Geokichla citrina
Silhouette: Francesco "Architetto" Rollandin · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The orange-headed thrush (Geokichla citrina) is a bird in the thrush family. It is common in well-wooded areas of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Most populations are resident. The species shows a preference for shady damp areas, and like many Geokichla and Zoothera thrushes, can be quite secretive.
The orange-headed thrush is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, earthworms and fruit. It nests in trees but does not form flocks. The male of this small thrush has uniform grey upperparts, and an orange head and underparts. The females and young birds have browner upper parts.
This species was first described by John Latham in 1790 as Turdus citrinus, the species name meaning "citrine" and referencing the colour of the head and underparts. It has about 12 subspecies. Rasmussen and Anderton (2005) suggest that this complex may consist of more than one species.
G. c. citrina, the nominate subspecies breeds from northern India east along the Himalayas to eastern Bangladesh and possibly in western and northern Burma. It winters further south in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. G. c. cyanota is mainly resident in Peninsular India south to Kerala. It has a... Wikipedia →
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India · 2023
© Afsar Nayakkan · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
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India · 2022
© Aaditya S Rajesh 🐯🐾🐾🦅:D:D · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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India · 2025
© Sabrina Pacheco · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 3 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 11 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 16 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 17 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 18 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 19 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 20 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 21 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 22 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 23 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 24 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 25 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 26 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | London Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Birdworld | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 6 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 7 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 9 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Orange-headed Thrush sighting in Wilpattu National Park on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 125th most-seen of the 169 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Orange-headed Thrush in Wilpattu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to September, the lowest months. That is one of Wilpattu National Park's wettest months, with about 320 mm of rain against 40 mm in February.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Orange-headed Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
15th of 26
Of the 26 parks where we can rate Orange-headed Thrush sightings, Wilpattu National Park ranks 15th at about 10%. The best odds are in Cuc Phuong National Park (Vietnam, about 30%), Cat Tien National Park (Vietnam, about 20%) and Bandhavgarh National Park (India, about 20%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Orange-headed Thrush that you can see in Wilpattu National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Oriental Magpie-Robin (about 60%), Indian Robin (about 60%) and Black-hooded Oriole (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Orange-headed Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Wilpattu National Park (30 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.
