Copsychus malabaricus
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus) is a passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. Native to densely vegetated habitats in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, its popularity as a cage-bird and songster has led to it being introduced elsewhere. The Larwo shama, the Kangean shama and the Sri Lanka shama were formerly considered to be conspecific with the white-rumped shama.
The white-rumped shama was formally described in 1786 by the Austrian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli under the binomial name Muscicapa malabarica. Scopoli based his account on "Le gobe-mouches à longue queue de Gingi" that had been described in 1782 by the French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat in the second volume of his book Voyage aux Indes orientales et à la Chine. Sonnerat mentioned that the bird was found on the Malabar Coast of India. The type locality is Mahé. The white-rumped shama is now one of 17 species placed in the genus Copsychus that was introduced in 1827 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler.
Nine subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
Recording0:06
Malaysia · 2025
© Lynette · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Malaysia · 2019
© ivyesra · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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United States · 2024
© Susan Fawcett · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 6 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 7 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 8 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 11 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 12 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 15 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 17 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 18 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 19 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 20 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaohsiung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 2 | Hanoi | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 3 | Taichung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 4 | Guwahati | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Tainan | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 6 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Ho Chi Minh City | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 8 | Taipei | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 9 | Dehradun | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Mumbai | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 4 | Basel Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 5 | Copenhagen Zoo | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 6 | Barcelona Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | North Carolina Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Songkhla Zoo | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Marwell Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 11 | Kyiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 12 | Woodland Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Wrocław Zoological Garden | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 14 | Oregon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Taronga Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 16 | Gembira Loka Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 17 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Surabaya Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 19 | London Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 20 | Bandung Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 21 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 22 | Riverbanks Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 23 | Aquarama Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 24 | Lincoln Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 25 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 26 | Vogelpark Avifauna | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 27 | Kebon Kewan Semarang | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 28 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 29 | Tracy Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 30 | Bioparc Fuengirola | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 31 | National Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 32 | Africarium | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 33 | Oceanium | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 34 | Sea World Indonesia | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 35 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 36 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 37 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 38 | BXSea Aquarium | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 39 | Jakarta Aquarium | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 40 | Lembang Park & Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 41 | Snakeroom Serpentarium | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 42 | terrarium ogrodu zoologicznego we Wrocławiu | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 43 | Vogelpark Bali | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-rumped Shama sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 51 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 98th most-seen of the 204 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-rumped Shama in Hong Kong on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, 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 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-rumped Shama sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
12th of 18
Of the 18 cities where we can rate White-rumped Shama sightings, Hong Kong ranks 12th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kaohsiung (Taiwan, about 50%), Hanoi (Vietnam, about 30%) and Taichung (Taiwan, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-rumped Shama is recorded against all the birds logged in Hong Kong (51 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.
