Tawny Coster

Tawny Coster

Acraea terpsicore

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Kolkata

In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%

132 Verified sightings at Kolkata
62 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Tawny Coster

Acraea terpsicore, the tawny coster, is a small, 53–64 millimetres (2.1–2.5 in), leathery-winged butterfly common in grassland and scrub habitats. It belongs to the Nymphalidae or brush-footed butterfly family. It has a weak fluttery flight. It is avoided by most insect predators. This species and the yellow coster (Acraea issoria) are the only two Indian representatives of the predominantly African tribe Acraeini. It is found in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Maldives to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, and recently Australia.

Pierre and Bernaud, in 1997, stated that they verified the type in the Linnean Society of London and considered A. violae the same species as A. terpsicore. Honey and Scoble, in 2001, argued that both specimens in the Linnean Society are later additions by James Edward Smith (botanist) who, in 1784, purchased Linnaeus specimens, bringing them to London.

In the absence of authentic syntypes, the identity of terpsicore... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
2 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
4 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
5 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~20%
6 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Puducherry 🇮🇳 India
~50%
2 Yogyakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%
3 Rajkot 🇮🇳 India
~40%
4 Chennai 🇮🇳 India
~40%
5 Durg 🇮🇳 India
~40%
6 Dehradun 🇮🇳 India
~40%
7 Jabalpur 🇮🇳 India
~40%
8 Johor Bahru 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~40%
9 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
~40%
10 Vadodara 🇮🇳 India
~40%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Tawny Coster in Kolkata?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Coster sighting in Kolkata on a given day, based on 132 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 13th most-seen of the 213 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Tawny Coster in Kolkata?

April

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Coster in Kolkata on a given day, against about 10% in September and October, the lowest months. That is one of Kolkata's driest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 330 mm in July.

What time of day is best to see a Tawny Coster?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tawny Coster 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 Kolkata the best place to see a Tawny Coster?

23rd of 52

Of the 52 cities where we can rate Tawny Coster sightings, Kolkata ranks 23rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Puducherry (India, about 50%), Yogyakarta (Indonesia, about 40%) and Rajkot (India, about 40%).

Which relatives of the Tawny Coster live in Kolkata?

Same family: Nymphalidae

The closest relatives of the Tawny Coster that you can see in Kolkata (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Plain Tiger Butterfly (about 30%), Blue Tiger (about 30%) and Common Tiger Butterfly (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Tawny Coster sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Tawny Coster is recorded against all the insects logged in Kolkata (132 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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