Leiothrix argentauris
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The silver-eared mesia (Leiothrix argentauris) is a species of bird from South East Asia. The species was once placed in the large Old World babbler family Timaliidae, but that family has recently been split with this species being placed with the laughingthrushes in the new family Leiothrichidae.
The species is sometimes placed in its own genus Mesia, or in the genus Leiothrix with the red-billed leiothrix. There are seven described subspecies, with considerable variation in plumage between them. Further research is needed to establish if this represents a single species or not.
The subspecies and their distributions are: M argentauris argentauris (Hodgson, 1837) - Northern and eastern India, Bhutan, northern Burma and southern China. M argentauris galbana (Mayr & Greenway, 1938) - Southern Burma and northern Thailand
M argentauris ricketti (La Touche, 1923) - China (Yunnan, Guixhou & Guangxi), and northern Laos and Vietnam. M argentauris cunhaci (Robinson & Kloss, 1919) - Southern Laos & Vietnam, Cambodia. M argentauris tahanensis (Yen Kwokyung, 1934) - Southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia.
M argentauris rookmakeri (Junge, 1948) - Northern Sumatra... Wikipedia →
Recording0:44
Vietnam · 2025
© Next Continent: Wildlife, Photography and Natural History Tours · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:04
Hong Kong SAR China · 2019
© johnallcock · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:12
Macao SAR China · 2025
© Miles 小智 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 4 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 5 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhuhai [Macau] | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Hong Kong | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Tuen Mun | 🇨🇳 China |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vinpearl Safari | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Beijing Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-eared Mesia sighting in Royal Bardia National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 222nd most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December and January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Silver-eared Mesia in Royal Bardia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–July and September–November, the lowest months. Those are among Royal Bardia National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 590 mm in July. August has too few records to rate.
Between 1 and 4 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Silver-eared Mesia sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
4th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Silver-eared Mesia sightings, Royal Bardia National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Namdapha National Park (India, about 40%), Doi Inthanon National Park (Thailand, about 30%) and Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan, about 20%).
Same family: Leiothrichidae
The closest relatives of the Silver-eared Mesia that you can see in Royal Bardia National Park (family Leiothrichidae, Laughingthrushes and Allies) are Jungle Babbler (about 40%) and Striated Babbler (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Silver-eared Mesia is recorded against all the birds logged in Royal Bardia National Park (5 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.
