Sooty Antbird

Sooty Antbird

Myrmeciza fortis

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Tambopata National Reserve

In 3 days <5%

8 Verified sightings at Tambopata National Reserve From 2019 to 2026
363 In all 5 parks
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Sooty Antbird

The sooty antbird (Hafferia fortis) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The sooty antbird was described and illustrated by the English ornithologists Philip Sclater and Osbert Salvin in 1868 and given the binomial name Percnostola fortis. The species was later included in the genus Myrmeciza. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2013 found that Myrmeciza was polyphyletic. In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, the sooty antbird was moved to the newly erected genus Hafferia.

The sooty antbird shares genus Hafferia with the blue-lored antbird (H. immaculata) and Zeledon's antbird (H. zeledoni). The sooty antbird is 17 to 19 cm (6.7 to 7.5 in) long and weighs 42 to 48 g (1.5 to 1.7 oz). Both sexes have a ring of light blue bare skin around their eye and a red iris. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are mostly very dark gray with a brown tinge on their wings and a seldom... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:35

Peru · 2007

© dbeadle · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Recording0:46

Brazil · 2025

© Laura Gaudette · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Recording0:22

Brazil · 2024

© Luciano Bernardes · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
2 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
3 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
4 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
5 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Sooty Antbird in Tambopata National Reserve?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Antbird sighting in Tambopata National Reserve on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 519th most-seen of the 550 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Sooty Antbird in Tambopata National Reserve?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Antbird in Tambopata National Reserve on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Sooty Antbird?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sooty 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.

Which relatives of the Sooty Antbird live in Tambopata National Reserve?

Same genus: Myrmeciza

The closest relatives of the Sooty Antbird that you can see in Tambopata National Reserve (genus Myrmeciza) are Chestnut-tailed Antbird (about 30%), Plumbeous Antbird (about 10%) and Goeldi's Antbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Sooty Antbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Sooty Antbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Tambopata National Reserve (8 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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