Embernagra platensis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The Pampa finch (Embernagra platensis), also known as the great Pampa-finch, is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The Pampa finch was formally described in 1789 with the binomial Emberiza platensis. It was later declared the type species for the genus Embernagra that had been erected in 1831.
The Pampa finch's further taxonomy is complicated and not fully resolved. Some early twentieth century authors placed the genus Embernagra in the finch family Carduelidae. Others later reassigned it to what was then a large family of Old and New World species, Emberizidae. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the Pampa finch belonged in the tanager family Thraupidae. The Pampa finch shares genus Embernagra with the serra finch (E. longicauda), which some systems call the pale-throated Pampa-finch.
Most taxonomic systems assign these four subspecies to the Pampa finch: However, as of late 2025 the Clements taxonomy includes... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | El Palmar National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Cordoba | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 4 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 5 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great Pampa-Finch sighting in Itatiaia National Park on a given day, based on 176 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 172nd most-seen of the 352 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Great Pampa-Finch in Itatiaia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–May and August, the lowest months. Those are among Itatiaia National Park's wettest months, with about 300 mm of rain a month against 25 mm in July.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Pampa-Finch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Great Pampa-Finch sightings, Itatiaia National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Iberá National Park (Argentina, about 60%), El Palmar National Park (Argentina, about 30%) and Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 20%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Great Pampa-Finch that you can see in Itatiaia National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Saffron Finch (about 60%), Sayaca Tanager (about 60%) and Green-winged Saltator (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Pampa-Finch is recorded against all the birds logged in Itatiaia National Park (176 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.
