Burnished-buff Tanager

Burnished-buff Tanager

Stilpnia cayana

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
at Serra da Canastra National Park

In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%

355 Verified sightings at Serra da Canastra National Park From 2019 to 2026
2,554 In all 10 parks
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Burnished-buff Tanager

The burnished-buff tanager (Stilpnia cayana), also known as the rufous-crowned tanager, is a common South American species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in the northern Guianas, most of Venezuela, and east-central Colombia; also near the Amazon River outlet in Brazil, as well as most of the east of that country, Paraguay, and northeast Argentina. It also occurs very locally in Bolivia and Peru. It can be seen in virtually any semi-open habitat with trees, including human-altered habitats such as gardens, plantations, and parks.

There are several subspecies of the burnished-buff tanager, falling into two main groups: the northern and western cayana group, and the southern and eastern flava group. The subspecies huberi from Marajó Island is intermediate between the two main groups. Males of the cayana group have an orange-rufous crown, black mask, and cream underparts distinctly tinged blue on the throat and chest. Males of the flava group have an orange-buff crown and buff underparts with a black patch extending from the mask, over the throat and central chest, to the mid-belly. Males of both groups have turquoise wings... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:14

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1162251 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:08

Brazil · 2024

© Robson Silva e Silva · XC1018694 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:29

Colombia · 2022

© Frank Lambert · XC1036459 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~60%
2 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~50%
3 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~50%
4 Emas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
5 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
6 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~30%
7 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
8 Henri Pittier National Park 🇻🇪 Venezuela
~10%
9 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
10 Chingaza National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Recife 🇧🇷 Brazil
~50%
2 João Pessoa 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
3 Maceió 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
4 Campo Grande 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
5 Salvador 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
6 Campinas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
7 Natal 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
8 Maracaibo 🇻🇪 Venezuela
~10%
9 Valencia 🇻🇪 Venezuela
~10%
10 Belo Horizonte 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Basel Zoo 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
2 California Academy of Sciences 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
3 Aviario Nacional de Colombia 🇨🇴 Colombia In captivity
4 The Living Planet Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
5 Dallas World Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
6 Butterfly World 🇺🇸 United States In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Burnished-buff Tanager in Serra da Canastra National Park?

Likely

About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Burnished-buff Tanager sighting in Serra da Canastra National Park on a given day, based on 355 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 12th most-seen of the 294 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Burnished-buff Tanager in Serra da Canastra National Park?

August

In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Burnished-buff Tanager in Serra da Canastra National Park on a given day, against about 40% in February and December, the lowest months. That is one of Serra da Canastra National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 280 mm in January.

What time of day is best to see a Burnished-buff Tanager?

Between 9 am and noon

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

Which relatives of the Burnished-buff Tanager live in Serra da Canastra National Park?

Same family: Thraupidae

The closest relatives of the Burnished-buff Tanager that you can see in Serra da Canastra National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Saffron Finch (about 80%), Sayaca Tanager (about 60%) and Blue-black Grassquit (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Burnished-buff Tanager sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Burnished-buff Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra da Canastra National Park (355 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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