Alectrurus tricolor
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The cock-tailed tyrant (Alectrurus tricolor) is a Vulnerable species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. The cock-tailed tyrant was formally described in 1816 by Louis Pierre Vieillot as Gallita tricolor. Ironically, in the same publication he erected genus Alectrurus, to which the species was later moved.
The cock-tailed tyrant is monotypic. It shares genus Alectrurus with the strange-tailed tyrant (A. risora). The cock-tailed tyrant is about 12 cm (4.7 in) long excluding the male's 7 cm (2.8 in) tail streamers. Adult males have a black crown and nape and a white or whitish face. Their back is mostly black with white scapulars and a gray rump. Their wings are black with a white patch on the secondaries. Their tail is black. It is very wide with long stiff central feathers that are twisted to the vertical. The other feathers are compressed against the central ones. Their underparts are mostly white with a black patch on the sides of the chest that connect to the nape. Adult females are mottled brown on the body where males are black. Their wings are a darker... Wikipedia →
Recording
© Marco Cruz · XCXC209629 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Cock-tailed Tyrant sighting in Serra da Canastra National Park on a given day, based on 318 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 34th most-seen of the 294 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.
October and November
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Cock-tailed Tyrant in Serra da Canastra National Park on a given day, against about 20% in February, the lowest month. Those are among Serra da Canastra National Park's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cock-tailed Tyrant sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Cock-tailed Tyrant sightings, Serra da Canastra National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Emas National Park (Brazil, about 50%).
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Cock-tailed Tyrant that you can see in Serra da Canastra National Park (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (about 60%), White-rumped Monjita (about 50%) and Crested Black-Tyrant (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cock-tailed Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra da Canastra National Park (318 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.
