Turdus mandarinus
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chișinău Zoo | 🇲🇩 Moldova |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 209 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 44th most-seen of the 204 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird in Hong Kong on a given day, against under 5% in April to October, the lowest months. That is one of Hong Kong's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 280 mm in June.
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.
38th of 40
Of the 40 cities where we can rate Chinese Blackbird sightings, Hong Kong ranks 38th at about 10%. The best odds are in Suzhou (China, about 90%), Shanghai (China, about 90%) and Hefei (China, about 90%).
Same genus: Turdus
The closest relatives of the Chinese Blackbird that you can see in Hong Kong (genus Turdus, Typical Thrushes) are Grey-backed Thrush (about 10%) and Japanese Thrush (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chinese Blackbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Hong Kong (209 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.
