Willisornis poecilinotus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The common scale-backed antbird (Willisornis poecilinotus) is a species of passerine bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The common scale-backed antbird has a complicated taxonomic history. It was described and illustrated by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1847 and given the binomial name Hypocnemis poecilinotus. The specific epithet is from the Ancient Greek poikilonōtos "with variegated back" (from poikilos "spotted" and nōton "back"). It was subsequently included in the genus Hylophylax, but was found to not be closely related to the other species in the genus and then was briefly placed in genus Dichropogon. This name is preoccupied by a genus of asilid flies (Dichropogon Bezzi, 1910) so the current genus Willisornis was created for it.
The common scale-backed antbird has these five subspecies: The plumages of the subspecies... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brownsberg Nature Park | 🇸🇷 Suriname | |
| 2 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 6 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 7 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Scale-backed Antbird sighting in Tambopata National Reserve on a given day, based on 324 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 146th most-seen of the 550 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February to November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Scale-backed Antbird in Tambopata National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in December and January, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Scale-backed Antbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Common Scale-backed Antbird sightings, Tambopata National Reserve ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Brownsberg Nature Park (Suriname, about 30%) and Amacayacu National Natural Park (Colombia, about 10%).
Same family: Thamnophilidae
The closest relatives of the Common Scale-backed Antbird that you can see in Tambopata National Reserve (family Thamnophilidae, Typical Antbirds) are Chestnut-tailed Antbird (about 30%), White-browed Antbird (about 20%) and Plain-winged Antshrike (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Scale-backed Antbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Tambopata National Reserve (324 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.
