Top 20 Most Common Bird in Guatemala

The lush and diverse environment of Guatemala encapsulates a broad range of habitats hosting various avian species. The 20 most widespread birds demonstrate unique adaptations for survival, distinct in their vibrant plumage, and unique in their behaviors. Their astounding diversity symbolizes the ecological richness of Guatemala and highlights the vitality of its birdlife.

Most Common Bird

Great-tailed Grackle

1. Great-tailed Grackle

The medium-sized great-tailed Grackle is notable for its long tail, shaped like a V, and deep black coloring offset by bright yellow eyes. This loud bird can be easily found just by following the sharp sounds of its calls and shrieks. Males in particular shriek and ruffle up their feathers to defend their territory or if they feel threatened.
Clay-colored Thrush

2. Clay-colored Thrush

The clay-colored Thrush is a stunning bird known for its melodious song and distinctive appearance. With its clay-colored upperparts, rusty underparts, and dark brown crown, it stands out in its habitats, which can range from forests to suburban parks. It feeds on various food sources including insects, fruits, and berries. The bird has a melodious song consisting of clear, ringing phrases.
Golden-fronted Woodpecker

3. Golden-fronted Woodpecker

The golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) is a North American woodpecker. Its preferred habitat is mesquite, riparian woodlands, and tropical rainforest. It is distributed from Texas and Oklahoma in the United States through Mexico to Honduras and northern Nicaragua. Cooke listed this species as an abundant resident of the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, in 1884.
Melodious Blackbird

4. Melodious Blackbird

The adult is a medium-sized blackbird with a rounded tail. The male is 25.5 cm (10.0 in) long and weighs 108 g (3.8 oz). The slightly smaller female is 23 cm (9.1 in) long and weighs 95 g (3.4 oz). The adult plumage is entirely black with a bluish gloss, and the bill, legs and feet are also black. The iris is brown. Females are identically plumaged to the males; young birds are brownish black and lack iridescence. There are no subspecies.
Black Vulture

5. Black Vulture

Although quite dapper in appearance, the black Vulture's name comes from the Latin vulturus meaning “tearer" and that is just what that hooked beak is for. These birds are highly social, with fierce family loyalty and will share food with relatives and with their young long after the babies have fledged. Because they lack a voice box, their calls are limited to grunts and hisses.
House Wren

6. House Wren

Watch out for the small yet aggressive house Wrens; they are extremely territorial and think nothing of harassing other birds and their nestlings if they want to take their spot! They have been known to kill nestlings and even adult birds to get a nest hole they want. Once house Wrens lay eggs, the nest needs to stay below 100 degrees and above 65 degrees or the eggs will not survive—this could be the reason they are so particular about their nesting spots.
Social Flycatcher

7. Social Flycatcher

In appearance, the social flycatcher resembles a smaller boat-billed flycatcher or great kiskadee. The adult is 16–18 cm (6.3–7.1 in) long and weighs 24–27 g (0.85–0.95 oz). The head is dark grey with a strong white eyestripe and a usually concealed orange to vermilion crown stripe. The upperparts are olive-brown, and the wings and tail are brown with only faint rufous fringes. The underparts are yellow and the throat is white. Young birds have a paler eye mask, reduced crown stripe, and have chestnut fringes to the wing and tail feathers. The call is a sharp peeurrr and the dawn song is a chips-k’-cheery. As the specific epithet similis (Latin for "the similar one") indicates, this species looks much like its closest living relative the rusty-margined flycatcher (Myiozetetes cayanensis), and also like the white-bearded flycatcher (Phelpsia inornatus), white-ringed flycatcher (Conopias albovittatus) and lesser kiskadee (Pitangus/Philohydor lictor). In fact, except at close range, these are all but indistinguishable from appearance alone. They and the two larger similar species mentioned above share much of their range. Though they all are apparently fairly close relatives, the group to which they seem to belong also includes species with rather different head-pattern, like the grey-capped flycatcher which also belongs to Myiozetetes.
White-winged Dove

8. White-winged Dove

The medium-sized, distinctively patterned white-winged Doves practically live on Saguaro cactus, consuming its nectar, pollen, fruit, and seeds. In fact, they are so dependent on this plant that they match their migration schedule to its fruiting schedule. White-winged Doves were heavily hunted in Texas in the 20th century and their population dropped from 12 million to fewer than 1 million by 1939. Since then proactive hunting management and the species ability to adapt to urban living has helped their numbers rebound.
Azure-crowned Hummingbird

