Knipolegus nigerrimus
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The velvety black tyrant (Knipolegus nigerrimus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is endemic to Brazil. The velvety black tyrant was formally described in 1818 as Muscicapa nigerrima, placing it in the Old World flycatcher family. It was later transferred to genus Knipolegus, which was erected in 1826 with the blue-billed black tyrant (K. cyanirostris) as the type species.
The velvety black tyrant's taxonomy is unsettled. The Clements taxonomy does not recognize hoflingae, treating the species as monotypic. This article follows the two-subspecies model. The velvety black tyrant is 17.5 to 18 cm (6.9 to 7.1 in) long. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are almost entirely glossy blue-black and have a small bushy crest. Their primaries have white bases that are conspicuous in flight but usually not visible at rest. Adult females are also mostly glossy blue-black. They do not have a crest but have a... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Velvety Black-Tyrant sighting in Serra da Canastra National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 269th most-seen of the 294 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.
May and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Velvety Black-Tyrant in Serra da Canastra National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and August–April, the lowest months. Those are among Serra da Canastra National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 280 mm in January.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Velvety Black-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.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Velvety Black-Tyrant sightings, Serra da Canastra National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, about 40%) and Chapada Diamantina National Park (Brazil, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Velvety Black-Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra da Canastra National Park (10 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.
