Myophonus blighi
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The Sri Lanka whistling thrush (Myophonus blighi) is a whistling thrush in the family Muscicapidae. It is a resident endemic bird in Sri Lanka. It is found in the highlands of Sri Lanka in jungle or other dense forest near water. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, frogs, earthworms and berries. It lays one or two eggs in a neat cup-shaped nest in a bush or on a ledge near water.
It does not form flocks, although several birds may be loosely associated in suitable habitat. This is a small whistling thrush, at only 20 cm. Adult males are dark blue with a darker head and back. There are bright blue patches on the shoulders, supercilia and forehead. The female is brown above and chestnut below, but has a bright blue shoulder patch like the male.
The male sings its simple whistling song from trees, usually in deep cover. This is a notoriously difficult species to see, even when the males are singing in the breeding season, which starts in February. It is very shy, scarce, localised and declining due to habitat loss. Perhaps the best chance is at dawn at Horton Plains National Park 2000m up in the highlands of Sri Lanka and a site near the Haggala Botanical Gardens close to Nuwara Eliya town. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Sri Lanka Whistling-Thrush sighting in Horton Plains National Park on a given day, based on 278 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 102 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Sri Lanka Whistling-Thrush in Horton Plains National Park on a given day, against about 30% in June and August, the lowest months. That is one of Horton Plains National Park's wettest months, with about 350 mm of rain against 80 mm in March.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sri Lanka Whistling-Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Sri Lanka Whistling-Thrush sightings, Horton Plains National Park has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka, under 5%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Sri Lanka Whistling-Thrush that you can see in Horton Plains National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Pied Bushchat (about 90%), Dull-blue Flycatcher (about 80%) and Indian Blue Robin (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sri Lanka Whistling-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Horton Plains National Park (278 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.
