Having recently visited the world’s second and fourth largest islands (New Guinea and Madagascar, respectively) we decided to fill in the gap with a birding trip to Borneo (number three). Although Borneo boasts considerably fewer endemic species than the other two islands, there are nonetheless somewhere on the order of 50, depending on whose taxonomy you follow. Most of them are concentrated in the mountainous northern region of the island and can be found within the Malaysian state of Sabah. Sabah has the added advantage over neighboring Indonesia of having excellent tourism infrastructure, including several large national parks and preserved natural areas with comfortable lodges and two of the most impressive canopy walkways we’ve encountered anywhere. It is fortunate that these areas exist because the rate of habitat destruction outside of the parks is distressing, with 50% of Borneo’s forests having been cut for timber or converted to palm oil plantations in the past 25 years. It’s quite depressing to fly or drive across the island, with nothing but vast palm oil plantations as far as one can see.
For our other recent “big island” birding trips we worked with professional tour operators to make our travel arrangements. It was a pleasant surprise, therefore, to discover that Sabah was a place we could easily arrange to visit without such assistance. We were able to book all of our accommodations and flights online and via e-mail with very little difficulty, and once there all of our plans went off without a hitch. We spent time in each of the four areas most often visited by birders and other ecotourists (Sepilok, the Kinabatangan River, Danum Valley and Kinabalu National Park), and also managed to fit in day trips to the Crocker Range and the wetlands around Kota Kinabalu. For the daytrips we hired local birding guide and photographer CK Leong (ckleong@borneobirds.com) who was able to take us to great spots we would never have known about or been able to find on our own. We were provided with specialist bird guides at the lodges in Kinabatangan and Danum Valley, and managed fine without guides at Sepilok and Kinabalu NP. Two excellent, recently published field guides to the birds of Borneo are available, and we took both of them with us as they complement each other well. Myers’ Birds of Borneo (2009) is smaller and easier to carry in the field and has quite detailed descriptions of field marks and similar species. In contrast, the Phillips’ Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo (3rd edition, 2014) is slightly heavier and lacks as detailed descriptions, but has better plates and very useful information on the habitat, ecology, and best places to find each species. We were able to download sound recordings of most of Borneo’s birds from the xeno-canto website (http://www.xeno-canto.org/). Payne et al.’s Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo was also a handy reference to have for identifying the many squirrels and other mammals we encountered on a daily basis.
Getting to Sabah from the U.S. is very straightforward, and required only a single change of planes. We flew Cathay Pacific direct from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, and from there it was a 2-1/2 hr flight to Kota Kinabalu on their short-haul subsidiary, Dragonair. We had a tight connection on the way over, and were both stunned and delighted to find an airline representative waiting for us in Hong Kong to escort us to our next flight through back security channels! In Kota Kinabalu we stayed at the Hotel Shangri-La in the Bandaran Berjaya section of the city, not to be confused with the resort chain of the same name. This is a large hotel that’s a 10-15 minute taxi ride from the airport. Although the surrounding neighborhood looks a little grim, the hotel was clean, comfortable and reasonably priced, and it was an easy walk down to the harbor and colorful central market. Moreover, the hotel backs up against the steep, forested slope of Signal Hill, and we got several life birds from the window of our room!
From KK we flew to Sandakan on the east coast, and from there traveled by taxi the 30 minutes to Sepilok. We stayed at the Sepilok B&B, which is located only 300 m from the entrance to the Rainforest Discovery Center, the primary birding site in Sepilok. There are a number of other lodges to choose from in Sepilok, but most are a kilometer or more from the RDC. Sepilok B&B is a very laid back establishment that seems to be frequented primarily by European and American backpackers. They have a range of room types to choose from (all quite moderately priced), and the staff were very friendly and helpful. From Sepilok we went to the Kinabatangan Jungle Camp, whose owner, Robert Chong, is renowned for his abilities to locate the Bornean Ground Cuckoo. Our 4-night birding package included transportation from Sepilok to the dock in Bilit, and for an additional fee (250 MYR, about $80 USD) they were happy to arrange transportation from Bilit direct to Lahad Datu when we left. KJC is in a fairly remote location, about 15 minutes downriver from Bilit and 30 minutes upriver from the next village, Sukau. It’s a terrific place to see wildlife, with Bearded Pigs, enormous Water Monitor lizards, and semi-tame Storm’s Stork, Prevost’s Squirrels and a Malayan Civet that visit the dining area regularly. The food here (traditional Malaysian dishes) was also excellent, the best we encountered.
The Danum Valley is a must-visit location, and there are only two options for accommodations: the outrageously expensive Borneo Rainforest Lodge (BRL) or the Danum Valley Field Center (DVFC), a research facility that allows ecotourists to stay if there is space. After quite a bit of deliberation and consultation with some tour companies, we mortgaged our house (not really...) and stayed at BRL. BRL has excellently maintained trails, a spectacular canopy walkway, and (for an additional fee of course) will provide a specialist birding guide. In contrast, DVFC has no guides, and various reports suggest the trails that are open to birders have deteriorated in recent years. If one is on a tight budget but has plenty of time to spend looking for birds DVFC may still be the better option, but if time is more limited than money most of the target endemics can be found more efficiently at BRL. For reasons that weren’t entirely clear to us May-June is off-peak season at BRL, which made the bill a little less painful.
Our final destination was Kinabalu National Park, located just 2 hours from Kota Kinabalu and easily reachable by taxi (190 MYR, about $60 USD) from the KK airport. Here, too, lodging is somewhat expensive due to all of the housing options within the park being run by a single concessionaire, the Sutera Sanctuary Lodges. The options range, however, from dormitory-style hostels to luxurious private chalets, so there is at least a range of overpriced rooms to choose from. We opted to stay at the Hill Lodge, which consists of about a dozen semi-detached bungalows each with a double bed and private bath. There are numerous other, probably less expensive housing options in the surrounding area, but they all require transportation to get to and from the park. We were only able to get housing at Hill Lodge for four nights, and opted to spend a fifth night at the Mesilau Nature Resort—also run by Sutera—which is about 30 minutes from HQ and at slightly higher elevation. Accommodations there also range from climber’s hostels to private villas, and 355 MYR (about $115 USD) got us a room in the Crocker Cabin that was very slightly larger than the double bed it contained. Although we had a private bath, we had to share a tiny “living room” with two other rooms — its sole furnishings were a counter with coffee-making facilities and a couch to seat four people, intimately. Let’s just say we were not impressed, although for one night it was bearable...
We found Sabah to be a very easy place to travel. Internal flights were inexpensive and on time, and taxis were easy to find and also inexpensive (all fares are regulated, and typically you just buy a ticket for your destination at a designated taxi stand and give it to the first available driver). The people are friendly and helpful, and English is widely spoken. Although we had been advised to (and did) take anti-malarials we encountered almost no mosquitoes, and despite the fearsome reputation of Borneo’s terrestrial leeches we found them to be less bloodthirsty than those we’ve encountered in some other places. All in all, Sabah was one of the easiest and most civilized tropical birding destinations we’ve had the pleasure to visit!
