Turdus mandarinus
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chișinău Zoo | 🇲🇩 Moldova |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird sighting in Wenzhou on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 50 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird in Wenzhou on a given day, against about 10% in June and December, the lowest months. That is one of Wenzhou's wettest months, with about 230 mm of rain against 60 mm in December. July has too few records to rate.
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.
32nd of 40
Of the 40 cities where we can rate Chinese Blackbird sightings, Wenzhou ranks 32nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Suzhou (China, about 90%), Shanghai (China, about 90%) and Hefei (China, about 90%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Chinese Blackbird that you can see in Wenzhou (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Light-vented Bulbul (about 30%), Cinereous Tit (about 20%) and Swinhoe’s White-eye (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chinese Blackbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Wenzhou (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.
