Megarynchus pitangua
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The boat-billed flycatcher (Megarynchus pitangua) is a large member of the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Mexico, in every Central American country, on Trinidad, and in every mainland South American country though only as a vagrant in Chile.
The boat-billed flycatcher was originally described as Lanius pitangua, mistakenly placing it in the shrike family. It was eventually moved to its present genus Megarynchus that was erected in 1824. That name is from the Greek "μεγα" (mega) meaning "much" and "ῥυγχος" (rhunkhos) meaning "bill". The specific epithet derives from the Tupi language name for the bird, "Pitanguá guacú".
The boat-billed flycatcher is the only member of its genus and has these six subspecies: There are differences among the subspecies' vocalizations, leading some authors to state that "critical re-evaluation of [the] races is needed". The Clements taxonomy recognizes some distinctions within the species by calling... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Niterói | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Salvador | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Guayaquil | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aviario Nacional de Colombia | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Boat-billed Flycatcher sighting in Panama City on a given day, based on 452 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 86th most-seen of the 363 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Boat-billed Flycatcher in Panama City on a given day, against under 5% in March and June–August, the lowest months. That is one of Panama City's wettest months, with about 260 mm of rain against 10 mm in February.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Boat-billed 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.
24th of 31
Of the 31 cities where we can rate Boat-billed Flycatcher sightings, Panama City ranks 24th at about 10%. The best odds are in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil, about 50%), Tegucigalpa (Honduras, about 50%) and Campo Grande (Brazil, about 40%).
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Boat-billed Flycatcher that you can see in Panama City (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Tropical Kingbird (about 70%), Common Tody-Flycatcher (about 30%) and Great Kiskadee (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Boat-billed Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Panama City (452 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.
