Coenonympha dorus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Coenonympha dorus, the dusky heath, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in south-western Europe and North Africa. The length of the forewings is 16–17 mm. Seitz C. dorus Esp. (= dorilis Bkh., dorion Hbn.) (48 f). male above entirely shaded with soot-colour, except the posterior portion of the disc of the hindwing; female reddish yellow with a broad black apex and distal margin to both wings. The hindwing above has a curved, proximally convex row of ocelli, which is very irregular on the underside.
The larvae feed on various grasses. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Heath sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 348th most-seen of the 412 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Heath in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–June and August–February, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dusky Heath sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Dusky Heath sightings, Mercantour National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 10%) and Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%).
Same genus: Coenonympha
The closest relatives of the Dusky Heath that you can see in Mercantour National Park (genus Coenonympha) are Pearly Heath (about 40%), Coenonympha iphis (about 30%) and Small Heath (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dusky Heath is recorded against all the insects logged in Mercantour National Park (6 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.
