Tarsiger rufilatus
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The Himalayan bluetail (Tarsiger rufilatus), also called the Himalayan red-flanked bush-robin or orange-flanked bush-robin, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher of Muscicapidae. While currently under review, this taxon is not current recognized as a species by BirdLife international.
It is closely related to the red-flanked bluetail and was generally treated as a subspecies of it in the past, but as well as differing in its migratory behaviour (the red-flanked bluetail is a long-distance migrant), it also differs in the more intense blue colour of the adult males and the greyer colour of the females and juveniles.
The Himalayan bluetail is a short-distance altitudinal migrant species, breeding in the Himalaya in bush layer (dwarf rhododendron in wetter areas, deciduous bushes in drier) of conifer and mixed conifer-oak forest, main species fir (Abies) but sometimes in areas with Picea smithiana or Pinus wallichiana/Cupressus torulosa forest; at 3000–4400 m, not penetrating beyond tree-line and in winters found at 1,500–2,500... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiuzhaigou National Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 3 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 5 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Himalayan Bluetail sighting in Doi Inthanon National Park on a given day, based on 137 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 189th 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 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Himalayan Bluetail in Doi Inthanon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and March–November, the lowest months. Those are among Doi Inthanon National Park's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against 340 mm in August.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Himalayan Bluetail sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Himalayan Bluetail sightings, Doi Inthanon National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Jiuzhaigou National Park (China, about 30%) and Langtang National Park (Nepal, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Himalayan Bluetail is recorded against all the birds logged in Doi Inthanon National Park (137 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.
