Boat-billed Heron
Cochlearius cochlearius
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPelecaniformes (Pelicaniformes)
- FamilyArdeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)
- GenusCochlearius
- SpeciesCochlearius cochlearius (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. Wikipedia →
20–30% of wildlife watchers report a Boat-billed Heron sighting in Palo Verde National Park, based on 261 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Palo Verde National Park
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Tigrisoma mexicanum
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Tricolored Heron
Egretta tricolor
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Pinnated Bittern
Botaurus pinnatus
Reddish Egret
Egretta rufescens
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
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
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Boat-billed Heron in Palo Verde National Park?
About 22% of wildlife watchers report a Boat-billed Heron sighting in Palo Verde National Park, based on 261 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Boat-billed Heron in Palo Verde National Park?
October has the highest sighting rate for Boat-billed Heron in Palo Verde National Park in our monthly data.