Useful web sites:
Hotel Shangri-La: http://www.kkshang.com/
CK Leong: borneobirds.com
MASwings airline: http://www.maswings.com.my/en
Sepilok B&B: http://www.sepilokbednbreakfast.com.my/
Rainforest Discovery Center: http://www.forest.sabah.gov.my/rdc/
Kinabatangan Jungle Camp: http://www.kinabatangan-jungle-camp.com/
Borneo Rainforest Lodge: http://www.borneonaturetours.com/www/brl_lodges.aspx
Sutera Sanctuary Resorts: http://www.kinabaluparklodge.com/ppc/rooms.php
Kinabalu NP: http://www.sabahparks.org.my/eng/kinabalu_park/
Blow-by-blow Account:
Thursday 22 May: Kota Kinabalu
We arrived into Kota Kinabalu at about 11 a.m., ticking the first birds of the trip—Cattle Egrets and a White-breasted Woodswallow—as the plane taxied to the air terminal. It was a 10-minute taxi ride to the Hotel Shangi-La, where we spent the early afternoon settling in and resting from the flight. We’d asked for a room facing away from the street, and found ourselves looking directly out at the wooded hillside of Signal Hill from a 6th floor vantage point. Glossy Swiftlets and a few House Swifts zipped right by the window, and we saw our first Asian Glossy Starlings and Yellow-vented Bulbuls in the adjacent treetops. In the late afternoon we walked the few blocks down to the waterfront and open-air central market. In the harbor was a pair of Striated Herons, a couple of Brahminy Kites, and several terns that we couldn’t identify conclusively without bins, but their grayish breasts suggested either Whiskered or White-winged Black Terns. Three House Crows were making the rounds at the market. We lacked the energy to go out looking for a restaurant, so ate back at the hotel and turned in early.
Friday 23 May: Rafflesia Center, Crocker Range
CK Leong picked us up at 5 a.m. for the 2 hour drive to the Crocker Range. Thankfully, the hotel was happy to give us a boxed breakfast we could eat on the way. Our first stop was a pullout along the road at its highest point below the summit of Mt. Alab, from where we could easily scope the adjacent hillside. Here we picked up the first of the very common Chestnut-crested Yuhinas and Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrushes, as well as several Bornean Leafbirds, Little Cuckoo-Doves, our first Mountain Barbet, and several Mountain Imperial Pigeons. Next we descended to a lower elevation site on the far side of the Rafflesia Center, hoping to find Whitehead’s Spiderhunter. Unfortunately, that species was a no-show, but we did pick up a Bornean Bulbul, Black-and-Crimson Oriole, and close looks at a Mountain Barbet visiting a nest hole. We ended the morning at the Rafflesia Center, spending most of our time in the carpark and area immediately surrounding the Visitor’s Center. Here we found Blyth’s Shrike-Babbler, Black-capped White-eye, Dusky Munia, Bornean Treepie, Cinereous Bulbul, and several additional Mountain Barbets and Bornean Bulbuls. An hour-long vigil finally got us good scope views of a Bornean Barbet that had been calling incessantly from the hillside across from the center, along with a Bornean Brown Barbet (a recent split) that jumped up beside it. A Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle and an Oriental Honey-Buzzard overhead rounded out the morning. We were back in KK by mid-afternoon, and ended the day with another walk around the central city and market.
Saturday 24 May: Kota Kinabalu to Sepilok
We picked up another boxed breakfast at the hotel and left with CK at 6 a.m. to spend the morning birding around Kota Kinabalu. CK told us the first stop would be a heronry, and then drove us into an unlikely-looking residential area. There along a narrow street lined with small shops and houses were several trees filled with a cacophony of nesting and roosting Rufous and Black-crowned Night-Herons, Great Egrets, and a few Pacific Reef-Herons. From there we proceeded to a modern, affluent-looking condominium complex to try for the introduced Java Sparrow. We came up empty, but did pick up some of KK’s other introduced species such as Zebra Dove and Crested Myna. Next stop was the park at Tg Aru beach, renowned for its population of feral but globally endangered Blue-naped Parrots. A number of these beautiful parrots were flying conspicuously around the park, vying with Collared Kingfishers and Dollarbirds for vantage points in the casuarina trees. Here we also found Green Imperial Pigeons, both Plain-throated and Olive-backed Sunbirds, Pied Fantail, Ashy Tailorbird, Oriental Magpie-Robin, and several species we would not see elsewhere in Sabah, including Common Iora, Pied Triller, and a pair of diminutive Sunda Woodpeckers. From Tg Aru we drove to rice fields on the outskirts of KK. The quarry here was Buff-banded Rail, a recent arrival in Sabah, and we managed to see one from the neck up. The real prize, however, was a Cinnamon Bittern that was working its way along an open ditch only a few meters from the roadside, and allowed us to follow along and photograph it for over 10 minutes! We also picked up Striated Grassbird and Yellow-bellied Prinia in the long grass beside the road. Our final stop of the morning was at some sewage ponds (what birding trip would be complete without one??). Here we found Wandering Whistling-Ducks, Purple (Black-backed) Swamphens, several Purple Herons, and a White-browed Crake bathing in a puddle in the road. On our way back into the city an Oriental Darter and several White-bellied Sea-Eagles passed overhead. If you have a morning free in KK, we highly recommend hiring CK for a productive, insider’s tour of the city’s birding hotspots!
We caught a late afternoon flight to Sandakan, and took a taxi the 30 minutes from the airport to Sepilok. Arriving at the Sepilok B&B at about 6 p.m., we used up the little remaining daylight exploring the 300 m from there to the Rainforest Discovery Center so that we would be oriented for an early start in the morning.
