Myadestes occidentalis
Silhouette: Francesco "Architetto" Rollandin · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The brown-backed solitaire (Myadestes occidentalis) is a thrush found in montane pine-oak woodlands from Mexico to Honduras. The brown-backed solitaire was originally described as Myadestes obscurus. In 1882, Stejneger split it as the mainland Myadestes obscurus var occidentalis and Myadestes obscurus var. insularis, endemic to the Tres Marías Islands. However, the binomial Myadestes obscurus was later found to have been assigned to another species. By the principle of priority, Stejneger's two taxa were then named M. occidentalis occidentalis and M. occidentalis insularis.
The brown-backed solitaire is 20.5 to 21.5 cm (8.1 to 8.5 in) long and weighs 38 to 44 g (1.3 to 1.6 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies M. o. occidentalis have black lores with a white stripe above them, a broken white eye-ring, a white "moustache" stripe, black cheeks, and a white chin and upper... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Triunfo | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Celaque National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 2 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-backed Solitaire sighting in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, based on 664 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 275 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.
January
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-backed Solitaire in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park on a given day, against about 10% in October, the lowest month. That is one of Cumbres de Monterrey National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 180 mm in September.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown-backed Solitaire sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Brown-backed Solitaire sightings, Cumbres de Monterrey National Park ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in El Triunfo (Mexico, about 50%) and Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (Mexico, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Turdidae
The closest relatives of the Brown-backed Solitaire that you can see in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (family Turdidae, Thrushes) are Clay-colored Thrush (about 60%), Hermit Thrush (about 20%) and American Robin (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown-backed Solitaire is recorded against all the birds logged in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (664 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.
