Chinese Blackbird

Chinese Blackbird

Turdus mandarinus

Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic

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

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

33 Verified sightings at Jinan
38 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
March 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 Jinan?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird sighting in Jinan on a given day, based on 33 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 12th most-seen of the 69 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.

When is the best time to see a Chinese Blackbird in Jinan?

February–March and May

In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird in Jinan on a given day, against about 20% in December, the lowest month. Those are among Jinan's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 190 mm in July. April has too few records to rate.

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 Jinan the best place to see a Chinese Blackbird?

26th of 40

Of the 40 cities where we can rate Chinese Blackbird sightings, Jinan ranks 26th at about 40%. The best odds are in Suzhou (China, about 90%), Shanghai (China, about 90%) and Hefei (China, about 90%).

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 Jinan (33 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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