Ramphotrigon ruficauda
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The rufous-tailed flatbill (Ramphotrigon ruficauda) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The rufous-tailed flatbill was originally described as Platyrhynchus ruficauda. The genus Ramphotrigon was long thought to be closely related to genera Tolmomyias and Rhynchocyclus, whose members also have wide bills. However, studies published in the early 2000s found that it is more closely related to genus Myiarchus.
The rufous-tailed flatbill is monotypic. The rufous-tailed flatbill is 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs about 17 to 26 g (0.60 to 0.92 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have an olive-green crown, a faint pale line behind the lores, and a faint pale eye-ring on an otherwise dark olive-green face. Their upperparts are mostly dark olive-green with bright rufous uppertail coverts. Their wings are mostly blackish with wide bright rufous edges on the flight feathers and tips on the coverts; the latter show as two wing bars. Their tail is bright rufous. Their throat is grayish, their... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-tailed Flatbill sighting in Yasuní National Park on a given day, based on 194 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 230th 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 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-tailed Flatbill in Yasuní National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, April–July and November, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-tailed Flatbill sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Rufous-tailed Flatbill sightings, Yasuní National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Tambopata National Reserve (Peru, under 5%) and Manu National Park (Peru, under 5%).
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Rufous-tailed Flatbill that you can see in Yasuní National Park (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Tropical Kingbird (about 50%), Great Kiskadee (about 50%) and Lesser Kiskadee (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-tailed Flatbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Yasuní National Park (194 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.
