Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler

Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler

Pomatorhinus musicus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR Endemic
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Kaohsiung

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

1,044 Verified sightings at Kaohsiung
288 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler

The Taiwan scimitar babbler (Pomatorhinus musicus) is a bird in the family Timaliidae, the Old World babblers. It is endemic to Taiwan. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1859. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the streak-breasted scimitar babbler. Its population is declining, but not rapidly enough for it to be considered vulnerable.

The Taiwan scimitar babbler is a small (16–21 cm, 40 g) scimitar babbler. The upperparts are dark grey-brown, the underparts are white on the throat and the upper breast, with strong rusty brown or greyish streaks from the lower part of the throat to blackish on the flanks. The head has a broad black facial mask and black bridle, chestnut brown neck, white eyebrow line and black eyes.

It differs from the similar streak-breasted scimitar babbler (with which it was previously considered conspecific), by it differs with a slightly larger size and proportionally longer bill with a completely dark upper half. Furthermore, the crown is dark greyish rather than brown, the neck is deeper and broader chestnut brown. On the flanks it is also visible that the belly and flanks are heavily tinged with chestnut brown.... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:47

Taiwan · 2024

© 蔡明剛 · XC882151 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Recording0:40

Taiwan · 2023

© 張(Chang)智偉(Chih-Wei) · XC778313 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:50

Taiwan · 2013

© Jerome Chie-Jen Ko · XC624624 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kaohsiung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~20%
2 Taichung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~20%
3 Taipei 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
4 Tainan 🇹🇼 Taiwan
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler in Kaohsiung?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler sighting in Kaohsiung on a given day, based on 1,044 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 31st most-seen of the 214 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler in Kaohsiung?

March–May, July and December

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler in Kaohsiung on a given day, against about 20% in January–February, June and August–November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler 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.

Is Kaohsiung the best place to see a Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler?

Yes

Of the 4 cities where we can rate Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler sightings, Kaohsiung has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Taichung (Taiwan, about 20%) and Taipei (Taiwan, about 10%).

Where does the Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Kaohsiung (1,044 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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