Larvivora sibilans
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The rufous-tailed robin (Larvivora sibilans) is a small passerine bird. Its breeding range extends from southern Siberia and the Sea of Okhotsk to southern China and southeastern Asia. It has a number of alternative English names: pseudorobin, red-tailed robin, Swinhoe's red-tailed robin, Swinhoe's robin, Swinhoe's pseudorobin, Swinhoe's nightingale or whistling nightingale.
The rufous-tailed robin was previously placed in the genus Luscinia. A large molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that Luscinia was not monophyletic. The genus was therefore split and several species including rufous-tailed robin were moved to the reinstated genus Larvivora. The rufous-tailed robin is genetically most closely related to the rufous-headed robin (Larvivora ruficeps). These two species form a sister group to a clade containing the Japanese robin (Larvivora akahige) and the Ryukyu robin (Larvivora komadori).
The genus name Larvivora comes from the Neo-Latin larva meaning caterpillar and -vorus meaning eating (vorace to devour), and sibilans is Latin for "whistling". The rufous-tailed robin is much the same size as the European robin at 14 cm (5.5 in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jinhua | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Zhuhai [Macau] | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Hong Kong | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Xiamen City | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 5 | Guangzhou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 6 | Hangzhou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 7 | Seoul | 🇰🇷 South Korea | |
| 8 | Suzhou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 9 | Nanjing | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 10 | Wuhan | 🇨🇳 China |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-tailed Robin sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 187 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 46th 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 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-tailed Robin 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 5 and 8 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-tailed Robin sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
3rd of 13
Of the 13 cities where we can rate Rufous-tailed Robin sightings, Hong Kong ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Jinhua (China, about 20%) and Zhuhai [Macau] (China, about 10%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Rufous-tailed Robin that you can see in Hong Kong (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Oriental Magpie-Robin (about 80%), Blue Whistling-Thrush (about 30%) and Asian Brown Flycatcher (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-tailed Robin is recorded against all the birds logged in Hong Kong (187 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.
