Troides minos
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Troides minos, the southern birdwing, also called Sahyadri birdwing, is a large and striking species of swallowtail butterfly. It is endemic to southern India. With a wingspan of 140–190 mm, it is the second largest butterfly of India. It is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List.
It was earlier considered a subspecies of the common birdwing (Troides helena) but is now recognised as a valid species. The species is more common in the Western Ghats of southern India, which is a biodiversity hotspot with a high degree of endemism in many taxa. It is much sought after by collectors and is a highlight of many butterfly tours in the Western Ghats. It is the state butterfly of Karnataka, India.
Description from Charles Thomas Bingham (1907) The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma, Butterflies. Volume II. Male and female. Differs from Troides helena cerberus as follows. Male: Hindwing: the black along the dorsal and terminal margins both on upper and undersides much broader; on the upperside entirely filling interspace 1, on the underside with only a narrow streak of yellow at the angle between the median vein and vein 2; the cone-shaped black markings... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ponnani | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Kochi | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Kollam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Bengaluru | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Birdwing sighting in Kollam on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 69th most-seen of the 92 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Birdwing in Kollam on a given day, against under 5% in November to June, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Birdwing sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 5
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Southern Birdwing sightings, Kollam ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Ponnani (India, about 20%), Thiruvananthapuram (India, about 20%) and Kochi (India, about 10%).
Same family: Papilionidae
The closest relatives of the Southern Birdwing that you can see in Kollam (family Papilionidae, Swallowtails and Parnassians) are Common Mormon Swallowtail (about 30%), Common Rose Swallowtail (about 10%) and Common Mime Swallowtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Birdwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Kollam (6 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.
