Muscipipra vetula
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The shear-tailed grey tyrant (Muscipipra vetula) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The shear-tailed grey tyrant was formally described in 1823 as Muscicapa vetula, erroneously placing it in the Old World flycatcher family. It was later reassigned to its present genus Muscipipra that had been erected in 1831.
The shear-tailed tyrant is the only member of genus Muscipipra and has no subspecies. The shear-tailed grey tyrant is about 20 to 22.5 cm (7.9 to 8.9 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly dull dark gray head and upperparts. They have dusky ear coverts that form a mask. They have faint streaks on the crown and back. Their wings are dusky blackish. Their tail is long, slender, and deeply notched; it is mostly dusky blackish with pale whitish edges on the undersides of the outermost pair of feathers. They have a white chin and throat, a dark gray breast, and a pale gray belly. They have a blackish iris, a dusky bill, and dusky legs and feet. Juveniles have a white scaly appearance on the crown, back, and wings. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Shear-tailed Gray Tyrant sighting in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 278th most-seen of the 336 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Shear-tailed Gray Tyrant in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Shear-tailed Gray 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.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Shear-tailed Gray Tyrant sightings, Serra dos Órgãos National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, about 10%).
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Shear-tailed Gray Tyrant that you can see in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (about 80%), Yellow-olive Flycatcher (about 50%) and Social Flycatcher (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Shear-tailed Gray Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (12 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.
