Thlypopsis pyrrhocoma
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The chestnut-headed tanager (Thlypopsis pyrrhocoma) is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in the Atlantic Forest of southeast Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and far northeastern Argentina. It was formerly the only member of the genus Pyrrhocoma but is now placed in Thlypopsis.
The chestnut-headed tanager was formally described in 1844 by the English naturalist Hugh Edwin Strickland under the binomial name Tachyphonus ruficeps. The species was subsequently placed in the monotypic genus Pyrrhocoma by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the chestnut-headed tanager was embedded in a clade containing members of the genus Thlypopsis. The genera were therefore merged but as Thlypopsis already contained the rust-and-yellow tanager as Thlypopsis ruficeps d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837, a new specific epithet pyrrhocoma was coined for the chestnut-headed tanager, using the earlier generic name "to communicate past taxonomic connections". The name comes from the Ancient Greek purrhokomēs meaning "red-haired". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The chestnut... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-headed Tanager sighting in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 247th most-seen of the 336 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-headed Tanager in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to September, the lowest months. Those are among Serra dos Órgãos National Park's wettest months, with about 260 mm of rain a month against 50 mm in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chestnut-headed Tanager sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Chestnut-headed Tanager sightings, Serra dos Órgãos National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Iguazú National Park (Argentina, under 5%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Chestnut-headed Tanager that you can see in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Bananaquit (about 70%), Saffron Finch (about 70%) and Golden-chevroned Tanager (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chestnut-headed Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (22 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.
