Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant

Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant

Lophotriccus pileatus

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

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

In 3 days <5%

9 Verified sightings at Cali
10,231 In all 18 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant

The scale-crested pygmy tyrant (Lophotriccus pileatus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, native to the American Cordillera. The scale-crested pygmy tyrant was originally described in 1844 as Euscarthmus pileatus. It was later moved into Lophotriccus. Several authors have suggested that genus Lophotriccus should be merged into genus Hemitriccus.

The scale-crested pygmy tyrant has these five subspecies: It has long crown feathers that form the eponymous crest and that it sometimes erects and fans. Females have a smaller crest than males but the sexes otherwise have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies L. p. pileatus have a black crest with rufous edges on the feathers. They have whitish lores on an otherwise brownish face. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are olive. Their wings are dusky with yellow edges on the... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Territorial call0:22

Ecuador · 2024

© Manuel Sánchez-Nivicela · XC1153574 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:36

Colombia · 2025

© Alain Verneau · XC1141733 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:12

Ecuador · 2026

© Daan van der Hoeven · XC1106682 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~40%
2 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~30%
3 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
4 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
5 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
6 Machalilla National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
7 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
8 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
9 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
10 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
11 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
12 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
13 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
14 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
15 Henri Pittier National Park 🇻🇪 Venezuela
<5%
16 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
17 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
18 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cali 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant in Cali?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant sighting in Cali on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 198th most-seen of the 226 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 Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant in Cali?

September

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant in Cali on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Scale-crested Pygmy-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.

Where else can you see a Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant?

Only Cali, in our data

Cali is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant live in Cali?

Same family: Tyrannidae

The closest relatives of the Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant that you can see in Cali (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (about 90%), Tropical Kingbird (about 80%) and Rusty-margined Flycatcher (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Cali (9 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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