Dendrocitta vagabunda
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The rufous treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) is a treepie, native to the Indian subcontinent and adjoining parts of Southeast Asia. It is a member of the crow family, Corvidae. It is long tailed and has loud musical calls making it very conspicuous. It is found commonly in open scrub, agricultural areas, forests as well as urban gardens. Like other corvids it is very adaptable, omnivorous and opportunistic in feeding.
The sexes are alike and the main colour of the body is cinnamon with a black head and the long graduated tail is bluish grey and is tipped in black. The wing has a white patch. The only confusable species is the grey treepie which however lacks the bright rufous mantle. The bill is stout with a hooked tip. The underparts and lower back are a warm tawny-brown to orange-brown in colour with white wing coverts and black primaries. The bill, legs and feet are black.
The widespread populations show variations and several subspecies are recognized. The nominate subspecies is found in the northeastern part of peninsular India south to Hyderabad. The desert form is paler and called pallida, vernayi of the Eastern Ghats is brighter while parvula of the Western... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 7 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 8 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 18 | Eravikulam National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 19 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 20 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 21 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 22 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aquaelegance | 🇮🇳 India |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Treepie sighting in Kaziranga National Park on a given day, based on 1,112 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 323 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.
January–February and October–November
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Treepie in Kaziranga National Park on a given day, against about 40% in May and August–September, the lowest months. Those are among Kaziranga National Park's driest months, with about 55 mm of rain a month against 520 mm in June. June and July have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous Treepie sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 22
Of the 22 parks where we can rate Rufous Treepie sightings, Kaziranga National Park ranks 8th at about 50%. The best odds are in Ranthambore National Park (India, about 80%), Kanha National Park (India, about 70%) and Satpura National Park (India, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous Treepie is recorded against all the birds logged in Kaziranga National Park (1,112 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.
