Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

How to find it

Listen first, because its voice is often the first clue it is nearby, and the squeaky-toy call is given mainly in the breeding season. Then look up into the canopy foliage. Scan high, leafy perches and wait for it to launch after insects, since it may sit for a long spell first. Forest edges and open areas with scattered trees are worth trying, as it uses them while breeding. Check any streaky yellow-bellied flycatcher carefully against its lookalikes.

How to recognise it

This is a large flycatcher, about 20 cm long and weighing about 45 g. Look for these marks:

A thick bill and a striped face.

Bold dark streaks on pale lemon underparts, with the centre of the belly yellowish and unstreaked.

A bright rusty tail.

Upperparts streaked with blurry blackish marks.

A white throat, with the chin and cheek area heavily streaked, sometimes almost solid dark brown.

It also has a golden-yellow patch on the crown, but it is hidden and not seen in normal views. Lacking the rusty edging on the wing coverts and flight feathers that the Streaked Flycatcher shows is another useful mark.

What it sounds like

Recording: david_hurtado, CC0 1.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It catches insects in dramatic high sallies or quick moves through foliage. It also eats berries and arillate seeds, usually taking them in flight. It stays strictly in trees, and it often sits in canopy foliage for long spells before flying out after insects.

It nests in old woodpecker holes or natural tree cavities. Pairs form first, and after May and June they gather in family groups.

Where it lives

While breeding, it lives in the canopy and edges of dry and very wet forest. It also uses open areas with scattered trees and tree plantations. In Costa Rica it breeds up to about 2,000 m but not in the Caribbean lowlands, and on the Caribbean side it does not breed below about 600 m. Migrants have been found up to about 2,200 m.

It is common on both slopes, from the lowlands up to the upper part of the middle elevations. A natural history page lists it for the Guanacaste, Tempisque, Osa, Central Pacific, Tortuguero, Arenal, Huetar Norte and Central Volcanic Range conservation areas, and for both Amistad areas.

When to see it

It is present as a breeder between April and September. Breeding birds arrive between early March and early April, northern migrants start to show up in early August, and birds leave in mid October.

Similar birds

The Streaked Flycatcher is the main one to check. The Sulphur-bellied has a darker bill, chin and cheek area, its belly is at least as yellow as its breast, and it is smaller. The Golden-bellied Flycatcher, a Costa Rican endemic, is a third Myiodynastes flycatcher here, and all three share the local name Pecho Amarillo.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The AOCR Spanish name is Mosquero Vientriazufrado, and its everyday name is Pecho Amarillo, which it shares with the Streaked Flycatcher. Elsewhere it is cazamoscas pechiamarillo in Nicaragua, chilero panza color azufre in Honduras and papamoscas rayado común in Mexico. The name mosquero vientriazufrado is used in Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a rare resident and migrant (RR,M), the IUCN rates it Least Concern, and it is common in Costa Rica both as a breeder and as a migrant.

Photography tips

Listen for the squeaky call, then scan high, leafy canopy perches and wait for the bird to launch after an insect. Its habit of sitting for long spells in canopy foliage gives you time to find a clear angle.