Chinese Blackbird

Chinese Blackbird

Turdus mandarinus

Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Changzhou

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

16 Verified sightings at Changzhou
38 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Chinese Blackbird

The Chinese blackbird (Turdus mandarinus) is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It was formerly considered conspecific with the related common blackbird (T. merula). The Chinese blackbird (T. m. mandarinus) breeds throughout much of southern, central and eastern China. It is a partial migrant to Hong Kong and south to Laos and Vietnam. The male is sooty black, and the female is similar but browner, and paler on the underparts. It is a large subspecies.

Sowerby's blackbird (T. m. sowerbyi), named for James Sowerby, British naturalist and illustrator, breeds from eastern Sichuan to Guizhou. It is partially migratory, with some individuals spending the winter in southern China and northern Indochina. It resembles mandarinus, but is smaller and darker below.

It is typically monogamous, but some exceptions have been observed. It is omnivorous. During the breeding season, it primarily feeds on earthworms. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:46

China · 2026

© Bo Shunqi 薄顺奇 · XC1180530 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:30

China · 2026

© Peter Boesman · XC1147853 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:30

China · 2026

© Penghui Lou · XC1070216 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Suzhou 🇨🇳 China
~90%
2 Shanghai 🇨🇳 China
~90%
3 Hefei 🇨🇳 China
~90%
4 Ningbo 🇨🇳 China
~80%
5 Wuhan 🇨🇳 China
~80%
6 Chengdu 🇨🇳 China
~80%
7 Nanjing 🇨🇳 China
~80%
8 Nanchang 🇨🇳 China
~80%
9 Xi'an 🇨🇳 China
~80%
10 Changsha 🇨🇳 China
~80%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Chișinău Zoo 🇲🇩 Moldova In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Chinese Blackbird in Changzhou?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird sighting in Changzhou on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 17 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

What time of day is best to see a Chinese Blackbird?

Between 3 and 6 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chinese Blackbird 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 Changzhou the best place to see a Chinese Blackbird?

24th of 40

Of the 40 cities where we can rate Chinese Blackbird sightings, Changzhou ranks 24th at about 40%. The best odds are in Suzhou (China, about 90%), Shanghai (China, about 90%) and Hefei (China, about 90%).

Which relatives of the Chinese Blackbird live in Changzhou?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the Chinese Blackbird that you can see in Changzhou (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Light-vented Bulbul (about 60%), Oriental Magpie-Robin (about 40%) and Oriental Magpie (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Chinese Blackbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Chinese Blackbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Changzhou (16 verified sightings), 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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