Gray-headed Tanager
Gray-headed TanagerGray-headed TanagerGray-headed TanagerGray-headed Tanager

Gray-headed Tanager

Eucometis penicillata

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Tikal National Park
348 Verified sightings at Tikal National Park From 2019 to 2026
9,726 Verified sightings across all 39 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Gray-headed Tanager

The grey-headed tanager (Eucometis penicillata) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Mexico, every Central American country except El Salvador, and every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, French Guiana, and Uruguay.

The grey-headed tanager was formally described in 1825 by the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix under the binomial name Tanagra penicillata. Spix did not specify a type locality but this was later designated as Fonte Boa in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. The grey-headed tanager is now the only species in the genus Eucometis that was introduced by the English zoologist Philip Sclater in 1856. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek eukomēs meaning "with lovely hair". The specific epithet penicillata is from the Latin diminutive of peniculus meaning "brush".

Within the Thraupidae the grey-headed tanager is a member of the subfamily Tachyphoninae and is the sister species to the black-goggled tanager (Trichothraupis melanops). The grey-headed tanager has these seven subspecies

E. p. pallida Berlepsch, 1888 E. p. spodocephalus (Bonaparte, 1853) E. p. stictothorax... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park

Black-throated Shrike-Tanager
LC

Black-throated Shrike-Tanager

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Lanio aurantius

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Morelet's Seedeater
LC

Morelet's Seedeater

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sporophila morelleti

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Black-headed Saltator
LC

Black-headed Saltator

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Saltator atriceps

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
Red-legged Honeycreeper
LC Endemic

Red-legged Honeycreeper

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Cyanerpes cyaneus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
Yellow-winged Tanager

Yellow-winged Tanager

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Thraupis abbas

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Green Honeycreeper
LC

Green Honeycreeper

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chlorophanes spiza

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Blue-gray Tanager

Blue-gray Tanager

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Thraupis episcopus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Bananaquit
LC Endemic

Bananaquit

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Coereba flaveola

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Golden-hooded Tanager

Golden-hooded Tanager

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Stilpnia larvata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Buff-throated Saltator
LC

Buff-throated Saltator

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Saltator maximus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Blue-black Grassquit
LC

Blue-black Grassquit

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Volatinia jacarina

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Thick-billed Seed-Finch
LC

Thick-billed Seed-Finch

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sporophila funerea

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
2 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~30%
3 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
4 Tayrona National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~30%
5 Henri Pittier National Park 🇻🇪 Venezuela
~20%
6 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
~20%
7 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
8 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~20%
9 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
10 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
11 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
12 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
13 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
14 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
15 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
16 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
17 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
18 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
19 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
20 Emas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
21 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
22 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
23 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
24 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
25 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
26 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
27 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
28 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
29 Ostional Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
30 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
31 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
32 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
33 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
34 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
Insufficient data
35 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
Insufficient data
36 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
37 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
38 Masaya Volcano National Park 🇳🇮 Nicaragua
Insufficient data
39 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Gray-headed Tanager in Tikal National Park?

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-headed Tanager sighting in Tikal National Park, based on 348 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Gray-headed Tanager in Tikal National Park?

December has the highest sighting rate for Gray-headed Tanager in Tikal National Park in our monthly data.

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