Egret

Black-crowned Night Heron

Brown Pelican

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

Quick answers