Dot-backed Antbird

Dot-backed Antbird

Hylophylax punctulatus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Yasuní National Park

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%

279 Verified sightings at Yasuní National Park From 2019 to 2026
313 In all 3 parks
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Dot-backed Antbird

The dot-backed antbird (Hylophylax punctulatus) is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The dot-backed antbird is monotypic. It shares genus Hylophylax with the spotted antbird (H. naevioides) and spot-backed antbird (H. naevius). The population in central Brazil south of the Amazon is sometimes treated as subspecies H. p. subochraceous.

The dot-backed antbird is 10 to 11.5 cm (3.9 to 4.5 in) long and weighs 11 to 13 g (0.39 to 0.46 oz). Adult males have a dark rufous-brown crown, nape, and mantle with a white patch between their scapulars. Their back and rump are black with large white feather tips. Their flight feathers are dark brown with wide rufous-brown edges and their wing coverts black with wide white to pale buff tips. Their tail is black with white feather tips. Their face is mostly white; their throat and the lower sides of their neck are black. Their underparts are mostly white with heavy black spots across the breast and along the sides. Their lower belly and undertail coverts have a buffy-olive... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:31

Ecuador · 2025

© Charlie Vogt · XC1017450 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:52

Brazil · 2023

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC783252 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Recording0:36

Colombia · 2021

© Elvis Felipe Quintero · XC648849 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

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

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Dot-backed Antbird in Yasuní National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dot-backed Antbird sighting in Yasuní National Park on a given day, based on 279 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 189th most-seen of the 533 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.

When is the best time to see a Dot-backed Antbird in Yasuní National Park?

May and July–February

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dot-backed Antbird in Yasuní National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–April and June, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Dot-backed Antbird?

Between 3 and 6 pm

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

Is Yasuní National Park the best place to see a Dot-backed Antbird?

Yes

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Dot-backed Antbird sightings, Yasuní National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (Ecuador, about 10%) and Amacayacu National Natural Park (Colombia, under 5%).

Where does the Dot-backed Antbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Dot-backed Antbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Yasuní National Park (279 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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