Short-crested Flycatcher

Short-crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus ferox

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Rio de Janeiro

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

440 Verified sightings at Rio de Janeiro
4,679 In all 19 parks From 2019 to 2026
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Short-crested Flycatcher

The short-crested flycatcher (Myiarchus ferox) is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile. The short-crested flycatcher was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the Old World flycatchers in the genus Muscicapa and coined the binomial name Muscicapa ferox. The specific epithet ferox is from Latin and means "brave", "wild" or "fierce". Gmelin based his description primarily on "Le tyran de Cayenne" that had been described in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. Brisson had examined both male and female specimens that had been sent to France from Cayenne.

The short-crested flycatcher is one of 22 flycatchers in the genus Myiarchus that was introduced in 1844 by Jean Cabanis. Within Myiarchus, the short-crested flycatcher is genetically closely related to the Panama flycatcher (Myiarchus panamensis).

As of early 2025 the short-crested flycatcher is assigned these three subspecies: Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:24

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1183887 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:21

Brazil · 2020

© João Vitor Oliveira de Souza · XC744388 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Canto0:25

Brazil · 2015

© Caio Brito · XC427600 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
2 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
3 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
4 Emas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
5 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~20%
6 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
7 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
8 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
9 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
10 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
11 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
12 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
13 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
14 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
15 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
16 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
17 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
18 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
19 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Goiânia 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
2 Campo Grande 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
3 Manaus 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
4 Belo Horizonte 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
5 Belém 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
6 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
7 Campinas 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
8 Niterói 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
9 Brasilia 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
10 Maceió 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Short-crested Flycatcher in Rio de Janeiro?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Short-crested Flycatcher sighting in Rio de Janeiro on a given day, based on 440 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 60th most-seen of the 278 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Short-crested Flycatcher in Rio de Janeiro?

January and October

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Short-crested Flycatcher in Rio de Janeiro on a given day, against about 10% in February–September and November–December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Short-crested Flycatcher?

Between 8 and 11 am

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

Is Rio de Janeiro the best place to see a Short-crested Flycatcher?

6th of 14

Of the 14 cities where we can rate Short-crested Flycatcher sightings, Rio de Janeiro ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Goiânia (Brazil, about 20%), Campo Grande (Brazil, about 20%) and Manaus (Brazil, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Short-crested Flycatcher live in Rio de Janeiro?

Same family: Tyrannidae

The closest relatives of the Short-crested Flycatcher that you can see in Rio de Janeiro (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (about 90%), Tropical Kingbird (about 70%) and Masked Water-Tyrant (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Short-crested Flycatcher sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Short-crested Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Rio de Janeiro (440 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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