Malaysia
Sabah
Sabah is the north eastern province of malaysian Borneo and home to an astonishing variety of birds. In May/June 2024 we have been able to spend three weeks in Sabah going in and out of Kota Kinabalu and using a rental car for transport. The following sites have been visited: Tanjung Aru in Kota Kinabalu (short stop only before a flight), Gunung Alab and Kinabalu Park (2 resp. 5 days, both high altitude 1500 - 2000 m), Poring (2 days, 500 - 800 m altitude), RDC in Sepilok and Bilit on the Kinabatangan River (5 days each, both in the steaming lowlands). This page covers birdlife with some of Borneo's mountain endemics and many lowland species including 7 out of 8 occuring hornbills.
Tanjung Aru is a large park area on the beach and close to Kota Kinabalu airport. It is a convenient stop while waiting for a flight and is surprisingly rich in birdlife. Kingfishers (collared and stork billed), spotted doves and green imperial pigeons are common. Besides the local long-tailed parakeets the park sustains a population of introduced blue-naped parrots, a philippine species now rare in its home region.
A group of noisy long-tailed parakeets gathered in one of the large trees.
blue-naped parrot close to the
beach in Tanjung Aru
While looking for a refreshing drink near the food stalls, Cheryl spotted this sunda pygmy woodpecker.
Kota Kinabalu
Sabah highlands
Chestnut-hooded laughingthrushes are endemic to Borneo's mountain areas, they appeared common in Gunung Alab.
temminck's sunbird
A bornean green magpie joined a mixed flock early morning near the Gunung Alab headquarter, it is another mountain endemic.
Gunung Alab is just a 2 h drive from KK up in the Crocker Range mountains at almost 1900 m altitude. Birding was straightforward at the park headquarter and the road leading to the telecommunication tower.
bornean flowerpecker, mountain endemic in Gunung Alab
Borneo is very rich in bulbul species, this pale-faced bulbul is endemic in the mountains.
Its a 2 hour drive through beautiful scenery from the Crocker Range to Mt. Kinabalu. Kinabalu national park is Sabah's prime birding location for mountain endemics. Birding along the road to Timpohon gate (1500 - 1900 m) and using several of the trails proved a little slow and it was not always easy to get good photo opportunities. Poor light conditions and rain interruptions did not make things easier, but we still managed to locate most of our target birds.
a mountain imperial pigeon calling early morning from an overhanging branch on Liwagu road.
a bornean forktail (endemic, this individual is ringed already) near one of Kinabalu's mountain streams
everett's thrush, another ground dwelling mountain endemic
This eye-browed jungle flycatcher wears multiple rings from research studies.
indigo warbling flycatcher, these birds are quite common and conspicious in Kinabalu.
Crimson-headed partridges prefer to hide in dense vegetation, they are shy and not easy to observe nor photograph.
bornean treepie (endemic)
Whitehead's trogon is Borneo's only high altitude trogon and endemic. This female crossed the road above Liwagu restaurant and perched nicely. Unfortunately our efforts to locate the more colourful male were unsuccessful.
Whitehead's broadbill is another iconic and endemic mountain specialist. These birds join mixed flocks e.g. with laughing thrushes and green magpies. We heard their strange calls several times, but got a clear view only once.
This rajah brooke is not really a bird but at least belongs to the spectacular family of birdwing butterflies. So we decided to give it a space here, size and colouration are gorgeous.
Sabah lowlands
Poring hotsprings is part of Kinabalu NP, but the area lies considerably lower. We birded between 500 m at the gate and about 800m on the waterfall trail. The area around the lodge near the entrance was quite productive with commoner birds like babblers, fork-tailed drongos, bluebirds, gold-whiskered barbets and black-and-red broadbills. Birding the steep path towards the Langanan waterfall was slow but moderate temperatures were helpful. Rainshowers compromised our hikes and not unexpectably the saught after blue-banded pitta gave a no-show.
a maroon woodpecker in dense bush near the lodge
A group of large writhed hornbills (here a female) revealed their presence in the canopy of a large tree through loud calls and the characteristic noise of their wingbeats. This is Borneo's only hornbill reaching higher elevations, our sighting was at about 700 m, but we also heard them at 1600m on Mt. Kinabalu. Photography was challenging due to obstracting vegetation, but this was the only sighting of the species during our entire trip.
