Rhytipterna holerythra
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The rufous mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra) is a passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Mexico, every Central American country except El Salvador, Colombia, and Ecuador. The rufous mourner was originally described as Lipaugus holerythrus, mistakenly grouping it with the cotingas. It was later transferred to genus Rhytipterna that had been erected in 1850. Rhytipterna was also treated as a cotinga genus but a series of studies published beginning in the 1960s resulted in its movement to the tyrant flycatcher family. The rufous mourner shares the genus with the pale-bellied mourner (R. immunda) and grayish mourner (R. simplex). The rufous and greyish mourners apparently form a superspecies.
The rufous mourner is 19.5 to 21 cm (7.7 to 8.3 in) long and weighs about 32 to 39 g (1.1 to 1.4 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Males of the nominate subspecies have a mostly cinnamon brown to russet head and upperparts with a darker rufous crown. Their wings are... Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Mourner sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 1,061 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 166th most-seen of the 503 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February to October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Mourner in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to January, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous Mourner sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 22 parks where we can rate Rufous Mourner sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 9th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Darién National Park (Panama, about 10%), Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 10%) and Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Rufous Mourner that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (about 70%), Social Flycatcher (about 50%) and Tropical Kingbird (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous Mourner is recorded against all the birds logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (1,061 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.
