Furnarius minor
Silhouette: Abraão B. Leite · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The lesser hornero (Furnarius minor) is a species of bird in the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is closely related to the Pale-legged hornero, and their global distribution overlaps somewhat. This species is monotypic, meaning there is only one subspecies.
The lesser hornero is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, along the banks of the Amazon River and some of its major tributaries. It is a river specialist, feeding and breeding mostly in river island scrub and early successional scrub along the edge of white-water rivers and on young river islands and, in Peru the understory of Cecropia forest. This type of successional habitat is dependent on seasonal flooding and is patchily distributed along the length of its range. It is found from 50 to 200 m (160–660 ft) above sea-level.
The lesser hornero is a very small ovenbird, 12 to 13 cm (4.7–5.1 in) in length and weighing 23 to 29 g (0.81–1.02 oz). The head is grey with a prominent white stripe above the eye, a white throat, a rufous rump and wings, tawny-buff breast and flanks becoming paler below. The bill is long and straight. Both sexes are alike, and the plumage of juvenile birds has not been described.
The lesser hornero feeds on arthropods and other invertebrates. It hunts individually or in pairs, searching the ground, river-shore mud or low branches for prey, often foraging in dense cover. Like other species in its genus, it constructs a mud "oven" nest in the branches of trees, and lines the nest with grasses and hair. The clutch size is four eggs. Little else is known about its nesting habits, other than it has been recorded building its nests in November and incubating in January. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Hornero sighting in Amacayacu National Natural Park on a given day, based on 111 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 83rd most-seen of the 436 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and November–December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Hornero in Amacayacu National Natural Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, the lowest month.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Hornero sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Lesser Hornero sightings, Amacayacu National Natural Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lesser Hornero is recorded against all the birds logged in Amacayacu National Natural Park (111 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
