Turdus mandarinus
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days >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 |
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird sighting in Xi'an on a given day, based on 89 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 6th most-seen of the 49 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, April and November
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Blackbird in Xi'an on a given day, against about 60% in July and October, the lowest months. Those are among Xi'an's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 130 mm in September. February and August have 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.
9th of 40
Of the 40 cities where we can rate Chinese Blackbird sightings, Xi'an ranks 9th at about 80%. The best odds are in Suzhou (China, about 90%), Shanghai (China, about 90%) and Hefei (China, about 90%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chinese Blackbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Xi'an (89 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.
