Gorsachius melanolophus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The Malayan night heron (Gorsachius melanolophus), also known as Malaysian night heron and tiger bittern, is a medium-sized heron. It is distributed in southern and eastern Asia. The Malayan night heron has been found in India, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. It is a vagrant in Palau and Korea. Its range size is estimated at 1,240,000 km2. One roadkilled bird was discovered on Christmas Island, Australia where it is likely a vagrant. This bird occurs in forests, streams, and marshes. In Japan, population densities of the herons increased as undisturbed forest cover on islands increased.
The Malayan night heron is about 48 cm (19 in) long. The wingspan is about 86 cm (34 in). It is stocky, with a short beak. Its neck and breast are rufous. There are streaks going down the centre of the neck to the breast. The upperparts are chestnut and vermiculated. The flight feathers are blackish. The crown is black, the chin is white, and the eyes are yellow. The beak is black and the legs are greenish. The juvenile is greyish... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 4 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Malayan Night Heron sighting in Tainan on a given day, based on 344 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 37th most-seen of the 116 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and November–July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Malayan Night Heron in Tainan on a given day, against under 5% in August and October, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Malayan Night Heron sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Malayan Night Heron sightings, Tainan ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Taipei (Taiwan, about 40%), Taichung (Taiwan, about 30%) and Kaohsiung (Taiwan, about 20%).
Same family: Ardeidae
The closest relatives of the Malayan Night Heron that you can see in Tainan (family Ardeidae, Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) are Little Egret (about 60%), Black-crowned Night Heron (about 40%) and Great Egret (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Malayan Night Heron is recorded against all the birds logged in Tainan (344 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.
