GET /observations
inaturalist.org:inaturalist-api
Summary: Search Observations
Operation ID: searchObservations
Auth: unknown
Operation ID: searchObservations
Auth: unknown
Description
Search for observations of species. Supports filtering by taxon name, location, date, quality grade, and more.
Parameters (27)
captive
(boolean, query, optional)
Filter by captive status (true/false)
d1
(string, query, optional)
Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)
d2
(string, query, optional)
End date (YYYY-MM-DD)
geoprivacy
(string, query, optional)
Filter by geoprivacy (open, obscured, private)
iconic_taxa
(string, query, optional)
Filter by iconic taxon (e.g., Plantae, Insecta)
id_above
(integer, query, optional)
Return IDs greater than this value
id_below
(integer, query, optional)
Return IDs less than this value
lat
(number, query, optional)
Latitude for location-based search
lng
(number, query, optional)
Longitude for location-based search
month
(integer, query, optional)
Filter by month (1-12)
nelat
(number, query, optional)
North-east latitude for bounding box
nelng
(number, query, optional)
North-east longitude for bounding box
order
(string, query, optional, default: desc)
Sort order (asc/desc)
order_by
(string, query, optional, default: created_at)
Sort field (created_at, observed_on, species_guess)
page
(integer, query, optional, default: 1)
Page number
per_page
(integer, query, optional, default: 30)
Results per page (1-200)
Constraints: {'maximum': 200}
place_id
(integer, query, optional)
Filter by place ID
project_id
(integer, query, optional)
Filter by project ID
quality_grade
(string, query, optional)
Filter by quality grade (research, needs_id, casual)
radius
(number, query, optional, default: 10)
Search radius in kilometers (used with lat/lng)
swlat
(number, query, optional)
South-west latitude for bounding box
swlng
(number, query, optional)
South-west longitude for bounding box
taxon_id
(integer, query, optional)
Filter by taxon ID
taxon_name
(string, query, optional)
Filter by taxon name (common or scientific)
user_id
(integer, query, optional)
Filter by user ID
user_login
(string, query, optional)
Filter by username
year
(integer, query, optional)
Filter by year
Examples (5)
| Title | Type | URL | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search for monarch butterfly observations | curl |
https://api.inaturalist.org/v1/observations?q=monarch%20butterfly&iconic_taxa=Insecta&per_page=10&order=desc&order_by=created_at |
|
| Find observations near San Francisco | curl |
https://api.inaturalist.org/v1/observations?lat=37.7749&lng=-122.4194&radius=10&per_page=20&verifiable=true |
|
| Research-grade bird observations with photos | curl |
https://api.inaturalist.org/v1/observations?iconic_taxa=Aves&quality_grade=research&photos=true&per_page=15&order_by=observed_on |
|
| Observation Search | probe-gate |
https://api.inaturalist.org/v1/observations?per_page=30&page=1 |
|
| Search Observations | probe-gate |
https://api.inaturalist.org/v1/observations?radius=10&order=desc&order_by=created_at&per_page=30&page=1 |
Probe History
Status Codes
| Time | Status | Latency | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-23 10:08:45.214986 | 200 | 1312ms | 0.5MB |
| 2026-03-23 09:50:49.497759 | 200 | 2434ms | 0.5MB |
| 2026-03-23 09:35:56.174198 | 200 | 1602ms | 0.6MB |
| 2026-03-23 09:19:05.795813 | 200 | 1059ms | |
| 2026-03-22T07:31:48.469808 | 200 | 2782ms |
Response Changes
| When | Old | New |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-23 09:19:05.795813 | e4f9135ccefe |
b63e5bc1a8bf |
| 2026-03-23 09:35:56.174198 | b63e5bc1a8bf |
4efbcc9c4ed0 |
| 2026-03-23 09:50:49.497759 | 4efbcc9c4ed0 |
5854e939c84f |
| 2026-03-23 10:08:45.214986 | 5854e939c84f |
3c844e0f1773 |