Sunday 25 May: Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok
We were up before dawn, having been kept awake for most of the night by what we had thought was a dog barking continuously from an adjacent room. Three or four short, sharp barks every five minutes, all night long...When we asked about it at reception, we learned that our neighbor was not a dog, but a very aptly named Barking Gecko, probably living above the ceiling. We arrived at the Rainforest Discovery Center at 6 a.m. and headed straight to the first tower on the canopy walkway, reputedly the best vantage point from which to look for Bornean Bristleheads, our primary target here. Although the RDC does not officially open until 8 a.m. they are tolerant of birders entering early provided you stop and pay the 15 MYR entrance fee on your way out. We stayed on the tower until about 8 a.m., neither seeing nor hearing any sign of Bristleheads. The adjacent treetops were, however, being visited continuously by Plain, Plain-throated, Ruby-cheeked and Van Hasselt’s Sunbirds, a Yellow-eared Spiderhunter, various bulbuls, and a juvenile Violet Cuckoo being fed by sunbird foster-parents. A juvenile Wallace’s Hawk-Eagle sat in full view adjacent to its nest in a tall tree by the second tower, and Asian Palm-Swifts and Silver-rumped Needletails flitted all around us. With our scope we managed good looks at distant Fiery Minivets, Long-tailed Parakeets, and a Bornean Black Magpie. Eventually we gave up on the Bristleheads, descended the tower, and continued along the canopy walkway to its far end. Here we discovered a fruiting tree being visited by numerous sunbirds as well as Orange-bellied and Yellow-rumped Flowerpeckers, Black-and-Yellow Broadbills, Green Iora, Black-winged Flycatcher-Shrike, a Banded Woodpecker, and a pair of Buff-rumped Woodpeckers. We spent the final part of the morning along the Kingfisher Trail, where half-a-dozen photographers with huge lenses were loitering, hoping to photograph kingfishers and trogons. We didn’t find either of those taxa, but cleaned up on bulbuls with Black-headed, Red-eyed, Cream-vented, Spectacled, Streaked, Yellow-bellied, Buff-vented and Hairy-backed Bulbuls all seen along a 50 m stretch of trail! We also found a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, an Emerald Dove, and our first Black-and-Red Broadbills and Chestnut-winged Babblers, both of which proved to be quite common.
We returned to the B&B for lunch and a shower, and then made our way back to the RDC at about 4 p.m. Another long vigil on the first tower ended with no Bristleheads, but a fly-by White-bellied Woodpecker and a close pair of Scarlet Minivets were some consolation. By 6 p.m. we had given up on the Bristleheads and moved on to the second tower, where a photographer pointed out two Red Giant Flying Squirrels in an adjacent tree. We had ringside seats when one of the squirrels suddenly launched himself into the air, closely pursued by a Wallace’s Hawk-Eagle. The squirrel flew about 150 m, neatly evading the eagle with a couple of well-timed banking maneuvers, before landing safely on the trunk of a distant tree. A great show!
We had planned to stay on the canopy walkway until dark to look for owls, but started to worry about a sign that suggested the gate might close at 7 p.m. We made our way back towards the entrance shortly before that time, and just meters before the end of the walkway a largish bird flew in and landed in a small tree right beside us. It was a Brown Boobook, which miraculously sat still while we frantically fumbled to get our lights out and on it for a proper look. We spent a few more minutes walking some of the trails in the dark and heard several more Brown Boobooks calling, then headed back to the B&B for dinner and another much-needed shower. Fortunately, our Barking Gecko kept more civil hours tonight, and stopped yapping at about the time we made it into bed.
Monday 26 May: Rainforest Discovery Center and Kinabatangan River
We were back on tower #1 at 6 a.m. to make one final try for Bornean Bristlehead. Yesterday’s sunbirds and spiderhunters had disappeared, and the Asian Palm-Swifts and Silver-backed Needletails had been replaced by echo-locating swiftlets. The morning started well with Black Hornbills by the lake and a pair of tiny Gray-and-Buff Woodpeckers working on a dead branch beside the tower. After that the birding slowed, but we did pick up a Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Pink-necked Pigeons, a pair of Lesser Green Leafbirds, and, best of all, three Bushy-crested Hornbills who landed at eye level in the tree closest to the tower for some great photos! But no Bristleheads appeared before we had to head back to the B&B to prepare for a 9 a.m. departure for Kinabatangan. Dipping on this species here worried us greatly. The RDC is reputed to be the easiest place to see Bornean Bristlehead, and we would now need to spend time looking for this important target species (an endemic, monotypic family!) at Kinabatangan and Danum Valley, where it can be more difficult to find.
We were picked up by a driver from the Kinabatangan Jungle Camp for the 2 hour trip to the jumping-off point in the village of Bilit. As we passed through a moderately large town along the way the driver pulled over, pointed to a very large, lonely tree in the distance, and said “Bat Hawk”. Sure enough, there was a small black lump on one of the lower branches, but with the scope packed in the back of the van we had to take its identity on faith! We also stopped to pick up Erman, our guide for the next 4 days. Although lodge owner Robert Chong usually guides birding clients himself, we had received word about a week before we left the U.S. that Robert was seriously ill and thus would be unavailable. Erman has been training under Robert, and he did a great job getting us some of our key target species (read on...). From Bilit a small panga took us 15 minutes downriver to KJC, where we settled in and then had some time to kill before lunch and a late afternoon river cruise. We poked around the start of a trail that circles KJC through the surrounding forest, but the day was already very hot and all we managed to find were a Purple-naped Sunbird, Rufous-tailed Tailorbird, a pair of Chestnut-winged Babblers, and a Rufous Piculet. Relaxing under the fans on the dining porch while watching Bearded Pigs and Water Monitors the size of Komodo Dragons root through the garbage heap proved to be a more productive and cooler way to spend the afternoon!
At 4 p.m. we headed out onto the river by boat, and spent the first half hour dispensing with monkeys. Large groups of Long-tailed Macaques, Proboscis Monkeys and Silvered Leaf Monkeys were feeding in the trees overhanging the river, offering some great photo opportunities. With that necessity taken care of, we headed downriver to concentrate on birds just as the regular afternoon rainstorm arrived. As we huddled under our ponchos, the boatman made a run for a covered jetty at a nearby palm oil plantation, where we waited out the worst of the storm with several other boatloads of dripping tourists. Once the weather cleared we continued up a small tributary, finding both Lesser and Gray-headed Fish-Eagles, Black, Wrinkled and Oriental Pied Hornbills, and a Stork-billed Kingfisher. During dinner back at the lodge a semi-tame Malayan Civet (“Tom”) stopped by the dining area for some scraps and to pose for photographs.
Tuesday 27 May: Kinabatangan River
We were back out on the river by shortly after 6 a.m., our first stop a fruiting tree that had attracted several species of hornbills, including a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbills. As we pulled up to get a closer look at them, we discovered that a large, male Orangutan was feeding in the same tree, as were Green Imperial Pigeons and both Bornean Brown and Blue-eared Barbets. We stayed here for quite some time as several other tourist boats joined us, attracted by the Orangutan. Eventually we made a long run downriver to Sukau where there is a small tributary along which Bornean Ground Cuckoos can regularly be found. We spent the morning working our way slowly upstream, occasionally going ashore to walk into the forest. This was one of those frustrating mornings when much time is spent painstakingly stalking a calling bird, only to have it slip away unseen. So it was that we came very close to but ultimately missed both Red-naped and Scarlet-rumped Trogons and two different Hooded Pittas. We did, however, pick up some of the common small birds that frequent the riverbank, including White-chested Babbler, Malaysian Blue-Flycatcher, and Black-naped Monarch. As we headed back up the Kinabatangan in the late morning we encountered 12 Lesser Adjutants soaring over the river, the largest flock Erman said he had ever seen.
