City
Beijing
🇨🇳 China
Asia, China 444 spp. recorded
Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province and neighbors Tianjin Municipality to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jing-Jin-Ji cluster. Wikipedia
39.952° N 116.403° E
🦜 Nature
444 Species sighted
195,113 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Aug Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
LC
Brown Rat
Rattus norvegicus
LC
Chinese Noctule
Nyctalus plancyi
LC
Swinhoe's Striped Squirrel
Tamiops swinhoei
LC Endemic
Short-faced Mole
Scaptochirus moschatus
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
VU
Beauty Rat Snake
Elaphe taeniura
LC
Snapping Turtle
Chelydra serpentina
LC
Mandarin Ratsnake
Euprepiophis mandarinus
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
Recent sightings in Beijing
LIVEiNaturalistWhere to look
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Olympic Forest Park South
-
Shahe Reservoir · Gonghuacheng Peninsula
-
Beijing Botanical Garden
-
Old Summer Palace [Yuanming Yuan]
-
Daning Reservoir & Adjacent Riverbed
-
Olympic Forest Park North
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
25Jan
26Feb
35Mar
42Apr
47May
49Jun
47Jul
55Aug
50Sep
42Oct
31Nov
25Dec
🏙️ City
Essentials
Green cover
Medium
Protected land
—
Protected sea
—
Protected areas
—
Wildlife spots
12
spotsZoos & centres
3
placesClimate
Cold semi-arid
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Zoos & rescue centres
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this city for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
4.5
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 545
🐒 Mammals 78
🦎 Reptiles 29
🐸 Amphibians 10
662 Total Species
679 Global average across 380 cities
42 Threatened 6 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
3.9
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
69% 📊
Coverage (116 species at ≥5% of 662 in the inventory)
18% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (12 bird)
0% 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
0 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
19 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.5
Climate Mixed Medium
Green cover Medium Medium
Protected land & sea — Low
Protected areas 0 Low
Wildlife spots 12 High
Zoos & centres 3 High
What visitors say
Before you go
What animals can you see in Beijing?
444 species
Beijing's urban area has 444 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Oriental Magpie (about 90%), Azure-winged Magpie (about 90%), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (about 90%), Light-vented Bulbul (about 70%) and Pearl-necked Dove (about 70%). Among mammals, the most-seen is Eurasian Red Squirrel (about 30%); among reptiles, Pond Slider (about 10%); among amphibians, Asiatic Toad (about 30%).
When is the best time to see wildlife in Beijing?
Any time of year
Wildlife is about as easy to see all year: the city's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day in every month with enough records.
Can you see a Marsh Tit in Beijing?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Marsh Tit sighting in Beijing on a given day, based on 5,317 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is November and December (about 80%).
Can you see an Azure-winged Magpie in Beijing?
Yes
About 90% of wildlife watchers report an Azure-winged Magpie sighting in Beijing on a given day, based on 7,456 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is May to January (about 90%).
Can you see an Oriental Magpie in Beijing?
Yes
About 90% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Magpie sighting in Beijing on a given day, based on 7,938 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026.
Where in Beijing is wildlife easiest to see?
Olympic Forest Park South
The spot where most wildlife watchers record their sightings is Olympic Forest Park South (215 bird species recorded), followed by Shahe Reservoir · Gonghuacheng Peninsula and Shahe Reservoir. See them on the map.
Is Beijing good for wildlife watching?
4.1 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, which rates each city against other cities, Beijing gets 4.1/5: 198th of 380 cities worldwide and 82nd in Asia. 21 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
Nearest Cities
Nearest Parks
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Nearest Zoos & Centres
Sources: urban area GHSL Urban Centre Database R2024A, European Commission JRC (CC BY 4.0) · protected land WDPA, UNEP-WCMC & IUCN (via GHSL) · climate NASA POWER · wildlife GBIF.org citizen-science data