Muscicapa sibirica
Silhouette: Ekytza · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The dark-sided flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica) is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Muscicapa in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It has a wide breeding distribution in the East Palearctic with northern birds migrating south for the winter. It is also known as the Siberian flycatcher or sooty flycatcher, the latter name is also used for the sooty flycatcher (Artomyias infuscata) of Africa.
The dark-sided 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 flycatchers in the genus Muscicapa and coined the binomial name Muscicapa sibirica. Gmelin based his account on the "Dunn flycatcher" that had been described in 1783 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham reported that the bird was found around Lake Baikal in southern Siberia.
Four subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiuzhaigou National Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 4 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 6 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 7 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 8 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 10 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 11 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 12 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 13 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 14 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 15 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 18 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 19 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 20 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-sided Flycatcher sighting in Kinabalu Park on a given day, based on 48 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 129th most-seen of the 247 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and December–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-sided Flycatcher in Kinabalu Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and April–November, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dark-sided Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
11th of 20
Of the 20 parks where we can rate Dark-sided Flycatcher sightings, Kinabalu Park ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Jiuzhaigou National Park (China, about 20%), Danum Valley Conservation Area (Malaysia, about 10%) and Langtang National Park (Nepal, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dark-sided Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Kinabalu Park (48 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.
