Rufous hornero
Furnarius rufus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
The rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus) is a species in the family Furnariidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 45 g to 75 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the rufous hornero
- Weight
- 45 g – 75 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the rufous hornero live?
Not recorded
What is the rufous hornero?
The rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus) is a medium-sized ovenbird in the family Furnariidae. It occurs in eastern South America and is the national bird of Argentina. Also known as the red ovenbird, it is common in savannas, second-growth scrub, pastures, and agricultural land and is synanthropic. Its range includes midwestern, southeastern, and southern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern and central Argentina, extending as far south as northern Patagonia. The species is most closely related to the crested hornero of Paraguay and Argentina. There are four accepted subspecies.
The rufous hornero is medium-sized with a square tail and very slightly decurved bill. The plumage is overall reddish brown with a dull brown crown and a whitish throat. Sexes are alike and juvenile birds are slightly paler below (probably because they are cleaner). Rufous horneros feed on insects and other arthropods obtained by foraging on the ground while walking. They sometimes feed on scraps such as bread crumbs. Songs in the rufous hornero are sexually distinct. The rapid trill that is usually heard as part of the duet is faster in the male and slower in the female, and both beat their wings at their sides while singing and the wings beat at the same rate as their trill. Thus, while watching an observer may identify the sex by how fast their wings beat while singing.
From the Wikipedia article “Rufous hornero” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rufous_hornero&oldid=1376218919), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the rufous hornero sound like?
Is the rufous hornero endangered?
The rufous hornero is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the rufous hornero classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyFurnariidae
- genusFurnarius
- SpeciesFurnarius rufus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
Synonyms Merops rufus
Other names and names in other languages (33)
- Red ovenbirdEnglish
- forner rogencCatalan
- hrnčiřík prostýCzech
- pobydd cochWelsh
- Brun OvnfuglDanish
- LehmhansGerman
- RosttöpferGerman
- TöpfervogelGerman
- rufa furnarioEsperanto
- Hornero comúnSpanish
- HorneroSpanish
- orneeroFinnish
- Fournier rouxFrench
- riđi pećarCroatian
- közönséges fazekasmadárHungarian
- Fornaio rossicicoItalian
- セアカカマドドリJapanese
- rusvasis krosniusLithuanian
- Rosse OvenvogelDutch
- haciendaovnfuglNorwegian
- garncarz rdzawyPolish
- joão-de-barroPortuguese
- forneiro-ruivoPortuguese
- Рыжий печникRussian
- Рыжий настоящий печникRussian
- Рыжий (настоящий) печникRussian
- hrnčiarik hrdzavýSlovak
- Riđa pećarkaSerbian
- haciendahorneroSwedish
- Pas Rengi ÇömlekçikuşuTurkish
- горнеро рудийUkrainian
- 棕灶鳥Chinese
- 棕灶鸟Chinese
Relatives of the rufous hornero
Other species in the same genus Furnarius.

Crested hornero
Furnarius cristatus
Band-tailed hornero
Furnarius figulus
Pale-legged hornero
Furnarius leucopus
Lesser hornero
Furnarius minor
Bay hornero
Furnarius torridus
Pacific hornero
Furnarius cinnamomeus
CompareRufous hornero vs Crested horneroRufous hornero vs Band-tailed horneroRufous hornero vs Pale-legged horneroRufous hornero vs Lesser hornero
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the rufous hornero?
An adult rufous hornero weighs 45 g – 75 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the rufous hornero endangered?
The rufous hornero is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the rufous hornero?
The rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus) belongs to the family Furnariidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rufous-hornero
“Rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rufous-hornero.
@misc{rufous_hornero_2026,
title = {Rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rufous-hornero},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}