Hemithraupis ruficapilla
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The rufous-headed tanager (Hemithraupis ruficapilla) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is endemic to Brazil. The rufous-headed tanager was formally described in 1818 with the binomial Nemosia ruficapilla. It was eventually reassigned to its present genus Hemithraupis that the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis erected in 1851. The rufous-headed tanager and the guira tanager (H. guira) hybrize where their ranges overlap; they are sister species and form a superspecies.
They are very similar and some authors suggest that they be lumped. The rufous-headed tanager is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs 11 to 13 g (0.39 to 0.46 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a mostly rich reddish chestnut head with a large bright yellow crescent behind the ear coverts. Their nape and back are olive with a yellowish tinge and their rump dark orange-rufous. Their uppertail coverts are mostly yellowish with the longest being yellowish olive... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-headed Tanager sighting in Tijuca National Park on a given day, based on 230 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 66th most-seen of the 214 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and June–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-headed Tanager in Tijuca National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–March and May, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-headed 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.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Rufous-headed Tanager sightings, Tijuca National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, about 20%), Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 10%) and Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-headed Tanager is recorded against all the birds logged in Tijuca National Park (230 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.
