Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant

Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant

Muscisaxicola maclovianus

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Tierra del Fuego National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

346 Verified sightings at Tierra del Fuego National Park From 2019 to 2026
860 In all 5 parks
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant

The dark-faced ground tyrant (Muscisaxicola maclovianus) is a small passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, possibly in Ecuador, and as a vagrant to Brazil.

The dark-faced ground tyrant was originally described as Sylvia macloviana, placing it with the Old World warblers. It was eventually moved to genus Muscisaxicola which had been erected in 1837. Because that genus is masculine the specific epithet was changed to follow the rules of binomial nomenclature.

The dark-faced ground tyrant is 15 to 16.5 cm (5.9 to 6.5 in) long. The two subspecies and both sexes have the same plumage, though subspecies M. m. mentalis is significantly smaller than the nominate. Adults have a blackish forehead, lores, and cheeks and a dull chestnut-brown crown. Their upperparts are mostly dark brown to smoky brown with a black lower rump. Their wings are a duskier brown than the upperparts. Their tail is black with whitish... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:38

Argentina · 2011

© Andrew Spencer · XC89724 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Song0:10

Argentina · 1992

© Felix Vidoz · XC53317 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tierra del Fuego National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
2 Torres del Paine National Park 🇨🇱 Chile
~20%
3 Nahuel Huapi National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
4 Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park 🇨🇱 Chile
~10%
5 Península Valdés 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
2 Santiago 🇨🇱 Chile
<5%
3 Montevideo 🇺🇾 Uruguay
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant in Tierra del Fuego National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant sighting in Tierra del Fuego National Park on a given day, based on 346 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 78 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant in Tierra del Fuego National Park?

February–March and October–November

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant in Tierra del Fuego National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April–May and July–August, the lowest months. June has too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dark-faced Ground-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.

Is Tierra del Fuego National Park the best place to see a Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant?

Yes

Of the 5 parks where we can rate Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant sightings, Tierra del Fuego National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Torres del Paine National Park (Chile, about 20%) and Nahuel Huapi National Park (Argentina, about 10%).

Where does the Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant is recorded against all the birds logged in Tierra del Fuego National Park (346 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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