Conopophaga lineata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The rufous gnateater (Conopophaga lineata) is a passerine bird of the gnateater family, Conopophagidae. It is found in forest understory and bushes in eastern Brazil from Rio Grande do Sul north to central Brazil. Its range also extends into eastern Paraguay and north-eastern Argentina and it has recently been recorded in Uruguay. It is often elusive and hard to see, but is commoner and less shy than other gnateaters.
It is a small, rounded bird, 13 cm in length with a short tail and fairly long legs. The plumage is mostly reddish brown. There is a white stripe above the eye (grey in the female) which ends in a tuft of feathers which can be hidden. The call is a series of quiet cheeps which become faster and higher-pitched. At dusk and dawn the males make a buzzing sound with their wing feathers as they fly around their territory.
The rufous gnateater feeds by moving quickly from one perch to another through undergrowth close to the ground. When it sees an insect it makes a short flight down to the ground or to overhead leaves to catch it. The cup-shaped nest is built in a tree and made of sticks and moss. The female lays two buff-coloured eggs, oval or slightly conical... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Campinas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Gnateater sighting in Iguazú National Park on a given day, based on 489 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 119th most-seen of the 343 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.
January, March and July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Gnateater in Iguazú National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and December, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous Gnateater sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Rufous Gnateater sightings, Iguazú National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, about 20%) and Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 10%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Rufous Gnateater that you can see in Iguazú National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Great Kiskadee (about 80%), Pale-breasted Thrush (about 70%) and Plush-crested Jay (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous Gnateater is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguazú National Park (489 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.
