Rufous Wren

Rufous Wren

Cinnycerthia unirufa

Silhouette: Matt Wilkins · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Bogota

In 3 days <5%

9 Verified sightings at Bogota
1,133 In all 3 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Rufous Wren

The rufous wren (Cinnycerthia unirufa) is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. There are three subspecies:

C. u. unirufa - northeastern Colombia and the extreme west of Venezuela C. u. unibrunnea - most of Colombia, Ecuador, and the extreme north of Peru C. u. chakei - the Perijá Mountains on the border of Colombia and Venezuela

The rufous wren has a length of about 16.5 cm (6.5 in). Birds in most of Colombia and in Ecuador are a uniform dark chestnut-brown colour with slight blackish barring on the wings and tail, though this is difficult to observe in the field. The lores are also blackish. Individuals in northeastern Colombia and in Venezuela are a slightly paler shade, especially on the crown. The rufous wren could be confused with the sepia-brown wren (Cinnycerthia olivascens), but that species is less rufous and has bolder barring on wings and tail. Another similar bird is the rufous spinetail (Synallaxis unirufa), but that species has a longer tail, has no barring on wings and tail and is altogether different in voice and habits... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:57

Ecuador · 2016

© Manuel Sánchez-Nivicela · XC1157910 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Duet0:21

Ecuador · 2026

© Daan van der Hoeven · XC1155235 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:35

Colombia · 2016

© Pedro Arturo Camargo Martínez · XC356620 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Chingaza National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~40%
2 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~30%
3 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bogota 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rufous Wren in Bogota?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Wren sighting in Bogota on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 197th most-seen of the 231 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Rufous Wren in Bogota?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Wren in Bogota on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Rufous Wren?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous Wren sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Rufous Wren?

Only Bogota, in our data

Bogota is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Rufous Wren sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Where does the Rufous Wren sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rufous Wren is recorded against all the birds logged in Bogota (9 verified sightings), 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.

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