We arrived back at KJC with 2 hours still to go before lunch, so decided to walk the loop trail through the forest, which turned out to be considerably longer than we’d anticipated. It was very quiet for most of way, and all we saw were several Pied Fantails, Black-naped Monarchs, Crimson Sunbirds, and a perched Wallace’s Hawk-Eagle. Close to the lodge we flushed a coucal who quickly clambered to the top of a tall tree, but we were unable to determine which of the three possible species it might be. At 4 p.m. we were back out on the river, making our way up a small tributary into an oxbow lake. Here we had very distant views of a perched White-fronted Falconet, our first Blue-eared Kingfisher, a White-bellied Sea-Eagle, and at sunset a Bat Hawk in flight.
After dinner we headed out in the boat to look for owls. Within a short distance of the lodge we encountered a Buffy Fish-Owl perched in a tree overlooking the river. We then made our way downriver to the palm oil plantation where we’d taken refuge during yesterday’s rainstorm, and disembarked to walk into the plantation. We located our quarry within about one minute, an Oriental Bay Owl perched a few feet off the ground on the trunk of an oil palm. The bird remained absolutely motionless, allowing us to come within a few meters of it for photographs. Nearby along the riverbank Erman saw eyeshine that proved to belong to a rare Flat-headed Cat, which also allowed us to approach very closely before it moved off into the forest. We returned to the lodge quite jubilant with the evening’s success – hard to believe it could get any better, but as we walked up from the river Erman trained his light on a lamp-post beside the dining room, and there sat a gorgeous Brown Wood-Owl! Three great owl species in one night!
Wednesday 28 May: Kinabatangan River
This morning we wasted no time making our way downriver to Sukau to resume our search for Bornean Ground Cuckoo, although a stop along the way was precipitated by three Great Slaty Woodpeckers who were putting on a show atop some tall dead trees on the riverbank. The tributary was considerably quieter than the previous day, and we paddled along for quite some time without hearing much of anything. Eventually we heard a trogon call and disembarked to look for it, but the bird eluded us and finally our boatman called to us that he’d seen it fly across the river. We followed, and after a considerable amount of time spent creeping through the forest understory and peering through tiny gaps in the foliage we managed to see both Scarlet-rumped and Diard’s Trogons. Along the way we also caught sight of one of the White-crowned Shamas whose rollicking songs we’d been hearing for the past few days.
In the afternoon we took a trip to the Gomantong Caves, which necessitated taking the boat back upriver to Bilit and then driving about 30 minutes to get to the cave site. These enormous caverns are Sabah’s most productive edible-nest harvesting operation, and only the lower cave is open to the public. Thousands of echo-locating swiftlets nest on the roof of the cave among equally large numbers of bats. The three swiftlet species can best be identified by their nests, and we were easily able to distinguish the occupied nests of Mossy-nest and White-nest Swiftlets from the more numerous Black-nest Swiftlets. The trip around the cave on a raised boardwalk slick with guano is quite a sensory experience, with swiftlets and bats fluttering and screeching overhead, cockroaches and long-legged cave centipedes crawling over the cave walls, and a veritable mountain of bat guano dominating both the visual and olfactory landscapes. We made the circuit twice just to get the full benefit of the experience!
Leaving the cave we walked back to the carpark via a boardwalk through the forest, where we saw a pair of babblers that appeared to be either Horsfield’s or Abbot’s Babblers. As we watched a Black-capped Babbler cross the trail, Cathy caught a glimpse of a Black-headed Pitta whose call we had been hearing. We were then able to move to a better vantage point from which we had good views of it as it hopped around feeding on the forest floor. The appearance of some Red Leaf Monkeys further delayed our return to the carpark, and by the time we made it back there bats were already streaming out of the top of the cave and several Bat Hawks were flying around in pursuit. As a side show to the aerial activity, two Orangutans were feeding in a tree on the slope just above the carpark.
After dinner back at KJC we returned to the river for another night cruise. This time we stayed close to the lodge, spotlighting the vegetation overhanging the riverbanks for sleeping birds. We saw two more Buffy Fish-Owls, one of them with a rat in its talons, as well as sleeping Stork-billed and Blue-eared Kingfishers, a Black-and-Red Broadbill, and a Yellow-bellied Prinia.
Thursday 29 May: Kinabatangan River
The routine was getting familiar as once again we motored downriver to Sukau and paddled slowly up the narrow tributary. Again it seemed quiet, although a Changeable Hawk-Eagle that passed overhead was a nice diversion. Finally we disembarked and walked a little way into the forest. A Rufous-backed Kingfisher flew past, landing on the far side of a dense thicket, and eventually we were able to find a small window in the vegetation through which we could just see it. Erman moved away to look for a better vantage point, and then frantically beckoned us to join him. We did, as he hissed “Bristleheads”, pointing into the canopy. A group of five or more Bornean Bristleheads was moving overhead, feeding in the treetops. We followed them for quite some time, breaking our necks to get glimpses as they moved in and out of view above the leaves, but they stuck around for long enough that we eventually managed good views (and some badly backlit photos) of a number of different birds. A close group of Oriental Pied Hornbills also distracted us briefly as they, too, jumped around in the canopy. Eventually the Bristleheads moved on, and we made our way back to the boat, elated and very relieved to have found this key target species so unexpectedly. We then spent some time crouched in the underbrush trying to attract Chestnut-necklaced Partridges that were calling nearby. No luck - they stopped calling, we gave up and returned to the boat, and no sooner had we pulled back out onto the river than they started calling again, not far from where they (and we) had been.
It was getting late and Erman wanted to check an alternative spot for Bornean Ground-Cuckoo on the way back to the lodge, so we headed back upriver and went a short way up the tributary with the oil palm plantation. Almost as soon as the boatman cut the engine we heard a Bornean Ground Cuckoo call in the distance! With much excitement we motored back downriver to get closer, eventually realizing that at least three birds were calling and from different sides of the river. We chose the one that sounded closest, and very slowly and carefully worked our way towards it through the dense forest. Suddenly our boatman starting yelling excitedly from the river that he had one on the riverbank, and we crashed noisily back out of the forest, guaranteeing that any bird that might have been close would now be long gone! The boatman was gesticulating wildly at a clump of small trees on the opposite riverbank, but we couldn’t see anything resembling a large cuckoo, and started to fear we’d responded to a false alarm. Nonetheless, Erman suggested we take the boat across, and as we started to paddle out a Bornean Ground Cuckoo suddenly jumped up and posed atop the trees! We really hadn’t thought our chances of seeing this near-mythical endemic were at all realistic, and we celebrated all the way back to the lodge, late for lunch!
