Galbula ruficauda
Silhouette: FJDegrange · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The rufous-tailed jacamar (Galbula ruficauda) is a near passerine bird which breeds in the tropical New World in southern Mexico, Central America and South America as far south as southern Brazil and Ecuador. Like other jacamars they are elegant, brightly coloured birds with long bills and tails. The rufous-tailed jacamar is typically 25 cm (10 in) long with a 5 cm (2 in) long black bill. The subspecies G. r. brevirostris has, as its name implies, a shorter bill. This bird is metallic green above, and the underparts are mainly orange, including the undertail, but there is a green breast band. Sexes differ in that the male has a white throat, and the female a buff throat; she also tends to have paler underparts. The race G. r. pallens has a copper-coloured back in both sexes.
This insectivore hunts from a perch, sitting with its bill tilted up, then flying out to catch flying insects. One commonly preyed upon insect is the social wasp Agelaia vicina. Other insect prey include flies, beetles, bees, dragonflies, and butterflies. Further, the bird distinguishes between edible and unpalatable butterflies mainly according to body shape. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | João Pessoa | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Valencia | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 4 | Recife | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 6 | Maceió | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-tailed Jacamar sighting in Main Ridge Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 764 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 11th most-seen of the 103 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, March and June
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-tailed Jacamar in Main Ridge Forest Reserve on a given day, against about 40% in October, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-tailed Jacamar sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 30 parks where we can rate Rufous-tailed Jacamar sightings, Main Ridge Forest Reserve has the highest daily chance: about 70%. Next come Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas (Brazil, about 50%) and Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombia, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Piciformes
The closest relatives of the Rufous-tailed Jacamar that you can see in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (order Piciformes, Woodpeckers and Allies) are Red-crowned Woodpecker (about 50%), Golden-olive Woodpecker (about 30%) and Red-rumped Woodpecker (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-tailed Jacamar is recorded against all the birds logged in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (764 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.
