Donacospiza albifrons
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The long-tailed reed finch (Donacospiza albifrons) is a species of South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of its genus Donacospiza. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Its natural habitats are temperate grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and swamps. The long-tailed reed finch was formally described in 1817 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot under the binomial name Sylvia albifrons. Vieillot based his description on the Cola Aguda del Vientre de Canela that had been described by the Spanish naturalist Félix de Azara in 1805 based on a specimen obtained in Paraguay. The long-tailed reed finch is now the only member of the genus Donacospiza that was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek donax meaning "reed" or "cane" with spiza meaning "finch". The specific epithet combines the Latin albus meaning "white" with frons meaning "forehead" or "front". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the long-tailed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | El Palmar National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Reed Finch sighting in Itatiaia National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 300th most-seen of the 352 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.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Reed Finch in Itatiaia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months. That is one of Itatiaia National Park's wettest months, with about 330 mm of rain against 25 mm in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Long-tailed Reed 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.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Long-tailed Reed Finch sightings, Itatiaia National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Iberá National Park (Argentina, about 20%) and El Palmar National Park (Argentina, about 10%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Long-tailed Reed 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 Long-tailed Reed Finch is recorded against all the birds logged in Itatiaia National Park (15 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.
