Argentina, Aruba, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil (B), Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 500,000 - 4,999,999 (2010).
Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) [XC694757]
by Kent Livezey from Selva Bananito, Lim\u00f3n, Costa Rica (call)
Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) [XC623980]
by Dante Buzzetti from Ventanilla, Mazunte, Santa Mar\u00eda Tonameca, Oaxaca, Mexico (call)
Subspecies
The three northern subspecies sometimes considered a separate species, Cochlearius zeledoni. Birds from north-western Costa Rica, currently placed in subspecies panamensis, are intermediate between the two groups.
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
zeledoni (Ridgway, 1885) - West-central Mexico.
phillipsi Dickerman, 1973 - Eastern Mexico and Belize.
ridgwayi Dickerman, 1973 - Southern Mexico to western Honduras and El Salvador.
panamensis Griscom, 1926 - Costa Rica and Panama.
cochlearius (Linnaeus, 1766) - Eastern Panama to Guianas, and Amazonia south to north-eastern Argentina.