Sublegatus arenarum
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The northern scrub flycatcher (Sublegatus arenarum) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Aruba, Bonaire, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad, and Venezuela.
What are now the northern scrub flycatcher, Amazonian scrub flycatcher (S. obscurior), and southern scrub flycatcher (S. modestus) were previously members of the single species named scrub flycatcher with the binomial S. modestus. The further taxonomy of the three scrub flycatchers has not been fully resolved.
As of late 2024, the northern scrub flycatcher was assigned these six subspecies: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caroni Swamp | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 2 | Coiba National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 5 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Barranquilla | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Valencia | 🇻🇪 Venezuela |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Scrub-Flycatcher sighting in Coiba National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 98th most-seen of the 118 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.
February, April, July and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Scrub-Flycatcher in Coiba National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March, June, August–September and November, the lowest months. May and October have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Scrub-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.
2nd of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Northern Scrub-Flycatcher sightings, Coiba National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Caroni Swamp (Trinidad and Tobago, about 20%).
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Northern Scrub-Flycatcher that you can see in Coiba National Park (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Yellow-bellied Elaenia (about 40%), Tropical Kingbird (about 40%) and Great Kiskadee (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Scrub-Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Coiba National Park (9 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
