Myadestes occidentalis
Silhouette: Francesco "Architetto" Rollandin · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% 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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-backed Solitaire sighting in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca on a given day, based on 93 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 14th most-seen of the 103 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February and November
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-backed Solitaire in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca on a given day, against about 20% in October, the lowest month. Those are among Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 270 mm in July. April and June–September have too few records to rate.
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.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Brown-backed Solitaire sightings, Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in El Triunfo (Mexico, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Turdidae
The closest relatives of the Brown-backed Solitaire that you can see in Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (family Turdidae, Thrushes) are American Robin (about 50%), Eastern Bluebird (about 30%) and Western Bluebird (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 Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (93 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.
