Mackenziaena severa
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The tufted antshrike (Mackenziaena severa) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The tufted antshrike shares genus Mackenziaena with the large-tailed antshrike (M. leachii). However, there is some doubt about how closely they are related, with evidence that the tufted antshrike is more closely related to the three species of genus Frederickena. Both species are monotypic.
The tufted antshrike is a large dark antbird, 20 to 23 cm (7.9 to 9.1 in) long and weighing 50 to 80 g (1.8 to 2.8 oz). The species exhibits significant sexual dimorphism, though both sexes have a crest (that usually is flattened), red irises, and a moderately long black bill with a hook at the end like true shrikes. Adult males are mostly sooty gray with a blackish forehead and crest and browish black wings. Adult females are mostly blackish brown. Their forehead and crest are rufous, their upperparts have cinnamon bars, their tail has faint paler bars, and their underparts have pale buff bars. Subadult males resemble adult males but are more brownish overall... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tufted Antshrike sighting in Iguaçu National Park on a given day, based on 516 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 99th most-seen of the 346 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–June and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Tufted Antshrike in Iguaçu National Park on a given day, against about 10% in July–September and November–March, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tufted Antshrike 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 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Tufted Antshrike sightings, Iguaçu National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, about 20%) and Iguazú National Park (Argentina, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tufted Antshrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguaçu National Park (516 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.
