Euscarthmus fulviceps
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The fulvous-faced scrub tyrant, or tawny-fronted pygmy-tyrant (Euscarthmus fulviceps) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Ecuador, Peru, and possibly Colombia. What is now the fulvous-faced scrub tyrant was previously a subspecies of what was then the tawny-crowned pygmy tyrant (E. meloryphus). After the split most taxonomic systems renamed its former parent the fulvous-crowned scrub tyrant and gave this species its current common name to avoid confusion with the pre-split species and other, unrelated, species called "pygmy tyrants". However, as of late 2024 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains the original common name for E. meloryphus and calls this species the tawny-fronted pygmy-tyrant.
The fulvous-faced scrub tyrant is monotypic. The fulvous-faced scrub tyrant is 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in) long and weighs 5.3 to 7.6 g (0.19 to 0.27 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a cinnamon brown crown with a weak crest and a small rufous central crown patch that is somewhat hidden. Their face is mostly fulvous. Their upperparts are cinnamon brown... Wikipedia →
Recording0:12
Ecuador · 2025
© Mathieu Sannier · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording1:00
Peru · 2020
© Rutger Koperdraad · Observation.org, Nature data from around the World · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Machalilla National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Fulvous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant sighting in Guayaquil on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 85th most-seen of the 167 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Fulvous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant in Guayaquil on a given day, against under 5% in January to October, the lowest months. That is one of Guayaquil's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 220 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fulvous-headed 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.
Only Guayaquil, in our data
Guayaquil is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Fulvous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Fulvous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant that you can see in Guayaquil (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Tropical Kingbird (about 80%), Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet (about 40%) and Boat-billed Flycatcher (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fulvous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Guayaquil (38 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.
