Empidonax atriceps
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The black-capped flycatcher (Empidonax atriceps) is a very small passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The black-capped flycatcher is monotypic. The black-capped flycatcher is 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in) long and weighs about 9 g (0.32 oz). The sexes are alike. Adults have a black crown with a short crest and a bold white eye-ring that is wider behind the eye on an otherwise brownish olive face. These features by themselves set it apart from all other Empidonax. Their nape and upperparts are also brownish olive. Their tail is dusky with white outer webs on the outer feathers. Their wings are dusky with pale brown edges on the secondaries and tertials. The wing coverts are dusky with pale brown tips that show as two wing bars. Their throat is white and their breast and belly pale buffish cinnamon. They have a dark iris, a black maxilla, an orange-yellow mandible with a dark tip, and blackish legs and feet. Juveniles have a slightly duller black cap than adults with browner upperparts, buffy edges and tips on the wing feathers, and a paler belly. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-capped Flycatcher sighting in Chirripó National Park on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 213th most-seen of the 332 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-capped Flycatcher in Chirripó National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-capped 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.
6th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Black-capped Flycatcher sightings, Chirripó National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Irazú Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%), Los Quetzales National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%) and Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%).
Same genus: Empidonax
The closest relatives of the Black-capped Flycatcher that you can see in Chirripó National Park (genus Empidonax, Empidonax Flycatchers) are Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (about 10%) and Yellowish Flycatcher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-capped Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Chirripó 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.
