Charaxes bernardus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Charaxes bernardus, the tawny rajah, is a butterfly that belongs to the rajahs and nawabs group, that is, the Charaxinae group of the brush-footed butterflies family. This species can be found in India, China, Indomalaya, and onwards to Indonesia.
Charaxes bernardus has a wingspan of about 7–9 centimetres (2.8–3.5 in). The upperside of wings is reddish brown or pale brown-orange, with dark brown/black speckles at the wings tips and small black marks at the margin of the hindwings. On the underside of the wings there are irregular wavy or tawny brown speckles and whitish zigzag bands. Males and females are very similar in appearance.
It has been recorded as a migrant in South India and is known to mud-puddle. Known food plants of this species include: Aglaia lawii, Aglaia roxburghiana (Meliaceae), Cinnamomum camphora, Litsea glutinosa, Litsea populifolia (Lauraceae), Sapium sebiferum (Euphorbiaceae), Adenanthera pavonina, Paraserianthes falcataria (= Falcataria moluccana), Tamarindus indica (Leguminosae), and Acronychia penduculata (Rutaceae).
Charaxes bernardus bernardus – present in China and Hong Kong Charaxes bernardus... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 3 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 4 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 6 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 7 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Rajah sighting in Suzhou on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 45th most-seen of the 65 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Rajah in Suzhou on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months. That is one of Suzhou's wettest months, with about 160 mm of rain against 45 mm in December.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tawny Rajah sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 10 cities where we can rate Tawny Rajah sightings, Suzhou ranks 5th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Hong Kong (China, about 10%), Wuhan (China, about 10%) and Tuen Mun (China, about 10%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Tawny Rajah that you can see in Suzhou (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Tropical Fritillary (about 30%), Asian Comma (about 30%) and Lesser Purple Emperor (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tawny Rajah is recorded against all the insects logged in Suzhou (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.
