Common Nawab
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Taman Negara National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%

5 Verified sightings at Taman Negara National Park From 2019 to 2026
89 In all 5 parks
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Common Nawab

Polyura athamas, the common nawab, is a species of fast-flying canopy butterfly found in tropical Asia. It belongs to the Charaxinae (rajahs and nawabs) in the brush-footed butterfly family (Nymphalidae). It occurs in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Sikkim, the hills of central India and the Eastern Ghats, the Western Ghats and southern India, Sri Lanka, Assam, Cachar, and via Myanmar, Cambodia and the Tenasserim Hills far into Indonesia. In August 2016 a specimen was spotted and caught in Palawan, Philippines.

Male and female. Upperside black. Forewings and hindwings with a discal broad transverse area from below vein 4 in forewing to vein 2 on hindwing, a moderately large spot in interspace 5, a minute preapical dot beyond in interspace 6 on forewing, and a subterminal row of spots with two or three spots beyond them on the tornal angle of the hindwing, pale yellow, sometimes with an ochraceous, sometimes with a greenish tinge.

The discal area on the forewing is nearly as broad in interspace 3 as on the dorsum, on the hindwing narrowing to an acute point on vein 2 at two-thirds of its length from the base of the wing. Tails are touched with bluish grey. Underside... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~30%
2 Gunung Leuser National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~30%
3 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
4 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
5 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Chattogram 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~20%
2 Hong Kong 🇨🇳 China
~10%
3 Guangzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Common Nawab in Taman Negara National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Nawab sighting in Taman Negara National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 64th most-seen of the 84 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Common Nawab in Taman Negara National Park?

June and July

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Nawab in Taman Negara National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Common Nawab?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Nawab sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Which relatives of the Common Nawab live in Taman Negara National Park?

Same family: Nymphalidae

The closest relatives of the Common Nawab that you can see in Taman Negara National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Chocolate Pansy (about 30%), Great Marquis (about 30%) and Great Eggfly (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Common Nawab sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Common Nawab is recorded against all the insects logged in Taman Negara 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.

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