Velvety Black-Tyrant

Velvety Black-Tyrant

Knipolegus nigerrimus

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR Endemic
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Chapada Diamantina National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

167 Verified sightings at Chapada Diamantina National Park From 2019 to 2026
936 In all 4 parks
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Velvety Black-Tyrant

The velvety black tyrant (Knipolegus nigerrimus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is endemic to Brazil. The velvety black tyrant was formally described in 1818 as Muscicapa nigerrima, placing it in the Old World flycatcher family. It was later transferred to genus Knipolegus, which was erected in 1826 with the blue-billed black tyrant (K. cyanirostris) as the type species.

The velvety black tyrant's taxonomy is unsettled. The Clements taxonomy does not recognize hoflingae, treating the species as monotypic. This article follows the two-subspecies model. The velvety black tyrant is 17.5 to 18 cm (6.9 to 7.1 in) long. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are almost entirely glossy blue-black and have a small bushy crest. Their primaries have white bases that are conspicuous in flight but usually not visible at rest. Adult females are also mostly glossy blue-black. They do not have a crest but have a... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:51

Brazil · 2025

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1025716 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:10

Brazil · 2017

© Ross Gallardy · XC415995 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:37

Brazil · 2014

© Marco Cruz · XC356848 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
2 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
3 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
4 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Velvety Black-Tyrant in Chapada Diamantina National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Velvety Black-Tyrant sighting in Chapada Diamantina National Park on a given day, based on 167 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 68th most-seen of the 271 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.

When is the best time to see a Velvety Black-Tyrant in Chapada Diamantina National Park?

February to April

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Velvety Black-Tyrant in Chapada Diamantina National Park on a given day, against about 10% in June to August, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Velvety Black-Tyrant?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Velvety Black-Tyrant sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Chapada Diamantina National Park the best place to see a Velvety Black-Tyrant?

2nd of 4

Of the 4 parks where we can rate Velvety Black-Tyrant sightings, Chapada Diamantina National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, about 40%).

Where does the Velvety Black-Tyrant sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Velvety Black-Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Chapada Diamantina National Park (167 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.

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