Niltava sundara
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The rufous-bellied niltava (Niltava sundara) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
Rufous-bellied niltava measures 15–18 cm and weighs 19–24 g. It is a large, stocky and brightly coloured flycatcher with rounded head shape, fairly short tail and broad-based bill. The rufous-breasted niltava is one of six species in the genus Niltava, found in South and Southeast Asia as well as in China. This bird has sometimes been considered to be conspecific with the Fujian niltava and rufous-vented niltava.
It was described by the English naturalist Brian Hodgson in 1837. The specific epithet sundara is a Latinised version of the Hindi word sundar, meaning "beautiful". The bird has also been called the blue-and-orange niltava or black-and-orange niltava, as the male's blue upperparts may look black in poor light. Other names for the bird include orange-bellied niltava, beautiful niltava, or the sundara niltava.
N. s... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 2 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-bellied Niltava sighting in Doi Inthanon National Park on a given day, based on 450 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 98th most-seen of the 367 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to February
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-bellied Niltava in Doi Inthanon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to October, the lowest months. Those are among Doi Inthanon National Park's driest months, with about 50 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 Rufous-bellied Niltava sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Rufous-bellied Niltava sightings, Doi Inthanon National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Langtang National Park (Nepal, about 20%).
Same genus: Niltava
The closest relatives of the Rufous-bellied Niltava that you can see in Doi Inthanon National Park (genus Niltava, Niltavas) are Large Niltava (about 30%), Small Niltava (about 20%) and Chinese Vivid Niltava (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-bellied Niltava is recorded against all the birds logged in Doi Inthanon National Park (450 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.