We’d had no whiff of Hooded Pitta since the first morning at KJC, so Erman suggested we spend the afternoon at a site upriver from Bilit that was often good for pittas. We were dropped off on the riverbank and worked our way into the forest with Erman whistling the Hooded Pitta’s call. Almost immediately a bird responded, but it wasn’t our target species. Instead, we found ourselves painstakingly stalking a Giant Pitta! It took over an hour and required a huge amount of patience and faith in Erman’s uncanny ability to intuit where the bird was, but in the end we came away with several good views and some relatively clear video footage of this supreme mega-tick! Erman was equally thrilled, as this was the first time he had gotten clients onto this species. We celebrated a terrific day (Bornean Bristlehead! Bornean Ground Cuckoo!! Giant Pitta!!!) with several Tiger beers, and spent the evening packing for the morning’s departure.
Friday 30 May: Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley
KJC had arranged for a driver to take us all the way from Bilit to the Borneo Rainforest Lodge’s office in Lahad Datu, a drive of about 2 hours. Upon our arrival we were loaded into a 4x4 and driven another 2 hours on mostly gravel roads into the heart of the Danum Valley. The driver was kind enough to stop along the way for two Crested Serpent Eagles perched on the roadside. We arrived at BRL in time for lunch, and while we waited for our room to be made ready explored the gardens around the main lodge building. A dozen or more Blue-throated Bee-eaters and three Plaintive Cuckoos were constant fixtures on the lawn in front of the deluxe cabins, and in the flowering plants around the main lodge building Yellow-rumped and Yellow-breasted Flowerpeckers, Little Spiderhunters, usky Munias, Bold-striped Tit-Babblers, Pied Fantails, Rufous-tailed Tailorbirds, and Plain and Crimson Sunbirds could usually be found. Pacific Swallows were nesting under the eaves, and a Whiskered Treeswift often perched on a snag by the dining room balcony. On this one occasion, we found a Thick-billed Spiderhunter in a tree overlooking the river.
At 3 p.m. we met our guide, Theo, for an introductory walk down the entrance road to the canopy walkway. We never made it that far, derailed by a fruiting fig tree that was teeming with birds. The participants included a number of Scaly-breasted Bulbuls, Thick-billed Pigeons, Blue-eared Barbets, a pair of Asian Fairy-Bluebirds, and both a Bornean Brown and a Gold-whiskered Barbet. We did eventually tear ourselves away from this feast to continue a short distance along the road, picking up a pair of Scaly-crowned Babblers, a Rufous-backed Kingfisher, an exhibitionist Striped Wren-Babbler that sat up on a log and sang for the camera, and a Black-headed Pitta calling from deep within a roadside shrub. When we passed the fruiting fig on our way back to the lodge at sunset we discovered the birds had been joined by a female Orangutan with her baby. While Mom ate figs, Baby amused himself (and us) swinging back and forth on vines on the far side of the tree, testing how high he could go. Theo had booked us places on the 8:30 p.m. night drive, but we could hardly keep our eyes open over dinner and decided to cancel, fearing we would simply fall asleep in the back of the truck.
Saturday 31 May: Borneo Rainforest Lodge
We were at breakfast at 5:30 a.m., ready to meet Theo at 6 a.m. Knowing that Blue-banded Pitta and Great Argus were two of our high priority targets, Theo had arranged for a vehicle to drop us off near the entrance gate to BRL, about 4 km from the lodge. Here there is a somewhat overgrown trail into the forest along which both of those species can often be found. Before heading into the forest we first spent some time on the road, where we got good looks at Chestnut-backed Scimitar-Babbler, Moustached Babbler, Large Woodshrike, and some Brown Fulvettas, the quintessential Bornean LBJ. The trail into the forest passed through the dancing ground of a Great Argus and we could hear one calling in the distance, but some untidy, accumulated leaf litter suggested he hadn’t used the dance floor recently. A Blue-banded Pitta called and seemed to be responding to tape, gradually coming closer. Abruptly, however, its call was replaced by that of a Black-headed Pitta. Disappointed, we made our way back out to the road and slowly walked towards the lodge. Black-throated Wren-Babblers called nearby, but a long vigil in the damp shrubbery yielded only some not-very-satisfying glimpses of the birds as they foraged in the leaf litter; we got much better looks at a pair of Grey-headed Babblers that landed right beside us. The morning’s highlights were a pair of Asian Paradise-Flycatchers feeding chicks in the nest, and a pair of Bat Hawks that wheeled close overhead, upset by an unidentified eagle (possibly a juvenile White-bellied Sea-Eagle) that was in the vicinity.
In the late afternoon we repeated yesterday’s route, but succeeded this time in making it all the way to the canopy walkway. There was still a lot of activity at the fruiting fig tree, including a different pair of Orangutans and a couple of Puff-backed Bulbuls. We got on a Diard’s Trogon along the road, and upon reaching the near end of the canopy walkway managed quick glimpses of a Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Buff-necked Woodpecker, and Chestnut-rumped Babbler. As we started up the ladder, three largish birds flew into a tree above the walkway — Bornean Bristleheads! They didn’t stick around long, but gave us a few good looks before moving on. We proceeded to the middle of the canopy walkway, scoring a Banded Broadbill on the way. Just as we reached the highest platform a Blue-headed Pitta started to call from the forest floor far below. We hurried back down to the trail, but were unable to entice the bird to show itself. We returned to the lodge in time for the 6:45 p.m. pre-dinner night drive, highlights of which were two different species of flying squirrel (Black and Thomas’s), a Sambar Deer, and a Bearded Pig.
Sunday 01 June: Borneo Rainforest Lodge
We were on our way back to the canopy walkway first thing in the morning, but detoured up the Hornbill Trail to avoid a large tour group that was heading in the same direction. This ended up being quite productive as we pulled in a Green Broadbill, several Large-billed Blue-Flycatchers, a pair of Maroon Woodpeckers, and a Banded Kingfisher. A calling pair of Blue-headed Pittas came close, but once again slipped away unseen. We didn’t make it to the canopy walkway until mid-morning, but once there some time on the tallest platform brought us Raffles’s Malkoha, a perched Crested Goshawk, Greater Green Leafbird, and a number of Grey-rumped Treeswifts.
During lunch it began to rain heavily, and the rain was still falling at 3 p.m. when we were due to meet Theo for the afternoon’s birding. Theo canceled the outing, but said he’d take us owling after dinner if the weather cleared. By 4:30 p.m. it was fairly dry, so we headed out on our own to walk the Nature Trail, a raised boardwalk close to the lodge. A first circuit turned up nothing other than a female Bornean Blue-Flycatcher, but we reached the road just as three Crested Firebacks crossed to our side. They strolled along beside the boardwalk, and we followed like paparazzi. Meanwhile a Blue-headed Pitta began calling close by then moved off in the direction of a nearby trail junction. We headed there, too, hoping to intercept it, but stopped to watch two Short-tailed Babblers bathing in a puddle. By the time we finished with them it was getting quite dark, but we scanned the area one final time, and there hopping down the middle of the trail was the pitta! It stayed in the open for several minutes, the blue head positively glowing in the dim light! After dinner Theo drove us out to the gate to search for owls and frogmouths. We came up empty on both fronts, but did see a Masked Palm Civet on the road on the way there.
