Muscigralla brevicauda
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The short-tailed field tyrant (Muscigralla brevicauda) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Ecuador, Peru, and as a vagrant to Chile and Colombia. The short-tailed field tyrant was originally described in 1837 as the type specimen for genus Muscigralla. Since its description, some authors have questioned the status of that genus. Some merged it into Muscisaxicola. However, early twenty-first century studies confirmed genus Muscigralla and found that it is not closely related to Muscisaxicola. Some questions remain about its exact affinities.
The short-tailed field tyrant is the only member of its genus and has no subspecies. The short-tailed field tyrant is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long; two individuals weighed 13.5 and 11.8 g (0.48 and 0.42 oz). It has very long legs and a very short tail. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a brownish gray head with a short white patch above the lores and a mostly hidden yellow patch in the center of the crown. Their upperparts are mostly brownish gray with a buffy upper rump and rufous chestnut lower rump and uppertail coverts. Their wings... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Machalilla National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Short-tailed Field Tyrant sighting in Machalilla National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 210th most-seen of the 248 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Short-tailed Field Tyrant in Machalilla National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months. That is one of Machalilla National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 140 mm in February.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Short-tailed Field Tyrant sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Machalilla National Park, in our data
Machalilla National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Short-tailed Field Tyrant sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Short-tailed Field Tyrant that you can see in Machalilla National Park (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Tropical Kingbird (about 40%), Fulvous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant (about 40%) and Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Short-tailed Field Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Machalilla National Park (8 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.
