Harpagus diodon
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Santos | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-thighed Kite sighting in Iguazú National Park on a given day, based on 77 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 240th most-seen of the 343 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-thighed Kite in Iguazú National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months. That is one of Iguazú National Park's wettest months, with about 240 mm of rain against 90 mm in August.
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.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Rufous-thighed Kite sightings, Iguazú National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 10%), Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, under 5%) and Tijuca National Park (Brazil, under 5%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Rufous-thighed Kite that you can see in Iguazú National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are Roadside Hawk (about 30%), Plumbeous Kite (about 20%) and Snail Kite (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-thighed Kite is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguazú National Park (77 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.
