Crested Black-Tyrant

Crested Black-Tyrant

Knipolegus lophotes

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Chapada dos Guimarães National Park

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%

49 Verified sightings at Chapada dos Guimarães National Park From 2019 to 2026
444 In all 3 parks
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Crested Black-Tyrant

The crested black tyrant (Knipolegus lophotes) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The crested black tyrant is monotypic. The crested black tyrant is 20 to 21 cm (7.9 to 8.3 in) long. Unique in its genus, it has a long thin crest. The sexes have the same plumage; males are slightly larger than females. Adults are almost entirely glossy blue-black. Their remiges have white bases that are conspicuous in flight but usually not visible at rest. Both sexes have a dark red or reddish-brown iris, a black bill, and black legs and feet.

The crested black tyrant and the phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens), a member of the silky-flycatcher family Ptiliogonatidae, are almost alike in appearance. Often such a close resemblance is a result of competitive mimicry. They inhabit similar landscapes, however their ranges are more than 4,000 km (2,500 mi) apart so mimicry cannot be the reason.

The crested black tyrant is found in Brazil from southern Bahia south to Rio Grande do Sul and west to southern Mato Grosso and its range continues into northern... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Flight call0:09

Brazil · 2013

© Noé Eiterer · XC149029 · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Song0:08

Uruguay · 2003

© Bernabe Lopez-Lanus · XC50584 · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Call0:36

Brazil · 2009

© Helberth Cardoso · XC43940 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
2 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
3 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Belo Horizonte 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
2 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Crested Black-Tyrant in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Black-Tyrant sighting in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 154th most-seen of the 273 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Crested Black-Tyrant in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park?

July–September and November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Black-Tyrant in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June, October and December–January, the lowest months. Those are among Chapada dos Guimarães National Park's driest months, with about 50 mm of rain a month against 240 mm in March. February to April have too few records to rate.

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

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crested 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 dos Guimarães National Park the best place to see a Crested Black-Tyrant?

2nd of 3

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Crested Black-Tyrant sightings, Chapada dos Guimarães National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 40%).

Which relatives of the Crested Black-Tyrant live in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park?

Same family: Tyrannidae

The closest relatives of the Crested Black-Tyrant that you can see in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (about 70%), Boat-billed Flycatcher (about 40%) and Rusty-margined Flycatcher (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

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

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Crested Black-Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (49 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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