Brown-breasted Flycatcher

Brown-breasted Flycatcher

Muscicapa muttui

Silhouette: Ekytza · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Periyar National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

381 Verified sightings at Periyar National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,384 In all 11 parks
January Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Brown-breasted Flycatcher

The brown-breasted flycatcher or Layard's flycatcher (Muscicapa muttui) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The species breeds in north eastern India, central and Southern China and northern Burma and Thailand, and migrates to southern India and Sri Lanka. It forages for insects below the forest canopy, often close to the forest floor.

The brown-breasted flycatcher is 13–14 cm in length and weighs between 10 and 14 g. The overall colour of the upper parts is olive brown. Some of the feather shafts are darker. The upper tail coverts are brighter rufous as are the edges of the flight feathers. The tail feathers have rufous on the outer webs. The lores are pale and the eye ring is conspicuous. The chin and throat are white while the breast and sides of the body are pale brown. The middle of the body to the vent is buffy white. Submoustachial stripes are faint but mark the boundary of the pale chin while the legs and lower mandible are pale flesh coloured. The most similar species is the Asian brown flycatcher, which has black rather than pale legs. It was named by Layard after Muttu, his servant who brought him the specimen.

Although no ringing... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~40%
2 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
3 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
4 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
5 Horton Plains National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
6 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
7 Udawalawe National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
8 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
9 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
11 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
<5%
2 Kolkata 🇮🇳 India
<5%
3 Thrissur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
4 Jabalpur 🇮🇳 India
<5%
5 Chengdu 🇨🇳 China
<5%
6 Bengaluru 🇮🇳 India
<5%
7 Chennai 🇮🇳 India
<5%
8 Kozhikode 🇮🇳 India
<5%
9 Guangzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%
10 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Brown-breasted Flycatcher in Periyar National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-breasted Flycatcher sighting in Periyar National Park on a given day, based on 381 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 87th most-seen of the 227 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Brown-breasted Flycatcher in Periyar National Park?

January

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-breasted Flycatcher in Periyar National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–September and December, the lowest months. That is one of Periyar National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 410 mm in August.

What time of day is best to see a Brown-breasted Flycatcher?

Between 4 and 7 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown-breasted Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Periyar National Park the best place to see a Brown-breasted Flycatcher?

2nd of 11

Of the 11 parks where we can rate Brown-breasted Flycatcher sightings, Periyar National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka, about 40%).

Which relatives of the Brown-breasted Flycatcher live in Periyar National Park?

Same genus: Muscicapa

The closest relatives of the Brown-breasted Flycatcher that you can see in Periyar National Park (genus Muscicapa, Muscicapa Flycatchers) are Asian Brown Flycatcher (about 20%) and Rusty-tailed Flycatcher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Brown-breasted Flycatcher sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Brown-breasted Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Periyar National Park (381 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.

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