9. Azure-crowned Hummingbird

The azure-crowned hummingbird (Saucerottia cyanocephala) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. The males have a metallic blue crown, while the females are identifiable by a more dull blue or greenish crown. It forages on arthropods (often searching bark and clusters of pine needle) as well as nectar from flowers. The species seems to be territorial based on how available resources are, and like most hummingbirds is likely polygamous. Its nests are generally cup shaped used from local resources, but in an urban setting the species has been known to even use objects such as telephone wires in its construction. This species was formerly placed in the genus Amazilia. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus Amazilia was polyphyletic. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the azure-crowned hummingbird was moved to the resurrected genus Saucerottia.
Band-backed Wren

10. Band-backed Wren

This large wren breeds in lowlands and foothills from sea level up to 1700 m altitude in thinned forest or open woodland, scrub, second growth and groves around houses. It mainly occurs on the Caribbean side of the Central American mountain ranges. Its large spherical nest has a wide side entrance and is constructed 2 – 30 m high in a tree or shrub, often hidden amidst bromeliads. The female alone incubates the three to five unmarked or lightly brown-spotted white eggs for about two weeks to hatching, and the young fledge in about the same length of time again. After breeding, families sleep together in dormitory nests like those used for breeding throughout the year. The adult band-backed wren is 16.5 cm long and weighs 29 g. It has a brown-grey crown, black nape, and the rest of the upperparts and tail are heavily barred with black, tawny and white. The breast and throat are white, heavily spotted with black, and the belly is cinnamon. Young birds have duller upperparts and off-white to buff underparts. This species has a short rasping zek call. The song is a mix of dry chatters, splutters and gurgles. The band-backed wren forages actively in family groups of 4-12 birds. It eats mainly insects, spiders and other invertebrates.
Rufous-collared Sparrow

11. Rufous-collared Sparrow

The rufous-collared Sparrow is a small songbird known for its pleasant vocalization and numerous "dialects." The songs peak at dawn and some individuals can sing continuously for half an hour. Found in a wide range of habitats and comfortable around humans, this ground-feeding bird is easily approachable. On the other hand, it's aggressive towards other birds that enter its territory. Individuals have their favorite perching spot where they appear repeatedly.
Bushy-crested Jay

12. Bushy-crested Jay

The adult bushy-crested jay has a length of 28 to 30 cm (11 to 12 in). The tail is long and the central feathers are graduated. The sexes look alike; the head, neck, breast and upper mantle are black while the remaining upper parts are dark blue with a sheen of green or violet. The underparts are plain greenish-blue, the undersides of the wings are grey and the underside of the tail is blackish. The head bears a stubble-like erectile crown of feathers, the beak is black and relatively small, the irises are yellow and the legs black.
White-eared Hummingbird

13. White-eared Hummingbird

The white-eared hummingbird (Basilinna leucotis) is a small hummingbird. It is 9–10 cm long, and weighs approximately 3-4 g. Adults are colored predominantly green on their upperparts and breast. The undertail coverts are predominantly white. The tail is bronze green and straight. The most prominent feature is the white eyestripe found in both males and females. The bill of the male is straight and very slender. These hummers occur as far south as Cabo San Lucas in the Baja, Their bill is slightly decurved. It is red in coloration, and shows a black tip. His throat is a metallic turquoise green. His crown and face is violet and black. The female is less colorful than the male. The breeding habitat is in pine oak forests from southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and western Texas through the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental of northern Mexico and the Cordillera Neovolcanica of southern Mexico to southern Nicaragua. It is a common species over much of its range and is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. It is a rare but regular summer resident in the Madrean sky islands of southeastern Arizona, rarer and less regular in southwestern New Mexico and western Texas in the United States. These birds feed on nectar from flowers and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue and catch insects and other small invertebrates on the wing or by gleaning from bark, leaves, and other surfaces.
Acorn Woodpecker

