Melanochlora sultanea
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The sultan tit (Melanochlora sultanea) is an Asian forest bird with black upperparts plumage and yellow underparts, dark bill, and (depending on subspecies) a yellow or black crest. The sexes are similar, though the female has slightly duller plumage with greenish-black upperparts and throat. The young bird is duller than the adult and has a shorter crest. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Melanochlora, which is fairly distinct from other tits, third-basal in the family Paridae after Cephalopyrus and Sylviparus.
The sultan tit forages mostly on invertebrates and larvae. The food sources are grasshoppers, mantises and web spiders, in addition to berries, other fruits and seeds. The search for food is mostly in the tree canopy, but sometimes also in higher undergrowth and bamboo areas.
Sultan tits appear often in small associations of up to twelve individuals and socialize with other species like warblers. The male has the forehead and crown with the crest brilliant yellow (except glossy black in one subspecies); the whole upper plumage, sides of the head and neck, chin, throat, and breast-deep black glossed with... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 3 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 5 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 7 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 8 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 9 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sultan Tit sighting in Manas National Park on a given day, based on 199 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 120th most-seen of the 377 birds 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.
January–February and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sultan Tit in Manas National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and September–October, the lowest months. Those are among Manas National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 1070 mm in June.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sultan Tit 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.
5th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Sultan Tit sightings, Manas National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Namdapha National Park (India, about 50%), Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan, about 30%) and Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand, about 30%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sultan Tit is recorded against all the birds logged in Manas National Park (199 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.
