Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant

Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant

Muscisaxicola maclovianus

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Buenos Aires

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

812 Verified sightings at Buenos Aires
860 In all 5 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant

The dark-faced ground tyrant (Muscisaxicola maclovianus) is a small passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, possibly in Ecuador, and as a vagrant to Brazil.

The dark-faced ground tyrant was originally described as Sylvia macloviana, placing it with the Old World warblers. It was eventually moved to genus Muscisaxicola which had been erected in 1837. Because that genus is masculine the specific epithet was changed to follow the rules of binomial nomenclature.

The dark-faced ground tyrant is 15 to 16.5 cm (5.9 to 6.5 in) long. The two subspecies and both sexes have the same plumage, though subspecies M. m. mentalis is significantly smaller than the nominate. Adults have a blackish forehead, lores, and cheeks and a dull chestnut-brown crown. Their upperparts are mostly dark brown to smoky brown with a black lower rump. Their wings are a duskier brown than the upperparts. Their tail is black with whitish... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:38

Argentina · 2011

© Andrew Spencer · XC89724 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Song0:10

Argentina · 1992

© Felix Vidoz · XC53317 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tierra del Fuego National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
2 Torres del Paine National Park 🇨🇱 Chile
~20%
3 Nahuel Huapi National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
4 Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park 🇨🇱 Chile
~10%
5 Península Valdés 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
2 Santiago 🇨🇱 Chile
<5%
3 Montevideo 🇺🇾 Uruguay
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant in Buenos Aires?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant sighting in Buenos Aires on a given day, based on 812 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 119th most-seen of the 274 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 Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant in Buenos Aires?

June and July

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant in Buenos Aires on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dark-faced Ground-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 Buenos Aires the best place to see a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant?

Yes

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant sightings, Buenos Aires has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Santiago (Chile, under 5%) and Montevideo (Uruguay, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant live in Buenos Aires?

Same family: Tyrannidae

The closest relatives of the Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant that you can see in Buenos Aires (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (about 90%), Cattle Tyrant (about 50%) and White-crested Tyrannulet (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Buenos Aires (812 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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