Myophonus caeruleus
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The blue whistling thrush (Myophonus caeruleus) is a bird in the Old World flycatchers family Muscicapidae that is found in the mountains of Central Asia, South Asia, China and Southeast Asia. It is known for its loud human-like whistling song at dawn and dusk. The widely distributed populations show variations in size and plumage, with six subspecies accepted. Like others in the genus, they feed on the ground, often along streams and in damp places, foraging for snails, crabs, insects, and fruit.
The blue whistling thrush was formally described in 1786 by the Austrian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli under the binomial name Gracula caerulea. The specific epithet is from Latin caeruleus meaning "blue". Scopoli based his account on "Le Merle blue de la Chine" that had been described and illustrated in 1782 by the French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat in his book Voyage aux Indes orientales et a la Chine. The type locality has been restricted to Canton. The blue whistling thrush is now one of nine species placed in the genus Myophonus that was introduced in 1822 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck.
Six subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 2 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 4 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 7 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 8 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 9 | Hemis National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 12 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 13 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 14 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 15 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 17 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Zürich Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 3 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 5 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Whistling-Thrush sighting in Royal Manas National Park on a given day, based on 774 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 388 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to December
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Whistling-Thrush in Royal Manas National Park on a given day, against about 30% in June and July, the lowest months. Those are among Royal Manas National Park's driest months, with about 50 mm of rain a month against 930 mm in July. August and September have too few records to rate.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue Whistling-Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Blue Whistling-Thrush sightings, Royal Manas National Park ranks 3rd at about 50%. The best odds are in Langtang National Park (Nepal, about 70%) and Doi Inthanon National Park (Thailand, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Blue Whistling-Thrush that you can see in Royal Manas National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Oriental Magpie-Robin (about 50%), Verditer Flycatcher (about 40%) and White-capped Redstart (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue Whistling-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Royal Manas National Park (774 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.
