Pteruthius melanotis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The black-eared shrike-babbler (Pteruthius melanotis) is a bird species in the vireo family, Vireonidae. It was traditionally considered as an aberrant Old World babbler and formerly placed in the family Timaliidae. It was long noted that their habits resembled those of vireos, but this was previously ascribed to the result of convergent evolution. It is found in Southeast Asia from the Himalayas to western Malaysia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
Collar, N. J. & Robson, C. 2007. Family Timaliidae (Babblers) pp. 70–291 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 2 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-eared Shrike-Babbler sighting in Doi Inthanon National Park on a given day, based on 64 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 236th most-seen of the 367 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-eared Shrike-Babbler in Doi Inthanon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to January, the lowest months. That is one of Doi Inthanon National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 340 mm in August.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-eared Shrike-Babbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Black-eared Shrike-Babbler sightings, Doi Inthanon National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan, under 5%) and Namdapha National Park (India, under 5%).
Same genus: Pteruthius
The closest relatives of the Black-eared Shrike-Babbler that you can see in Doi Inthanon National Park (genus Pteruthius, Shrike-Babblers) are Blyth's Shrike-Babbler (about 30%) and Clicking Shrike-Babbler (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-eared Shrike-Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Doi Inthanon National Park (64 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
