Brachypteryx montana
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The Javan shortwing (Brachypteryx montana) (formerly the white-browed shortwing) is a species of bird that is placed in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the island of Java where it favours montane forests.
The Javan shortwing was formally described in 1821 by the America naturalist Thomas Horsfield. He coined the present binomial name Brachypteryx montana. This species was formerly named the white-browed shortwing and included many subspecies. It was split into five separate species based on the deep genetic difference between the populations coupled with the significant differences in plumage and vocalization. The new species are the Philippine shortwing (Brachypteryx poliogyna), the Bornean shortwing (Brachypteryx erythrogyna), the Sumatran shortwing (Brachypteryx saturata) and the Flores shortwing (Brachypteryx floris). The white-browed shortwing with its much reduced range was renamed the Javan shortwing. The species is now monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The Javan shortwing is a shy skulker, preferring to be on or near the ground, in the depths of dark vegetation, where it feeds on small insects, larvae, berries... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 2 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Shortwing sighting in Namdapha National Park on a given day, based on 83 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 151st most-seen of the 298 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Shortwing in Namdapha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–May and October, the lowest months. Those are among Namdapha National Park's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against 660 mm in July. June to September have too few records to rate.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-browed Shortwing sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate White-browed Shortwing sightings, Namdapha National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Doi Inthanon National Park (Thailand, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-browed Shortwing is recorded against all the birds logged in Namdapha National Park (83 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.
