City
Shantou
🇨🇳 China
Asia, China 142 spp. recorded
Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China. Wikipedia
23.418° N 116.432° E
🦜 Nature
142 Species sighted
1,263 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Jan Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
LC
Pallas's Squirrel
Callosciurus erythraeus
LC
Maritime Striped Squirrel
Tamiops maritimus
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
LC
Oriental Leaf-toed Gecko
Hemidactylus bowringii
LC
Pond Slider
Trachemys scripta
LC
Longtail Mabuya
Eutropis longicaudata
LC
Khorat Blind Snake
Indotyphlops braminus
VU
King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah
VU
Chinese Cobra
Naja atra
📊 Most Spotted
LC
Common Indian Toad
Duttaphrynus melanostictus
LC
Asian Painted Frog
Kaloula pulchra
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
🌙 Most active after dark
LC
Oriental Leaf-toed Gecko
Hemidactylus bowringii
Recent sightings in Shantou
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
14Jan
0.1Feb
0.3Mar
11Apr
0.2May
0.5Jun
1Jul
1Aug
0.3Sep
0.3Oct
0.2Nov
10Dec
🏙️ City
Essentials
Green cover
Medium
Protected land
—
Protected sea
—
Protected areas
—
Wildlife spots
0
spotsZoos & centres
0
placesClimate
Humid subtropical
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Good
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this city for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
4.0
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 490
🐒 Mammals 117
🦎 Reptiles 134
🐸 Amphibians 24
765 Total Species
679 Global average across 380 cities
52 Threatened 1 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
GoodHow likely to see animals?
3.5
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
61% 📊
Coverage (72 species at ≥5% of 765 in the inventory)
9% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (12 bird)
0% 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
3 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
11 🏕️
Experience
GoodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.1
Climate Mixed Medium
Green cover Medium Medium
Protected land & sea — Low
Protected areas 0 Low
Wildlife spots 0 Low
Zoos & centres 0 Low
What visitors say
Before you go
What animals can you see in Shantou?
142 species
Shantou's urban area has 142 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Pearl-necked Dove (about 80%), Red-whiskered Bulbul (about 70%), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (about 70%), Light-vented Bulbul (about 70%) and Swinhoe’s White-eye (about 70%).
Can you see a Chinese Blackbird in Shantou?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird sighting in Shantou on a given day, based on 90 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026.
Can you see a Swinhoe’s White-eye in Shantou?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Swinhoe’s White-eye sighting in Shantou on a given day, based on 66 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026.
Can you see a Light-vented Bulbul in Shantou?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Light-vented Bulbul sighting in Shantou on a given day, based on 70 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026.
Is Shantou good for wildlife watching?
3.6 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, which rates each city against other cities, Shantou gets 3.6/5: 310th of 380 cities worldwide and 128th in Asia. 12 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
Nearest Cities
Nearest Parks
Nearest Zoos & Centres
Sources: urban area GHSL Urban Centre Database R2024A, European Commission JRC (CC BY 4.0) · protected land WDPA, UNEP-WCMC & IUCN (via GHSL) · climate NASA POWER · wildlife GBIF.org citizen-science data