Megarynchus pitangua
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
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 |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Boat-billed Flycatcher sighting in San José on a given day, based on 6,466 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 25th most-seen of the 379 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June to September
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Boat-billed Flycatcher in San José on a given day, against about 30% in October to May, the lowest months. Those are among San José's wettest months, with about 210 mm of rain a month against 20 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.
6th of 31
Of the 31 cities where we can rate Boat-billed Flycatcher sightings, San José ranks 6th at about 30%. 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 San José (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (about 80%), Tropical Kingbird (about 70%) and Social Flycatcher (about 60%), 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 San José (6,466 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.