Monday 02 June: Borneo Rainforest Lodge
Once again we started the day out at the gate. On the drive there we flushed a pair of White-crowned Forktails and a Greater Coucal from the road; the forktails disappeared in an instant, but the coucal uncharacteristically perched up in a roadside shrub which allowed for some good photos of this shy bird. Today was an exact repeat of Saturday, with a Blue-banded Pitta calling, coming close, but remaining unseen before being replaced by a Black-headed Pitta. We gave up and returned to the road upon hearing White-crowned Hornbills calling nearby. Eventually one flew in and perched for good scope views, but not before we had seen Wrinkled, Wreathed, Rhinoceros and Bushy-crested Hornbills flying over, all headed in the same direction. We continued to pull new species out of the roadside vegetation, including Sooty-capped Babbler, Verditer Flycatcher, Dark-necked Tailorbird, a pair of Fluffy-backed Tit-Babblers, and a very confiding Finsch’s Bulbul. And we came away empty handed from yet another long vigil in the damp understory as calling Chestnut-necklaced Partridges eluded us once again.
While sitting on our balcony after lunch waiting for the afternoon rains to start we spotted a Bornean Spiderhunter perched nearby, feeding on wild banana flowers. Like yesterday, once the rain finally started it continued on into the late afternoon. We waited until 4 p.m., and then headed out into the dripping forest armed with umbrellas. It was predictably quiet, but eventually we ended up on the Hornbill Trail where we found a Maroon-breasted Philentoma. Theo then spied a female Blue-headed Pitta hopping down the trail in front of us. It was joined by the male, and we followed behind, getting more great looks at this stunning pair.
Tuesday 03 June: Borneo Rainforest Lodge
Having had no success so far with the Blue-banded Pitta at the gate we decided to make the steep trek up to the Viewpoint, another reliable location for this species. Along the way we picked up Rufous-winged Philentoma, White-bellied Erpornis, and a male Bornean Blue-Flycatcher. We camped out for some time on a ridge above the viewing platform, trying to lure in a Blue-banded Pitta that was calling from somewhere on the steep slope below us. No luck. We then worked our way down to the Fairy Waterfall and back without seeing much, but on our return to the Viewpoint managed to get on a calling Rufous-collared Kingfisher. We made it back to the dining room for a late lunch just 10 minutes before a torrential rainstorm hit.
In the late afternoon we drove out to the gate, donned ponchos, and walked into the very wet forest. No Argus, no Blue-banded Pitta, and no activity at several other stops along the road. We ended up on the canopy walkway, watching a large flock of Grey-rumped Treeswifts and several Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots settling in to roost for the night. After dinner Theo led us on a nightwalk around the lodge area. We saw no nocturnal birds or mammals, but the heavy rains had made it a terrific night for treefrogs. About six different species, including the handsome Jade Treefrogs, were calling, courting and laying eggs in the frog pond.
Wednesday 04 June: Borneo Rainforest Lodge to Kinabalu NP
We had just a few hours to bird this morning before our scheduled 10 a.m. departure from BRL. We made one last-ditch try for Blue-banded Pitta along the trail by the gate, but this morning the bird was not even calling. A Great Argus did, however, call very close by, leading us to hope that he had returned to the dance floor. We approached the arena as quietly as we could, but the bird had slipped away. We had better success out on the road, completing the set of all eight possible Bornean hornbills with a Helmeted Hornbill, and finally getting a Red-naped Trogon in the scope. We also picked up a Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo, Ferruginous Babbler, and a Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike.
Our departure from BRL was delayed somewhat when we went to pay our rather substantial bill and neither of our credit cards would authorize the transaction, despite us having notified both banks that we would be traveling and using the cards in Malaysia. A BRL representative met us at the airport in Lahad Datu and helped us place a call to one of the banks, but our flight was announced and we had to go to the gate before the problem was fully resolved. When we reached Kota Kinabalu another BRL agent was waiting for us. We were expecting to have to go to their offices to continue trying to sort out payment (and wondering what the inside of a Malaysian prison might look like…), and were very relieved when she informed us that while we were en route the transaction had gone through and we were free to go on our way. We found a taxi willing to take us to Kinabalu NP, and arrived there at about 5 p.m. after a 2 hr. trip in torrential rain with an evangelical driver who was determined to help us find Jesus on the way. After settling in to our room in the Hill Lodge we went for a short walk along the road, but the only birds we saw were the ubiquitous Chestnut-crested Yuhinas. We then had an early dinner at the Liwagu Restaurant, as we would every night. This establishment was much closer to Hill Lodge than the Balsam Restaurant, and was never crowded. In fact, on most nights we were the only patrons, which left us wondering when or where all of the other people staying within the park were eating dinner, a mystery we never solved.
Thursday 05 June: Kinabalu NP
We were up and out by 6 a.m., walking the road up to the start of the Silau-Silau Trail. Within the first 30 minutes we had encountered most of the park’s very common species, including Chestnut-hooded and Sunda Laughingthrushes, Yellow-breasted and Mountain Leaf Warblers, Grey-throated Babbler, White-throated Fantail and Black-capped White-Eye. The upper part of the Silau-Silau Trail was very quiet, but as we worked our way down towards the Visitor’s Center we picked up Eye-browed Jungle-Flycatcher, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Bornean Whistler, Bornean Whistling-Thrush, and a Bornean Forktail along the river. We made it to the Balsam Restaurant barely in time for the complementary breakfast that was included with the lodging (on all other mornings we opted to eat cereal in our room so that we might spend the 6:30-10:30 a.m. breakfast window out on the trail). After this late breakfast we took a taxi up to the Timpohon Gate and walked down via the Bukit Ular and Mempening Trails. Near the start of the Bukit Ular we were surprised to find a pair of Pygmy Blue-Flycatchers. Otherwise the trails were pretty quiet, and the only additions we made to the morning’s list were Little Cuckoo-Doves, Bornean Treepies, and several Maroon Woodpeckers.
We made it back to our room in mid-afternoon just as a thick fog descended. The resulting lack of visibility offered us the perfect excuse to break for a cup of tea followed by a brief nap. When the clouds lifted after an hour or two we headed back out to make the most of the last hour of daylight, deciding to walk the circular road through the park in hopes of finding Temminck’s Sunbird and Black-sided Flowerpecker. We succeeded on both counts, and also scored a pair of Ashy Drongos, several Ochraceous Bulbuls, and a small mixed flock that included Blyth’s Shrike-Babbler, Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike and a pair of Velvet-fronted Nuthatches.
