Yellow-crowned Euphonia

How to find it

Check fruiting trees in clearings and edges, where it joins other fruit-eating birds. It is a regular in gardens and plantations and does well in disturbed areas and second growth. It usually avoids dense, humid rainforest, so favour forest edges and open country. Listen first for the near-constant song, then scan the high perches. A garden setting such as the Pierella Ecological Garden at Horquetas is a place to meet it, and banana feeders are another way to see it.

How to recognise it

The male is the easy one. He has a bright yellow cap that covers the whole crown, a dark glossy blue-black throat and head, and yellow underparts. The bill is thin. In the scope, pairs show white bellies and vents, and the male's dark throat sits under a big yellow crown patch.

The female has no crown pattern. She is olive green above and olive yellow below, turning yellow on the central belly. Young birds look like the adult female.

Everything about this bird is small, about 9.5 cm long and about 12.5 g in weight, so think of a bright speck in a fruiting tree rather than a bird that dominates the branch.

What it sounds like

Recording: kalvinchan, CC0 1.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Pairs or small groups are often seen, with males present, and it is sometimes found in the canopy of small forests. It feeds on fruit and roams widely to find fruiting trees, which it shares with other species. It forages mostly in the treetops but comes down to mid-levels at fruiting bushes and trees. Males sing from high perches: guided groups have watched one warbling above a mistletoe clump, and another sat right at the top of a tree.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it is a common resident of the lowlands and foothills on the Caribbean slope. It also occurs locally on the southern Pacific slope and ranges north on that side as far as Carara National Park. Local records run from sea level to 1200 m across many conservation areas, including Arenal, Guanacaste, Osa, Tortuguero and Central Pacific. Across its range it lives in dry forest, moist lowland forest and heavily degraded former forest, and it likes semi-open areas with scattered trees.

When to see it

It breeds in Costa Rica from January to July, mostly from February to May. That is the nesting season, not a statement about when it is easiest to see.

Similar birds

The female is plain yellowish and looks much like a female Thick-billed Euphonia. Females of several euphonias are hard to tell apart, so look for the male, which is often nearby. Around Turrialba the Yellow-crowned male has a fully yellow crown over a dark throat, while the Yellow-throated male has yellow only on the forecrown plus an all-yellow chin and throat. The White-vented Euphonia favors more forested areas below about 1200 m and is also found around Turrialba.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans call it Agüío or Monjita, along with the official name Eufonia Coroniamarilla. Local birders prize it as a song bird, so it is sometimes kept caged.

Status and conservation

The official Costa Rican bird list marks it as a resident and a regional endemic (R-END), and across its range it is perhaps the most common euphonia and is listed as Least Concern.

Photography tips

Males sing from high perches, so look up. Guided groups saw one warbling above a mistletoe clump, and scope views of mistletoe clumps worked well for showing the bird. It often forages in the canopy but comes down to mid-levels at fruiting bushes and trees, so fruiting trees in gardens and forest edges are good places to wait.