Phodilus badius
Silhouette: John Gould & Henry C. Richter · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The Oriental bay owl (Phodilus badius) is a species of bay owl. It is completely nocturnal, and can be found throughout Southeast Asia and parts of India. It has several subspecies. It has a heart-shaped face with earlike extensions. The Congo bay owl (Phodilus prigoginei) was formerly classified as a subspecies of Oriental bay owl due to insufficient knowledge, but it has turned out that it might not even belong to the same genus. The Sri Lanka bay owl was also considered a subspecies.
A population of this species has apparently become extinct on Samar Island in the Philippines during the 20th century. It was described as Phodilus badius riverae and was only ever known from a single specimen, which was lost in a bombing raid in 1945. The validity of this taxon is uncertain; it is usually synonymized with the nominate subspecies (for reasons of biogeography) or the subspecies saturatus (from external appearance); it might have been a distinct species, however.
Four subspecies are recognized: Phodilus badius arixuthus Oberholser, 1932 Phodilus badius badius (Horsfield, 1821) Phodilus badius parvus Chasen, 1937 Phodilus badius saturatus Robinson, 1927 Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 6 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 8 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 9 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 11 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Medan Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Bandung Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Kuala Lumpur Bird Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 6 | Farm in the City | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Penang Bird Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 8 | Scottish Owl Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 10 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 11 | Vogelpark Bali | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Bay-Owl sighting in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, based on 222 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 86th most-seen of the 231 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March to December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Bay-Owl in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary on a given day, against under 5% in January and February, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oriental Bay-Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Oriental Bay-Owl sightings, Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Way Kambas National Park (Indonesia, about 30%).
Same order: Strigiformes
The closest relatives of the Oriental Bay-Owl that you can see in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (order Strigiformes, Owls) are Buffy Fish-Owl (about 30%) and Brown Wood Owl (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oriental Bay-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (222 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.
