Rufous-bellied Thrush

Rufous-bellied Thrush

Turdus rufiventris

Silhouette: Abraão Leite · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
at Niterói

In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%

1,003 Verified sightings at Niterói
10,505 In all 14 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Rufous-bellied Thrush

The rufous-bellied thrush (Turdus rufiventris) is a songbird of the thrush family (Turdidae). Its distribution covers most of eastern and southeastern Brazil from the states of Maranhão south to Rio Grande do Sul, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and central regions of Argentina.

It is one of the most common birds across much of southeastern Brazil, and is known there under the name sabiá-laranjeira (Portuguese pronunciation: [sabiˈa laɾɐ̃ˈʒejɾɐ]). It was famously referred to in the well-known first strophe of the Brazilian nationalist poem Canção do Exílio. The rufous-bellied thrush has been the state bird of São Paulo since 1966, and the national bird of Brazil since 2002. It is highly regarded in Brazil, where its song is often heard in the afternoons, but specially during the nights between August and November, where thousands of them sing until the sunrise, and is often seen as "the spirit of the Brazilian commoner".

This species is named after its distinctive reddish-orange underparts. Rufous-bellied thrushes can reach a length of 25 cm and weigh up to 68 g (male) or 78 g (female), though weights of about 59 g for males and 64 g for females are more usual. Contrary... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Alarm call0:44

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1135373 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:26

Brazil · 2025

© Ricardo José Mitidieri · XC1058579 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Distress call0:37

Brazil · 2025

© Pedro Menoncin · XC1051859 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~70%
2 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~70%
3 El Palmar National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~60%
4 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~60%
5 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~60%
6 El Impenetrable National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~50%
7 Amboró National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
~50%
8 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~50%
9 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~50%
10 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~40%
11 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
12 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
13 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
14 Emas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Mendoza 🇦🇷 Argentina
~90%
2 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
~90%
3 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
~90%
4 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
~90%
5 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
~80%
6 Campo Grande 🇧🇷 Brazil
~80%
7 Rosario 🇦🇷 Argentina
~70%
8 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
~70%
9 Montevideo 🇺🇾 Uruguay
~70%
10 Brasilia 🇧🇷 Brazil
~70%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Pairi Daiza 🇧🇪 Belgium In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rufous-bellied Thrush in Niterói?

Likely

About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-bellied Thrush sighting in Niterói on a given day, based on 1,003 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 12th most-seen of the 116 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Rufous-bellied Thrush in Niterói?

September

In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-bellied Thrush in Niterói on a given day, against about 30% in January and March, the lowest months. That is one of Niterói's driest months, with about 70 mm of rain against 230 mm in December.

What time of day is best to see a Rufous-bellied Thrush?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

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

Is Niterói the best place to see a Rufous-bellied Thrush?

11th of 24

Of the 24 cities where we can rate Rufous-bellied Thrush sightings, Niterói ranks 11th at about 60%. The best odds are in Mendoza (Argentina, about 90%), Porto Alegre (Brazil, about 90%) and Curitiba (Brazil, about 90%).

Where does the Rufous-bellied Thrush sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rufous-bellied Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Niterói (1,003 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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