Turdus rufopalliatus
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The rufous-backed thrush (Turdus rufopalliatus) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is endemic to Mexico but is also a casual visitor to the southwestern United States. It is also known as the rufous-backed robin.
The rufous-backed thrush was originally described in 1840 with the binomial Turdus rufo-palliatus and with modern spelling has kept that binomial ever since. Its further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, AviList, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assign it these three subspecies:
In addition, some authors have suggested that T. r. graysoni deserves recognition as a full species, "Grayson's robin" or "Grayson's thrush". Clements calls its two subspecies the "rufous-backed robin (rufous-backed)" and "rufous-backed robin (Grayson's)".
This article follows the IOC et al. three-subspecies model. The rufous-backed thrush is similar in size and shape to the American robin (T. migratorius... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xcaret | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-backed Robin sighting in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 64th most-seen of the 103 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.
May and October
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-backed Robin in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca on a given day, against under 5% in March and December–January, the lowest months. April and June–September have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-backed Robin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca, in our data
Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Rufous-backed Robin sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Turdus
The closest relatives of the Rufous-backed Robin that you can see in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (genus Turdus, Typical Thrushes) are American Robin (about 50%) and White-throated Thrush (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-backed Robin is recorded against all the birds logged in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (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.
