Troides darsius
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Troides darsius, the Sri Lankan birdwing, is a species of birdwing butterfly found in Sri Lanka. It is the largest butterfly on the island and is also the national butterfly of Sri Lanka. Among the largest of the Ceylon Lepidoptera is the great black and yellow butterfly (Ornithoptera darsius, Gray); the upper wings, which measure six inches (15 cm) across, are deep velvet black. The lower wings are decorated with large yellow patches, which are slightly translucent. Its caterpillar form commonly eats plants in the genus aristolochia.
From Troides helena cerberus it differs as follows: Male forewing: adnervular pale streaks not prominent on the upperside, more distinctly marked on the underside. Hindwing black, with a very broad discal slightly curved silky-yellow band or patch that extends beyond the cell from interspaces 2 to 7, and is composed of elongate outwardly emarginate yellow markings that are divided only by the black veins. In most specimens the inner margin of this band crosses the apex of the cell, but in many the cell is entirely black. Abdomen with some black markings beneath and a lateral row of black spots.
Female: Differs from cerberus female in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Sri Lankan Birdwing sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 21st most-seen of the 117 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Sri Lankan Birdwing in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in May and July–December, the lowest months. That is one of Sinharaja Forest Reserve's driest months, with about 150 mm of rain against 490 mm in November.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sri Lankan Birdwing sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Sinharaja Forest Reserve, in our data
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Sri Lankan Birdwing sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Papilionidae
The closest relatives of the Sri Lankan Birdwing that you can see in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (family Papilionidae, Swallowtails and Parnassians) are Great Mormon Swallowtail (about 40%), Red Helen Swallowtail (about 30%) and Common Jay (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sri Lankan Birdwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (21 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.