Friday 06 June: Kinabalu NP
From here on out we knew the birding would be much more difficult. We had dispensed with most of the common species yesterday, and now needed to find key targets such as the Whitehead’s trio (Trogon, Broadbill and Spiderhunter) and ground-dwelling birds such as partridges and wren-babblers. We had heard that the area around the Timpohon Gate is productive at sunrise, but there’s no taxi service in the park until 8 a.m. Having checked out the route yesterday, we decided it would be feasible to walk to the gate, a distance of about 3.5 km from Hill Lodge with some steep uphill stretches. We set out at 4:45 a.m. and made it to the gate at 5:45 a.m. Along the way we heard 3 or 4 Mountain Scops-Owls calling. Only one responded to tape, coming in very close. Although we could swear it was sitting only a few feet from the edge of the road, we were unable to find it, and did not even see it fly when it eventually tired of us and moved off.
We had the area around the gate and power station to ourselves for over an hour until a few employees began to arrive at 7 a.m. to clean the restrooms and open the snack bar. There was plenty of bird activity, with the highlights being several Indigo Flycatchers, a small flock of Grey-chinned Minivets, and a pair of Golden-naped Barbets that were feeding in a small shrub adjacent to the viewing platform. Behind the power station Bornean Treepies were feasting on moths that had accumulated around the security lights, and several Mountain Treeshrews and a Lesser Gymnure (a rat-sized shrew-like mammal) were feeding in the grass. Tourists and climbers started to arrive by 7:30 a.m., and we made a quick exit down the Liwagu Trail, a very scenic route that ends up at the Visitor’s Center after 6 km. Along the upper reaches of the trail we saw a pair of Pale-faced Bulbuls and had a pair of Red-breasted Partridges wander across the path in front of us. As we neared the junction with the Silau-Silau Trail, a Whitehead’s Broadbill called. Unfortunately, all we could see of the bird before it flew off upslope was a backlit silhouette high in a tree. We finished the morning watching a large feeding flock moving through the canopy. Among numerous laughingthrushes and Bornean Treepies we managed to find a Black-and-Crimson Oriole, Sunda Cuckooshrike, and a pair of Hair-crested Drongos.
We ate a late lunch at the Liwagu Restaurant, discovering that their balcony was the perfect vantage point for watching and photographing Temminck’s Sunbirds at close range. A family of Little Pied Flycatchers and a variety of other common species were also coming within arm’s length of us as they fed in a fruiting tree beside the balcony. We had, of course, left our cameras in the room…
After the usual mid-afternoon fog had cleared we hiked back to the spot where we had seen the Whitehead’s Broadbill. A quick blast of tape brought one right in, and this time it sat still for several minutes, framed by a perfect window in the vegetation. We then made the poor decision to return via the Bukit Burung Trail, which was steep, muddy, and utterly devoid of birds. As we thankfully reached the Silau-Silau Trail a bird gave a harsh alarm call and flew up from the river, landing right above us. With a surge of adrenalin we realized it was a Whitehead’s Trogon, either a female or juvenile. It flew back across the river and joined several others, and eventually we could see three (an adult male and two juveniles) perched together in the same field of view! It was nearly dark by the time we made it back to the lodge and then adjourned to the Liwagu for dinner, thrilled that we had managed to tick two-thirds of the Whitehead’s trio this afternoon!
Saturday 07 June: Kinabalu NP
We followed the same plan as yesterday, hiking to the Timpohon Gate to be there at sunrise. We’d planned to put more effort into seeing Mountain Scops-Owl this morning, but as luck would have it we heard only one and it didn’t respond to tape. Most of the same species as yesterday were active around the gate, and today we added a Sunda Bush-Warbler behind the power station. We worked our way down Bukit Ular hoping to see Crimson-headed Partridges, which had been taunting us with their calls for the past two days. Although several called quite close by we simply couldn’t see them in the dense understory vegetation, and they don’t seem to respond to tape; we did, however, see another four Red-breasted Partridges. Finally we rounded a bend and there stood two Crimson-headed Partridges in the middle of the trail! From Ular Bukit we made our way down the Mempening Trail, the highlight a pair of Bornean Stubtails creeping up a fallen log. Today we made sure to take our cameras with us to the Liwagu, and of course no birds visited during lunch.
In the late afternoon we worked our way up the Pandanus Trail to the Kiau View Trail, where we watched a Golden-naped Barbet excavating a nesthole in a tree beside the trail. We then looped around to the Visitor’s Center and ended up back on the Silau-Silau Trail, hoping we might see the Whitehead’s Trogons again. No such luck, but we were very happy to finally run across several Bornean Green Magpies. As dusk fell we saw two black birds fly across the river. One was a Bornean Whistling-Thrush, but the other proved to be a White-browed Short-wing that cooperatively landed in the trail. An Oriental Small-clawed Otter in the river was also a surprise!
Sunday 08 June: Kinabalu NP to Mesilau
Our primary remaining targets were Whitehead’s Spiderhunter and Mountain Wren-Babbler. We had heard the latter yesterday afternoon on the Kiau View Trail, so decided to try there again. We started, however, on the Silau-Silau Trail, where male and female White-browed Short-wings were working their way down the river. A Whitehead’s Spiderhunter called several times from overhead, probably flying over. As we started up the Kiau View Trail we again heard the spiderhunter, and again could not find it overhead. This was the closest we would get to this species. Near the start of the Kiau View Trail we also heard Mountain Wren-Babblers calling, but from an impenetrable area far below us. Some time later we were surprised and delighted when a small movement off the trail turned out to be this species, and four birds passed silently by. A final run up the Silau-Silau turned up the Bornean Green Magpies again, but no trogons. We returned to our room to check out, ate a final lunch on the balcony at the Liwagu, and then caught a taxi to Mesilau where we would spend our final night.
We arrived at Mesilau in heavy rain, en route having passed a Long-tailed Shrike sitting on powerlines near Kundasang. After schlepping our luggage several hundred meters up a steep incline to get to our room (the Mesilau Nature Resort is built into the mountainside, and all of the lodging is located either at the top of a steep ramp or bottom of a long staircase), we grabbed umbrellas and wandered the grounds looking for new species. A trio of Checker-throated Woodpeckers near reception was the best we could do. As we hiked back to our room after dinner we could hear a Mountain Scops-Owl calling near the Nature Center, and returned with lights and tape to track it down. We eventually located it behind one of the hostels, but as had happened previously we were unable to see it despite the fact that it had to have been sitting directly above us. This was very frustrating—the bird didn’t respond to tape but called incessantly and never moved even as we crashed around in the wet brush below it. And it remained totally invisible! After half an hour we gave up and went to bed.
