Since 2004 · Licensed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT)

Ashy-throated Chlorospingus (Chlorospingus canigularis)
Photo: David A. Rodríguez Arias, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist
Ashy-throated Chlorospingus

Family Passerellidae

Ashy-throated Chlorospingus

Chlorospingus canigularis

In Spanish: Tangara de Monte Gargantigrís

  • Resident

Olive-crowned canopy bird of Caribbean foothill forest, often with tanager flocks.

The Ashy-throated Chlorospingus (Tangara de Monte Gargantigrís) is a resident of the Caribbean-slope mountains of Costa Rica. Its Costa Rican range is small, which makes it much harder to find than the Common Chlorospingus.

On a trip we build, it is a bird you meet by looking up. It joins mixed flocks in foothill forest, often alongside Emerald Tanagers, and finding it takes patience.

How to find it

Go early and join the mixed flocks, because flocks are easier to spot than single birds. It forages mostly in the canopy, so look up and bring binoculars. Expect neck craning: it is uncommon and usually stays high in the trees. Its small Costa Rican range means it can take several visits, as one local birder found.

How to recognise it

Look for a dark eye, a pale throat and a yellow band across the breast. Across the species' range the head is gray in South America but olive in Central America, so birds in Costa Rica show an olive crown. The Costa Rican form is olivaceiceps, the Olive-crowned form. A useful clue is what it lacks: nearly all races of the very similar Common Chlorospingus show a white mark behind the eye, and this species does not.

What it sounds like

0:16

Recording: Niels Krabbe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source, read 5 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It is an active forager in the canopy and subcanopy, picking insects from foliage and also eating fruit. It often joins mixed-species flocks, which are easier to spot than single birds. In Costa Rica it often flocks with Emerald Tanagers. Tour reports describe birds high in the canopy of big mixed flocks, hard to see.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica the Costa Rican and western Panamanian race lives in the mountains, mainly on the Caribbean slope in the Central Valley area and the Reventazón river watershed. Its range is quite restricted, centred on middle elevations of the Caribbean slope of the Central Valley volcanoes. One site where it was found is foothill forest at about 500 m. It lives only in good-quality habitat.

When to see it

Early morning is the best time to look. Tour reports place sightings in May at the Braulio Carrillo foothills, but no source states a best season.

Similar birds

The Common Chlorospingus (Ojeruda or Cuatro Ojos) is very similar but shows a white mark behind the eye. The Sooty-capped, the third Costa Rican chlorospingus, lives in mossy forest at 1600 to 2100 m, usually in groups of up to 20.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The official Costa Rican Spanish name is Tangara de Monte Gargantigrís.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list treats it as a resident (R) in Costa Rica, and it is listed globally as Least Concern.

Photography tips

Photography is a challenge because it stays high in the canopy. Watch mixed flocks with tanagers and be patient with binoculars before reaching for the camera.

How we know this 16 sources, each read on the date shown
  1. Cornell Birds of the World read 2026-11-04https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/atbtan1/cur/introduction
  2. Birds for Beer read 2026-11-04https://birdsforbeer.com/2016/09/22/my-third-chlorospingus/
  3. José Pablo Castillo blog read 2026-11-04https://josepablocastillo.wordpress.com/tag/costa-rica/
  4. Birds of Colombia (Birds of the World photo site) read 2026-11-04https://www.birdsofcolombia.org/world/Chlorospingus.html
  5. Lista Oficial de las Aves de Costa Rica (AOCR) read 2026-11-04https://listaoficialavesdecostarica.wordpress.com/lista-oficial/lista-oficial-online/
  6. Animalia.bio read 2026-11-04https://animalia.bio/ashy-throated-bush-tanager
  7. WINGS Birding Tours read 2026-11-04https://wingsbirds.com/tours/costa-rica-july/
  8. Costa Rica Focus read 2026-11-04https://www.costaricafocus.com/birding-san-jose-province-costa-rica-a-complete-guide/
  9. Birding Craft read 2026-11-04http://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/category/splits/
  10. Hotel Rivel read 2026-11-04https://hotelrivel.online/a-peek-at-the-ashy-throated-chlorospingus-a-charming-companion-in-the-canopy/
  11. Birds of Passage read 2026-11-04https://birdsofpassage.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/braulio-carillo-national-park-and-el-tapir/
  12. Birdingcraft read 2026-11-04https://birdingcraft.com/wordpress/2015/12/23/a-short-trip-to-el-tapir/
  13. Birdquest tour report read 2026-11-04https://www.birdquest-tours.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ultimate_costa_rica_tour_report_2019.pdf
  14. Rockjumper trip report read 2026-11-04https://app.rockjumperbirding.com/sites/rockjumper/attachments/9/Trip%20Report%20-%20RBL%20Costa%20Rica%20-%20Cloud%20Forest%20&%20Quetzals%20and%20Ext%202017.pdf
  15. Costa Rica Focus read 2026-11-04https://www.costaricafocus.com/birding-braulio-carrillo-national-park-a-complete-guide/
  16. Birds of the World read 2026-11-04https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/scbtan1/cur/introduction