Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant

Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant

Ochthoeca fumicolor

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Bogota

In 3 days <5%

7 Verified sightings at Bogota
2,334 In all 4 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant

The brown-backed chat-tyrant (Ochthoeca fumicolor) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The brown-backed chat-tyrant's taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, the Clements taxonomy, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) assign it these four subspecies:

However, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC) includes a fifth subspecies, O. f. superciliosa, that the other systems had also long included. It had been originally described in 1870 as a species and the SACC notes that at least one author early in the twentieth century continued to recognize it as one. HBW recognized that taxon as the rufous-browed chat-tyrant in 2016, Clements in 2022, and the IOC in 2023.

This article follows the four-subspecies model. The brown-backed chat-tyrant is 14.5 to 16 cm (5.7 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 16 to 19 g (0.56 to 0.67 oz). The sexes... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:14

Ecuador · 2025

© Manuel Sánchez-Nivicela · XC1175826 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Flight call0:10

Ecuador · 2000

© John V. Moore · XC258886 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:28

Ecuador · 1994

© Niels Krabbe · XC249678 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Chingaza National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~40%
2 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~30%
3 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
4 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Quito 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
2 Bogota 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant in Bogota?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant sighting in Bogota on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 211th most-seen of the 231 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant in Bogota?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant in Bogota on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown-backed Chat-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 Bogota the best place to see a Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant?

Among the best

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant sightings, Bogota ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Quito (Ecuador, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant live in Bogota?

Same family: Tyrannidae

The closest relatives of the Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant that you can see in Bogota (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Tropical Kingbird (about 70%), Eastern Wood-Pewee (about 30%) and White-throated Tyrannulet (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Bogota (7 verified sightings), 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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