Chinese Blackbird

Chinese Blackbird

Turdus mandarinus

Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Nanning

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

30 Verified sightings at Nanning
38 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Chinese Blackbird

The Chinese blackbird (Turdus mandarinus) is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It was formerly considered conspecific with the related common blackbird (T. merula). The Chinese blackbird (T. m. mandarinus) breeds throughout much of southern, central and eastern China. It is a partial migrant to Hong Kong and south to Laos and Vietnam. The male is sooty black, and the female is similar but browner, and paler on the underparts. It is a large subspecies.

Sowerby's blackbird (T. m. sowerbyi), named for James Sowerby, British naturalist and illustrator, breeds from eastern Sichuan to Guizhou. It is partially migratory, with some individuals spending the winter in southern China and northern Indochina. It resembles mandarinus, but is smaller and darker below.

It is typically monogamous, but some exceptions have been observed. It is omnivorous. During the breeding season, it primarily feeds on earthworms. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:46

China · 2026

© Bo Shunqi 薄顺奇 · XC1180530 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:30

China · 2026

© Peter Boesman · XC1147853 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:30

China · 2026

© Penghui Lou · XC1070216 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Suzhou 🇨🇳 China
~90%
2 Shanghai 🇨🇳 China
~90%
3 Hefei 🇨🇳 China
~90%
4 Ningbo 🇨🇳 China
~80%
5 Wuhan 🇨🇳 China
~80%
6 Chengdu 🇨🇳 China
~80%
7 Nanjing 🇨🇳 China
~80%
8 Nanchang 🇨🇳 China
~80%
9 Xi'an 🇨🇳 China
~80%
10 Changsha 🇨🇳 China
~80%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Chișinău Zoo 🇲🇩 Moldova In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Chinese Blackbird in Nanning?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird sighting in Nanning on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 7th most-seen of the 45 birds 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 Chinese Blackbird in Nanning?

February

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird in Nanning on a given day, against about 20% in April and May, the lowest months. That is one of Nanning's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 250 mm in June. January and July–August have too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Chinese Blackbird?

Between 3 and 6 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chinese Blackbird 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 Nanning the best place to see a Chinese Blackbird?

28th of 40

Of the 40 cities where we can rate Chinese Blackbird sightings, Nanning ranks 28th at about 30%. The best odds are in Suzhou (China, about 90%), Shanghai (China, about 90%) and Hefei (China, about 90%).

Which relatives of the Chinese Blackbird live in Nanning?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the Chinese Blackbird that you can see in Nanning (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Red-whiskered Bulbul (about 60%), Oriental Magpie-Robin (about 50%) and White Wagtail (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Chinese Blackbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Chinese Blackbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Nanning (30 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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