Empidonax flaviventris
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The yellow-bellied flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris) is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. Adults have greenish upperparts and yellowish underparts (especially on the throat), with a dusky wash on the chest. They have a white or yellow eye ring that lacks the teardrop projection of the western flycatcher, white or yellowish wing bars that contrast strongly against the black wings, a broad, flat bill, and a relatively short tail when compared to other members of the genus. The upper mandible of the bill is dark, while the lower mandible is orange-pink. DNA testing in 2014 confirmed a field mark, involving the extent of buffy edging on the secondaries, to reliably distinguish this species from the western flycatcher.
Measurements: Length: 5.1–5.9 in (13–15 cm) Weight: 0.3–0.6 oz (8.5–17.0 g) Wingspan: 7.1–7.9 in (18–20 cm) Yellow-bellied flycatchers wait on a perch low or in the middle of a tree and fly out to catch insects in flight, sometimes hovering over foliage. They sometimes eat berries or seeds.
The yellow-bellied flycatcher's song can be transcribed as a rough, descending "tse-berk", which can be similar to the more common least... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 3 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | |
| 7 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 1,729 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 126th most-seen of the 503 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to August, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-bellied 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.
18th of 49
Of the 49 parks where we can rate Yellow-bellied Flycatcher sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 18th at about 10%. The best odds are in Gros Morne National Park (Canada, about 50%), Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (Belize, about 40%) and Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park (Honduras, about 30%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (1,729 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.
