Phacellodomus rufifrons
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The rufous-fronted thornbird, or common thornbird, (Phacellodomus rufifrons) is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru. The rufous-fronted thornbird's taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW), and the Clements taxonomy assign it these four subspecies:
The IOC, HBW, and Clements treat those taxa as the plain thornbird (P. inornatus). This article follows the four-subspecies model. The rufous-fronted thornbird is 16 to 17 cm (6.3 to 6.7 in) long and weighs about 18 to 31 g (0.63 to 1.1 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies P. r. rufifrons have a dull buff supercilium that continues past the eye, a dark brown stripe behind the eye,... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Impenetrable National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-fronted Thornbird sighting in Chapada Diamantina National Park on a given day, based on 57 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 126th most-seen of the 271 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-fronted Thornbird in Chapada Diamantina National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and June–July, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-fronted Thornbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Rufous-fronted Thornbird sightings, Chapada Diamantina National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in El Impenetrable National Park (Argentina, about 30%) and Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 20%).
Same family: Furnariidae
The closest relatives of the Rufous-fronted Thornbird that you can see in Chapada Diamantina National Park (family Furnariidae, Ovenbirds and Woodcreepers) are Pale-breasted Spinetail (about 20%), Sooty-fronted Spinetail (about 20%) and Spix's Spinetail (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-fronted Thornbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Chapada Diamantina National Park (57 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.
