Sayornis nigricans
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) is a passerine bird in the tyrant-flycatcher family. It breeds from southwest Oregon and California south through Central and South America. It occurs year-round throughout most of its range and migrates less than the other birds in its genus though its northern populations are partially migratory. Six subspecies are commonly recognized although two are occasionally combined as a separate species, the white-winged phoebe.
The black phoebe has predominantly black plumage, with a white belly and undertail coverts. The sexes are identical in color, and juveniles have brown feather tips and brown wing-bars. Its song is a repeated tee-hee, tee ho. It lives in a variety of habitats but is always near water. It is mainly insectivorous and waits on a perch before sallying out and catching its prey in the air. It makes an open cup nest which is placed under a cliff or a bridge and cemented in its place with mud.
The black phoebe is a medium-sized flycatcher, being 16 cm (6.3 in) in length and weighing 15 to 22 g (0.5 to 0.8 oz). It has predominantly black plumage, with white on its belly and undertail coverts. The white forms an inverted... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black Phoebe sighting in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 86th most-seen of the 103 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.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black Phoebe in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, May and November, the lowest months. That is one of Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 270 mm in July. April and June–September have too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Phoebe sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
35th of 45
Of the 45 parks where we can rate Black Phoebe sightings, Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca ranks 35th at under 5%. The best odds are in Channel Islands National Park (United States, about 70%), Amboró National Park (Bolivia, about 60%) and Death Valley National Park (United States, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Black Phoebe that you can see in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Greater Pewee (about 40%), Vermilion Flycatcher (about 30%) and Cassin's Kingbird (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Phoebe is recorded against all the birds logged in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (14 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.
