Chaimarrornis leucocephalus
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The white-capped redstart or white-capped water redstart (Phoenicurus leucocephalus) is a passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, much of China, and to certain regions of Central Asia.
Both sexes are black with red underparts and white crown atop their heads. Males have a larger white pattern on top of the head and brown or red spots under the wings. It is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, as well as some adjoining areas. The species ranges across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tibet and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is temperate forests.
This species was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Chaimarrornis but was moved to Phoenicurus based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010. Wikipedia →
Recording0:08
China · 2024
© Elliot Liu · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 3 | Jiuzhaigou National Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 5 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a White-capped Redstart sighting in Royal Manas National Park on a given day, based on 490 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 20th most-seen of the 388 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a White-capped Redstart in Royal Manas National Park on a given day, against about 10% in May and June, the lowest months. That is one of Royal Manas National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 930 mm in July. August and September have too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-capped Redstart sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 7 parks where we can rate White-capped Redstart sightings, Royal Manas National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Namdapha National Park (India, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the White-capped Redstart that you can see in Royal Manas National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Blue Whistling-Thrush (about 50%), Oriental Magpie-Robin (about 50%) and Verditer Flycatcher (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-capped Redstart is recorded against all the birds logged in Royal Manas National Park (490 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.
