Muscicapa striata
Silhouette: Ekytza · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range.
This is an undistinguished looking bird with long wings and tail. The adults have grey-brown upperparts and whitish underparts, with a streaked crown and breast, giving rise to the bird's common name. The legs are short and black, and the bill is black and has the broad but pointed shape typical of aerial insectivores. Juveniles are browner than adults and have spots on the upperparts.
The spotted flycatcher was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Motacilla striata. The genus name Muscicapa comes from the Latin musca, a fly and capere, to catch. The specific epithet striata is from the Latin striatus meaning striated.
There are five recognised subspecies all of which winter in southern Africa. The breeding range is given below. Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Flycatcher sighting in Tarangire National Park on a given day, based on 149 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 152nd most-seen of the 411 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Flycatcher in Tarangire National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Tarangire National Park's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain against almost none in September.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
21st of 69
Of the 69 parks where we can rate Spotted Flycatcher sightings, Tarangire National Park ranks 21st at about 10%. The best odds are in Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 40%), Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 30%) and Meru National Park (Kenya, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Tarangire National Park (149 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.
