Gray Treepie

Gray Treepie

Dendrocitta formosae

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Nanjing

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

252 Verified sightings at Nanjing
2,162 In all 9 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Gray Treepie

The grey treepie (Dendrocitta formosae), also known as the Himalayan treepie, is an Asian treepie, a medium-sized and long-tailed member of the crow family. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863. They are widely distributed along the foothills of the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent and extending into Indochina, Nepal, southern mainland China and Taiwan. The populations vary in plumage and several are named as subspecies.

Grey treepies are omnivorous birds mostly thriving among dense foliage and in forests. They sometimes take part in mixed species flocks with laughingthrushes, especially the white-throated laughingthrush. They systematically work together through the hill forests, rhododendrons, oaks and other broad-leaved trees, especially in the mornings.

The grey treepie is 36–40 cm (14–16 in) long and weighs 89–121 g (3.1–4.3 oz). It is the same size as other Dendrocitta species and is separated from them by the overall grey colour of the body. The races in the western part of the distribution have a greyish rump and some grey in tail while the eastern forms have a white rump and a black tail. The face and throat are dark and black with... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:28

Taiwan · 2026

© Joan Theng · XC1156294 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:07

China · 2025

© Albert Lastukhin · XC1023251 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Alarm call0:30

China · 2023

© Dave GUO · XC892610 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
~40%
2 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~20%
4 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
5 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
6 Langtang National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~10%
7 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
8 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
9 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kaohsiung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~70%
2 Taipei 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~60%
3 Tainan 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~60%
4 Taichung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~60%
5 Dehradun 🇮🇳 India
~40%
6 Nanjing 🇨🇳 China
~40%
7 Fuzhou 🇨🇳 China
~20%
8 Kathmandu 🇳🇵 Nepal
~20%
9 Hangzhou 🇨🇳 China
~20%
10 Hefei 🇨🇳 China
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Green World Ecological Farm 🇹🇼 Taiwan In captivity
2 Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens 🇨🇳 China In captivity
3 Edward Youde Aviary 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Gray Treepie in Nanjing?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Gray Treepie sighting in Nanjing on a given day, based on 252 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 17th most-seen of the 162 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Gray Treepie in Nanjing?

May and October

In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Gray Treepie in Nanjing on a given day, against about 30% in April, August and November–January, the lowest months.

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

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gray Treepie 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.

Is Nanjing the best place to see a Gray Treepie?

6th of 15

Of the 15 cities where we can rate Gray Treepie sightings, Nanjing ranks 6th at about 40%. The best odds are in Kaohsiung (Taiwan, about 70%), Taipei (Taiwan, about 60%) and Tainan (Taiwan, about 60%).

Which relatives of the Gray Treepie live in Nanjing?

Same family: Corvidae

The closest relatives of the Gray Treepie that you can see in Nanjing (family Corvidae, Crows, Jays, and Magpies) are Oriental Magpie (about 80%), Azure-winged Magpie (about 80%) and Red-billed Blue Magpie (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Gray Treepie sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Gray Treepie is recorded against all the birds logged in Nanjing (252 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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