Maniola jurtina
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The meadow brown (Maniola jurtina) is a butterfly found in the Palearctic realm. Its range includes Europe south of 62°N, Russia eastwards to the Urals, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, North Africa and the Canary Islands. The larvae feed on grasses.
There is marked sexual dimorphism in this species. The upperside of the male is uniformly light brown with a black ocellus centered white at the apex of the forewing, while the female has a tawny patch more or less extended around this ocella. The underside forewing is ochre-colored bordered with dark beige with the same ocelli at the apex in the male, while the hindwing is greyish to brown with a more or less orange band in the female. The males are also much more active and range far about, while females fly less and often may not move away from the area where they grew up.
Above dark brown: the apical ocellus minutely centred with white, being in the male bordered with dull dark yellow, and standing in the female in an ochre-yellow half band, which becomes narrower behind and does not reach the hindmargin. The upperside of the live male has often a splendid metallic gloss and bears a broad scent-patch... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 3 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 9 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 11 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 12 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 14 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 15 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 16 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 17 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 18 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 19 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 20 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 21 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 22 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 23 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 6 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 7 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 8 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 10 | Istanbul | 🇹🇷 Turkey |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Meadow Brown sighting in Ecrins National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 87th most-seen of the 251 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Meadow Brown in Ecrins National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months. Those are among Ecrins National Park's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain a month against 160 mm in December.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Meadow Brown sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
22nd of 23
Of the 23 parks where we can rate Meadow Brown sightings, Ecrins National Park ranks 22nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 40%), Triglav National Park (Slovenia, about 40%) and Picos de Europa National Park (Spain, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Meadow Brown that you can see in Ecrins National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Marbled White (about 40%), Silver-Washed Fritillary (about 30%) and Small Tortoiseshell (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Meadow Brown is recorded against all the insects logged in Ecrins National Park (14 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.
