Rufous-thighed Kite

Rufous-thighed Kite

Harpagus diodon

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

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

In 3 days <5%

10 Verified sightings at Santos
331 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Rufous-thighed Kite

The rufous-thighed kite (Harpagus diodon) is a species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is found regularly in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Paraguay, and Suriname and as a vagrant in Colombia, French Guiana, and Venezuela.

Despite its English name, the rufous-thighed kite is not closely related to most other kites but to the "true" hawks. It shares its genus with the double-toothed kite (H. bidentatus) and is monotypic. The rufous-thighed kite is 29 to 35 cm (11 to 14 in) long with a wingspan of 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in). The sexes are almost alike though the female is slightly larger than the male. Chestnut thighs give the species its English name. Adults have a slate gray head and upperparts. Their tail is slate gray with three paler gray bars and white tips to the feathers. Their throat is whitish with a dark streak down its center. Their breast is gray that becomes white at the undertail coverts. Their eye is red or orange, their cere lemon yellow, and their legs yellow to orange. Immature birds have dark brown upperparts with streaks on the side of the head; they are whitish... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:09

Brazil · 2015

© Alexandre Bianco · XC216857 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:31

Argentina · 1989

© Miguel Castelino · XC60529 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Alarm call0:15

Argentina · 2012

© Bernabe Lopez-Lanus · XC154375 · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
2 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
4 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
5 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
6 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
2 Santos 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rufous-thighed Kite in Santos?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-thighed Kite sighting in Santos on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 163rd most-seen of the 203 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-thighed Kite in Santos?

Any time of year

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

What time of day is best to see a Rufous-thighed Kite?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-thighed Kite 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 Santos the best place to see a Rufous-thighed Kite?

Among the best

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Rufous-thighed Kite sightings, Santos ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil, under 5%).

Where does the Rufous-thighed Kite sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rufous-thighed Kite is recorded against all the birds logged in Santos (10 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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