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Rufous Mourner

Rhytipterna holerythra

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesForestCavity nestSmall · 37 g
Rufous Mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra), photo 1
Photo: Navin Sasikumar · CC BY 4.0
Rufous Mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra), photo 2
Photo: Navin Sasikumar · CC BY 4.0
Rufous Mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra), photo 3
Photo: Лариса Артемьева · CC0
Rufous Mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra), photo 4
Photo: er-birds · CC BY 4.0
Rufous Mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra), photo 5
Photo: er-birds · CC BY 4.0
Rufous Mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra), photo 6
Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0
Rufous Mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra), photo 7
Photo: Anthony Batista · CC BY 4.0
Rufous Mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra), photo 8
Photo: Jason Alexander · CC BY 4.0
Rufous Mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra), photo 9
Photo: er-birds · CC BY 4.0
Rufous Mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra), photo 10
Photo: er-birds · CC BY 4.0

What the Rufous Mourner sounds like

Sonogram of the Rufous Mourner: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Esmeraldas: El Placer, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Rufous Mourner: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Esmeraldas: 18.5 road km NNW Alto Tambo, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Rufous Mourner: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Dawn song · Esmeraldas: Humedal de Yalare, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The rufous mourner is 19.5 to 21 cm (7.7 to 8.3 in) long and weighs about 32 to 39 g (1.1 to 1.4 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Males of the nominate subspecies have a mostly cinnamon brown to russet head and upperparts with a darker rufous crown. Their wings are a darker brown than the back with cinnamon rufous edges on the flight feathers. Their tail is mostly cinnamon rufous with darker central feathers. Their underparts are bright cinnamon to tawny ochraceous that is lighter on the throat and belly and darker on the breast. Voice: The rufous mourner is not highly vocal. Its song is "a steady, rich, slightly plaintive...wheeo-wheeo-wheeo-weeo-weeo-weeo-wheee. Its call is "an extended, mournful 'wolf-whistle' that rises and then falls in pitch, described variously as right here or wheeip, wheeeer or wheeeu peeeu or whi heeeu."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Rufous Mourner

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 10 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is March, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Rufous Mourner

Regular range

The map shades 9 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Costa Rica Panama Belize Guatemala Colombia Honduras Mexico Ecuador Nicaragua

About the Rufous Mourner

The rufous mourner is a passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Mexico, every Central American country except El Salvador, Colombia, and Ecuador.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Greyish Mourner (Rhytipterna simplex) Greyish MournerRhytipterna simplexThe greyish mourner is 19.5 to 20.5 cm (7.7 to 8.1 in) long and weighs 33 to 38 g (1.2 to 1.3 oz). Pale-bellied MournerRhytipterna immundaThe pale-bellied mourner is 18.5 to 19 cm (7.3 to 7.5 in) long and weighs about 28 g (0.99 oz).

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