Luscinia cyane
Silhouette: Stephan Sprinz · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The Siberian blue robin (Larvivora cyane) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classified as a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to belong to the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. It and similar small European species are often called chats. Recent research suggests that this species and some other East Asian members of Luscinia should be classified in a new genus, together with the Japanese and Ryūkyū robins. The genus name Larvivora comes from the Neo-Latin larva meaning caterpillar and -vorus meaning eating (vorace to devour), and cyane is Latin for "dark-blue".
This bird is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in the eastern Palearctic from Siberia and northern Mongolia, northeastern China, Korea and across to Japan. It winters in southern and south-eastern Asia and Indonesia.
The breeding habitat is coniferous forest with dense understory, often beside rivers or at woodland edges. It feeds on the ground but is very 'skulking'. In winter, this bird also tends to stay in dense vegetation. This species is a very rare vagrant to Europe, and has vagrant status even as far east as Pakistan. The Siberian blue robin was previously placed in the genus Luscinia. A large molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that Luscinia was not monophyletic. The genus was therefore split and several species including the Siberian blue robin were moved to the reinstated genus Larvivora. Wikipedia →
Recording1:05
Russia · 2026
© Владимир Бо. · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:04
Thailand · 2023
© Sam Hambly · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Recording0:37
Russia · 2026
© Татьяна · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 7 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 8 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 9 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 11 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Siberian Blue Robin sighting in Nikko National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 75th most-seen of the 102 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–June and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Siberian Blue Robin in Nikko National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and September–April, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Siberian Blue Robin 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.
6th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Siberian Blue Robin sightings, Nikko National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Cat Tien National Park (Vietnam, about 30%), Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand, about 20%) and Khao Luang National Park (Thailand, about 10%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Siberian Blue Robin that you can see in Nikko National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Narcissus Flycatcher (about 30%), Amur Stonechat (about 30%) and Asian Brown Flycatcher (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Siberian Blue Robin is recorded against all the birds logged in Nikko National Park (20 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.