14. Acorn Woodpecker

The adult acorn woodpecker has a brownish-black head, back, wings and tail, white forehead, throat, belly and rump. The eyes are white. There is a small part on the small of their backs where there are some green feathers. The adult male has a red cap starting at the forehead, whereas females have a black area between the forehead and the cap. The white neck, throat, and forehead patches are distinctive identifiers. When flying, they take a few flaps of their wings and drop a foot or so. White circles on their wings are visible when in flight. Acorn woodpeckers have a call that sounds almost like they are laughing. Measurements: Length: 7.5-9.1 in (19-23 cm) Weight: 2.3-3.2 oz (65-90 g) Wingspan: 13.8-16.9 in (35-43 cm)
Greyish Saltator

15. Greyish Saltator

On average, the greyish saltator is 20 cm long and weighs 52 g. The plumage depends on age and subspecies, but in general this bird has grey or greyish-olive upperparts, a white stripe over the eye, a narrow white throat, a grey breast and a buff or cinnamon belly. The common call is a long-drawn upward slur, ch'wheeet or ch'kweeee, sometimes with a more elaborate beginning, as hi'whee chu weeeeh. The song is a warble, usually fairly short, varying from nasal to mellow.
Wilson's Warbler

16. Wilson's Warbler

Wilson's warbler is a small passerine, ranging from 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in) in length, with a wingspan of 14–17 cm (5.5–6.7 in) and a mass of 5–10 g (0.18–0.35 oz). It has a plain green-brown back and yellow underparts. The male has a small black cap. Males of the western race C. p. chryseola are greener above and brighter than males of the eastern, nominate race. Individuals from Alaska and the west-central portion of the species' range average slightly larger than those found in eastern and Pacific coastal populations. Its song is a chattering series of loud descending notes. The call is a flat "chuff". The Wilson's warbler resembles the yellow warbler: the latter is readily distinguished by its different shape, yellow wing markings, and yellow tail spots.
Yellow-winged Tanager

17. Yellow-winged Tanager

The yellow-winged tanager (Thraupis abbas) is a neotropical member of the tanager family. It is of average size for a tanager, about 18 centimetres (7 inches long). It is distinguished by the yellow patches on its dusky green wings, marking an otherwise dark bluish and gray body. It has a pale lavender tone on its throat and breast. The juvenile lacks this color, but has an olive-green head and upper back.
Northern Flicker

18. Northern Flicker

In the search of its favorite food—ants—the northern Flicker often forages leaf litter and tree bark, which makes it the only ground forager in the woodpecker group. It's a migratory species, which is quite a rare behavior for woodpeckers, as well. The northern Flicker has an eastern (yellow-shafted) and a western (red-shafted) form. It lays a large number of eggs - the known record is 71 eggs in 73 days.
Black-headed Saltator

19. Black-headed Saltator

The black-headed saltator (Saltator atriceps) is a seed-eating bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It breeds from central Mexico to eastern Panama. This bird is on average 24 cm (9.4 in) long and weighs 85 g (3.0 oz). The adult has a slate-grey head with a whitish supercilium. The upperparts are yellowish green, the underparts are pale grey, and the throat is white edged with black. The thick convex bill is black and the legs are brown. Young birds are duller and have mottling on the breast and brown markings on the underparts. This species is similar to the buff-throated saltator but is larger and has a darker head and paler under parts with a yellow patch on the throat. The common call is a raucous deeeer. The song is a loud scratchy cher cher jur jur weeee, often given by males as a duet. The black-headed saltator is a species of dense vegetation. The black-headed saltator feeds on fruit, buds, nectar, and slow-moving insects. It forages at low and mid levels, sometimes with mixed species flocks. The two black-marked pale blue eggs per clutch measure some 24–34 mm (0.94–1.34 in) long by about 18–23.5 mm (0.71–0.93 in) wide and weigh about 4.9–5.5 g (0.17–0.19 oz) each. They are laid in a bulky grass-lined cup nest up to 3 m (9.8 ft) high in a thicket between April and July.
Baltimore Oriole

20. Baltimore Oriole

The baltimore Oriole is the most common oriole in North America. This long-distance migratory songbird lives high in tree canopies, so it's often heard but rarely seen. Although it's mainly insectivorous, it is particularly fond of dark-colored, well-ripened berries. The baltimore Oriole is the state bird of Maryland and is the mascot of Baltimore's professional baseball team.
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