Megarynchus pitangua
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The boat-billed flycatcher (Megarynchus pitangua) is a large member of the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Mexico, in every Central American country, on Trinidad, and in every mainland South American country though only as a vagrant in Chile.
The boat-billed flycatcher was originally described as Lanius pitangua, mistakenly placing it in the shrike family. It was eventually moved to its present genus Megarynchus that was erected in 1824. That name is from the Greek "μεγα" (mega) meaning "much" and "ῥυγχος" (rhunkhos) meaning "bill". The specific epithet derives from the Tupi language name for the bird, "Pitanguá guacú".
The boat-billed flycatcher is the only member of its genus and has these six subspecies: There are differences among the subspecies' vocalizations, leading some authors to state that "critical re-evaluation of [the] races is needed". The Clements taxonomy recognizes some distinctions within the species by calling... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Niterói | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Salvador | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aviario Nacional de Colombia | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Boat-billed Flycatcher sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 3,469 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 66th most-seen of the 503 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–July and September–November
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Boat-billed Flycatcher in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against about 20% in August and December–April, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Boat-billed Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
34th of 72
Of the 72 parks where we can rate Boat-billed Flycatcher sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 34th at about 20%. The best odds are in Cañón del Sumidero National Park (Mexico, about 60%), Tijuca National Park (Brazil, about 50%) and Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park (Honduras, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Boat-billed Flycatcher that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (about 70%), Social Flycatcher (about 50%) and Tropical Kingbird (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Boat-billed Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (3,469 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.
