Rufous Treepie

Rufous Treepie

Dendrocitta vagabunda

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Kathmandu

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

555 Verified sightings at Kathmandu
22,678 In all 22 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Rufous Treepie

The rufous treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) is a treepie, native to the Indian subcontinent and adjoining parts of Southeast Asia. It is a member of the crow family, Corvidae. It is long tailed and has loud musical calls making it very conspicuous. It is found commonly in open scrub, agricultural areas, forests as well as urban gardens. Like other corvids it is very adaptable, omnivorous and opportunistic in feeding.

The sexes are alike and the main colour of the body is cinnamon with a black head and the long graduated tail is bluish grey and is tipped in black. The wing has a white patch. The only confusable species is the grey treepie which however lacks the bright rufous mantle. The bill is stout with a hooked tip. The underparts and lower back are a warm tawny-brown to orange-brown in colour with white wing coverts and black primaries. The bill, legs and feet are black.

The widespread populations show variations and several subspecies are recognized. The nominate subspecies is found in the northeastern part of peninsular India south to Hyderabad. The desert form is paler and called pallida, vernayi of the Eastern Ghats is brighter while parvula of the Western... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:38

Thailand · 2025

© Jukree Sisonmak · XC1135774 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Duet0:19

India · 2026

© Ding Li Yong · XC1088161 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:35

Thailand · 2015

© Peter Ericsson · XC239890 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
~80%
2 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~70%
3 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
4 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
5 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
6 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~60%
7 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~60%
8 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
~50%
9 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
10 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
11 Gir National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
12 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
13 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
14 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
15 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
16 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
17 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
18 Eravikulam National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
19 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
<5%
20 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
21 Langtang National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
22 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Hajipur 🇮🇳 India
~80%
2 Asansol 🇮🇳 India
~80%
3 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
~80%
4 Bareilly 🇮🇳 India
~70%
5 Tamluk 🇮🇳 India
~70%
6 Jaipur 🇮🇳 India
~70%
7 Patna 🇮🇳 India
~60%
8 Thrissur 🇮🇳 India
~60%
9 Madurai 🇮🇳 India
~60%
10 Kollam 🇮🇳 India
~60%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Aquaelegance 🇮🇳 India In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rufous Treepie in Kathmandu?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Treepie sighting in Kathmandu on a given day, based on 555 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 57th most-seen of the 312 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Rufous Treepie in Kathmandu?

August

In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Treepie in Kathmandu on a given day, against about 10% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Kathmandu's wettest months, with about 240 mm of rain against almost none in November.

What time of day is best to see a Rufous Treepie?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous Treepie 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 Kathmandu the best place to see a Rufous Treepie?

54th of 63

Of the 63 cities where we can rate Rufous Treepie sightings, Kathmandu ranks 54th at about 10%. The best odds are in Hajipur (India, about 80%), Asansol (India, about 80%) and Thiruvananthapuram (India, about 80%).

Where does the Rufous Treepie sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rufous Treepie is recorded against all the birds logged in Kathmandu (555 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.

← Back to Kathmandu