Next location was Sepilok, famous for the rehabilitation of orphaned and rescued orang utans and also sunbears. Even though both places are worth visiting (the sunbears attract much smaller crowds) our main target was the excellent rainforest discovery center (RDC) with a world class canopy walkway, observation towers and an extensive trail network. Climate here is truely hot and humid and birdlife is exceptional.
brown-throated sunbird
lesser green leafbird
van hasselt's sunbird
Hornbill tower was a great place due to flowering trees nextby. A multitude of smaller birds including hanging parrots and a juvenile cuckoo were regular guests and could be observed at close distance.
ruby-cheeked sunbird
blue-crowned hanging parrot, a colourful member of the bat parrot family named from their upside down sleeping habit
pale-blue jungle flycatcher collecting nesting material in the canopy
The wallace's hawk eagle is the main predator in RDC, this bird perched just meters away from the upper hornbill tower platform.
This juvenile cuckoo, possibly a violet cuckoo, could already fly but was still being fed by its stepmother.
spectacled spiderhunter
a thick-billed green pigeon in a fruit bearing tree at middle elevation
black-eared barbet
buff-rumped woodpecker
black-and-yellow broadbill at middle elevation from the canopy walkway
RDC is home to several spectacular hornbill species, which inhabite canopy and middle storey. They can best be observed from the skywalk.
black hornbills were most frequently seen, this male (females are entirely black apart from the tail) was feeding in a fruiting tree.
The large rhinocerus hornbill is probably the most iconic bird of Borneo. It is monogameous (like the black) and the female (white iris) is totally dependant on her partner when breeding in a sealed cavity of a tree. We saw these birds several times at RDC, including the parking lot at the entrance.
White-crowned hornbills are an uncommon, middle elevation species. This female was our only clear view during the entire trip.
RDC's extensive network of trails gives excellent opportunities to observe birds living on or just above the ground.
This displaying western hooded pitta came out into the open behind our room, a short distance from RDC.
Spotting a black-crowned pitta requires patience and careful listening for its characteristic whistle.
RDC offers daily night walks, which are well worth joining. Apart from nocturnal mammals (see mammals page) and other creatures we had the chance to encounter this oriental bay owl.
Lantern bugs suck juices from specific trees. Some are guarded and protected by ants which make a living from the bug's sugary excrements.
Last stop during our trip was the Kinabatangan river, we stayed in Bilit on the northern shore. Unlike all other spots in Sabah prime means of wildlife observation here are boats. We used a small motor boat from our lodge and just joined the regular morning and afternoon trips. Additionally we went for walks in the forest several times and could also easily drive to the nearby Gomantong caves.
Even though monkeys, orang utans and elefants are a prime attractions during the boat cruises, we enjoyed plenty of opportunities to observe birds.
Kingfishers like the blue-eared above or the stork-billed left are a regular sight.
Black-and-red broadbills frequently build their nests over water using overhanging branches. These stunning birds are surprisingly common at the Kinabatangan river.
White-bellied fish eagles are a common sight.
black-crowned night heron
Eight hornbill species can be found near the river, the rarest being the heavily poached helmeted (which we missed).​
The most common hornbill seems to be the oriental pied, but we also saw black, rhinocerus and the two following hornbills.​
A pair of oriental pied hornbills (male left). It was recently discovered that some birds not only eat fruits but also actively hunt bats.
Wrinkled hornbills are less common and not easy to photograph in the dense canopy. Males (left and in flight) are particularly attractive.
Bushy-crested hornbills live in groups in the middle storey of mature forests. The breeding female (see pic) is being fed by her partner and all other group members.
white-crowned shama
a pair of malaysian blue flycatchers sleeping at night
Rufous-backed dwarf-kingfisher, a tiny and colourful forest kingfisher