Chestnut-capped Babbler

Chestnut-capped Babbler

Timalia pileata

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Manas National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

307 Verified sightings at Manas National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,354 In all 11 parks
March Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Chestnut-capped Babbler

The chestnut-capped babbler (Timalia pileata) is a passerine bird of the family Timaliidae. It is monotypic within the genus Timalia. The chestnut-capped babbler is placed as the sole species in the genus Timalia. It is divided into six subspecies with the following distribution:

T. p. bengalensis – lower Himalayas (Uttarakhand in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, northeastern India, and northwestern Myanmar) south to Odisha in India T. p. smithi – northern Myanmar to southern China, northern Thailand and northern Indochina

T. p. intermedia – central and southern Myanmar to southwestern Thailand T. p. patriciae – western part of the central plains of Thailand T. p. dictator – eastern and southeastern Thailand to southern Indochina This species is most closely related to the two Indian species, the tawny-bellied babbler and the dark-fronted babbler. Together they form a sister group to the rest of the species in the family Timaliidae. The chestnut-capped babbler is a medium-sized (15.5–17 cm) babbler with a fairly long, wedge-shaped tail and a thick, black bill. The plumage is unbarred brown with characteristic... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:34

China · 2026

© Bo Shunqi 薄顺奇 · XC1097801 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:26

India · 2025

© Peter Boesman · XC1030919 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Subsong0:48

Vietnam · 2024

© Ding Li Yong · XC861963 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
2 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~20%
3 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
4 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~10%
5 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%
6 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
7 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
8 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
<5%
9 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
11 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Chattogram 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~30%
2 Tamluk 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Phnom Penh 🇰🇭 Cambodia
~20%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Chestnut-capped Babbler in Manas National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-capped Babbler sighting in Manas National Park on a given day, based on 307 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 78th most-seen of the 377 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Chestnut-capped Babbler in Manas National Park?

March and April

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-capped Babbler in Manas National Park on a given day, against about 10% in January and July–October, the lowest months. Those are among Manas National Park's driest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against 1070 mm in June.

What time of day is best to see a Chestnut-capped Babbler?

Between 1 and 4 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chestnut-capped Babbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Manas National Park the best place to see a Chestnut-capped Babbler?

Yes

Of the 11 parks where we can rate Chestnut-capped Babbler sightings, Manas National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Chitwan National Park (Nepal, about 20%) and Kaziranga National Park (India, about 20%).

Where does the Chestnut-capped Babbler sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Chestnut-capped Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Manas National Park (307 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.

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