Rufous Spinetail

Rufous Spinetail

Synallaxis unirufa

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Podocarpus National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

255 Verified sightings at Podocarpus National Park From 2019 to 2026
338 In all 3 parks
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Rufous Spinetail

The rufous spinetail (Synallaxis unirufa) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The rufous spinetail has these four subspecies:

For a period in the mid twentieth century the black-throated spinetail (S. castanea) was treated as another subspecies of the rufous spinetail; they are now known to be sister species. The rufous spinetail, black-throated spinetail, and rusty-headed spinetail (S. fuscorufa) were treated by some authors as a single species.

The rufous spinetail is 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 17 to 21 g (0.60 to 0.74 oz). It is one of the larger members of genus Synallaxis. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies S. u. unirufa are mostly bright reddish rufous. Their forehead is slightly paler and they have sooty blackish lores. Their throat feathers have black bases that are seldom visible. Their iris is dark brown to dark reddish... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:47

Colombia · 2022

© Frank Lambert · XC1141455 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:16

Colombia · 2025

© Alain Verneau · XC1073497 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Begging call0:20

Ecuador · 2024

© Sue Riffe · XC931245 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~20%
2 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
3 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rufous Spinetail in Podocarpus National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Spinetail sighting in Podocarpus National Park on a given day, based on 255 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 68th most-seen of the 446 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Rufous Spinetail in Podocarpus National Park?

August and November

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Spinetail in Podocarpus National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Rufous Spinetail?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous Spinetail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where does the Rufous Spinetail sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rufous Spinetail is recorded against all the birds logged in Podocarpus National Park (255 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.

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