Euodice malabarica
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The Indian silverbill or white-throated munia (Euodice malabarica) is a small passerine bird found in the Indian subcontinent and adjoining regions that was formerly considered to include the closely related African silverbill (Euodice cantans). This estrildid finch is a common resident breeding bird in the drier regions of the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. It has also been introduced into many other parts of the world and has become established in some areas. They forage in small flocks in grassland and scrub habitats.
The Indian silverbill was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed the species with the crossbills in the genus Loxia and coined the binomial name Loxia malabarica.
The specific epithet is from the Malabar region on the southwestern coast of India. Linnaeus specified the locality as India but this was restricted to the Malabar region by E. C. Stuart Baker in 1926. The Indian silverbill is now placed with the African silverbill in the genus Euodice that was introduced by Ludwig Reichenbach in 1862. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The Indian... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 12 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Butterfly World | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | The Lost Chambers aquarium | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Silverbill sighting in Kathmandu on a given day, based on 117 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 136th most-seen of the 312 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Silverbill in Kathmandu on a given day, against under 5% in December to September, the lowest months. Those are among Kathmandu's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 280 mm in July.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Silverbill sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
61st of 70
Of the 70 cities where we can rate Indian Silverbill sightings, Kathmandu ranks 61st at under 5%. The best odds are in Doha (Qatar, about 90%), Dubai (United Arab Emirates, about 60%) and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates, about 60%).
Same family: Estrildidae
The closest relatives of the Indian Silverbill that you can see in Kathmandu (family Estrildidae, Waxbills and Allies) are Nutmeg Mannikin (about 10%), Red Avadavat (about 10%) and White-rumped Munia (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indian Silverbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Kathmandu (117 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.