Monday 09 June: Kinabalu Summit Trail, Mesilau
At Mesilau there is an alternative trailhead to the Kinabalu Summit Trail, and—unlike at the Timpohon Gate—it is permissible here to hike a few kilometers up the trail without a guide. But fifty climbers would be starting the hike to the summit at 8 a.m., so we decided to wait until they were on their way before birding our way up the trail. We started the morning instead in the parking lots with some Red Leaf Monkeys and a couple of Sunda Bush-Warblers. We then hiked over to the restaurant for breakfast via the relatively short Kogopon Trail. Paul briefly got on a bird that may have been an Everett’s Thrush, but it disappeared before we could confirm that ID. At 9 a.m. we headed up the steep Summit Trail, which was extremely quiet for most of the way. As we reached the highest elevation point on this side of the mountain we encountered an active mixed flock that included one Mountain Blackeye among a number of Yellow-breasted and Mountain Leaf Warblers, Chestnut-crested Yuhinas, and a pair of Blyth’s Shrike-Babblers. On our return trip back down we hit a second flock that included a pair of Velvet-fronted Nuthatches, a late save for Paul who had missed the pair at park HQ. Although we stopped periodically to troll for Friendly Bush-Warbler, it lived up to its unfriendly reputation. Once back within the resort grounds we made another pass at the Kogopon Trail hoping to find the putative Everett’s Thrush again, but had no joy there either. Finally we gave in and went to lunch, barely making our 3 p.m. taxi pickup for the trip back to Kota Kinabalu. Despite hitting rush hour traffic on the way in to the city, we made it to the Hotel Shangri-La by 6 p.m. and spent the evening packing for the morning’s flight home.
Our trip total came to about 240 species, with a few additional uncertain IDs or birds that were heard only. We had some phenomenal successes (Bornean Ground Cuckoo, Giant Pitta, Oriental Bay Owl) but missed a few other species we’d hoped to see. The most disappointing were Great Argus and Blue-banded Pitta, both of which we heard on numerous occasions. We never even got the slightest whiff of two other endemics we coveted — Bornean Banded Pitta and Bornean Wren-Babbler. Whether we were there at a bad time of year for these species or were just plain unlucky is something we probably won’t know unless we find an opportunity to return to Borneo in the future!
Complete trip list:
boldface = endemic; italic = heard only
BRL: Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley
KIN: Kinabatangan River
KK: Kota Kinabalu
KNP: Kinabalu National Park HQ
MES: Mesilau
RAF: Rafflesia Center, Crocker Range
SEP: Rainforest Discovery Center, Sepilok
Wandering Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna arcuata): KK (15)
Red-breasted Partridge (Arborophila hyperythra): KNP (6); MES (1)
Chestnut-necklaced Partridge (Arborophila charltonii): KIN, BRL, heard only
Crimson-headed Partridge (Haematortyx sanguiniceps): KNP (2); heard frequently
Crested Fireback (Lophura ignita): BRL (3)
Great Argus (Argusianus argus): BRL, heard only
Storm's Stork (Ciconia stormi): KIN (2)
Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus): KIN (12)
Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster): KK (1); KIN (4); BRL (2)
Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus): KK (1)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea): KK (4); KIN (2)
Great Egret (Ardea alba): KK, KIN, common
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta): KK (1); KIN (2)
Pacific Reef-Heron (Egretta sacra): KK (2)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis): KK, common at airport and elsewhere
Striated Heron (Butorides striata): KK (2)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax): KK (10); KIN (2)
Rufous Night-Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus): KK (15)
Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus): RAF (1)
Jerdon's Baza (Aviceda jerdoni): KIN (6)
Crested Serpent-Eagle (Spilornis cheela): KIN (2); BRL (4)
Bat Hawk (Macheiramphus alcinus): GOM (2); BRL (2)
Changeable Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus limnaeetus): KIN (1)
Blyth's Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus alboniger): RAF (1)
Wallace's Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nanus): SEP (2); KIN (2); BRL (3)
Crested Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus): BRL (2)
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus): KK (3); KIN (5)
White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster): KK (2); SEP (1); KIN (1)
Lesser Fish-Eagle (Ichthyophaga humilis): KIN (2)
Gray-headed Fish-Eagle (Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus): KIN (2); BRL (1?)
Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis): KK (1)
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus): KK (5); SEP (1); BRL (2)
White-browed Crake (Porzana cinerea): KK (1)
Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio): KK (3)
Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus): KK (5)
Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida): KK (3)
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia): common in KK
Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis): common in KK and towns in east
Little Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia ruficeps): RAF (10); KNP (11); MES (1)
Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica): SEP (1)
Zebra Dove (Geopelia striata): common in KK
Pink-necked Pigeon (Treron vernans): KK (4); SEP (5); KIN (7)
Thick-billed Pigeon (Treron curvirostra): BRL (5)
Green Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula aenea): KK (5); KIN, common; BRL, heard only
Mountain Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula badia): RAF (3); KNP, heard only
Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus): BRL (3)
Violet Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus): SEP (1)
Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris): BRL (1)
Raffles's Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus chlorophaeus): BRL (5)
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus curvirostris): SEP (1); KIN (2); BRL (2)
Bornean Ground-Cuckoo (Carpococcyx radiatus): KIN (1); 3-4 heard
Greater Coucal (Centropus sinensis): BRL (1)
Oriental Bay-Owl (Phodilus badius): KIN (1)
Mountain Scops-Owl (Otus spilocephalus): heard only, KNP (5); MES (1)
Buffy Fish-Owl (Ketupa ketupu): KIN (3); BRL (1)
Brown Wood-Owl (Strix leptogrammica): KIN (1)
Brown Boobook (Ninox scutulata): SEP (1)
Silver-rumped Needletail (Rhaphidura leucopygialis): SEP, common; BRL (3)
Glossy Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta): common everywhere
Mossy-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus salangana): GOM
Black-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus maximus): GOM
White-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus): GOM
House Swift (Apus nipalensis): KK (3)
Asian Palm-Swift (Cypsiurus balasiensis): SEP, common
Gray-rumped Treeswift (Hemiprocne longipennis): BRL (20)
Whiskered Treeswift (Hemiprocne comata): BRL (2)
Red-naped Trogon (Harpactes kasumba): BRL (1)
Diard's Trogon (Harpactes diardii): KIN (1), BRL (1)
Whitehead's Trogon (Harpactes whiteheadi): KNP (3)
Scarlet-rumped Trogon (Harpactes duvaucelii): KIN (1); BRL (2)
Blue-eared Kingfisher (Alcedo meninting): KIN (3)
Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher (Ceyx rufidorsa): KIN (1); BRL (1)
Banded Kingfisher (Lacedo pulchella): BRL (2)
Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis): KIN (10)
Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris): KK (3); SEP (3)
Rufous-collared Kingfisher (Actenoides concretus): BRL (1)
Red-bearded Bee-eater (Nyctyornis amictus): BRL (1)
Blue-throated Bee-eater (Merops viridis): SEP (2); KIN (3); BRL, common
Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis): KK (2); SEP (5); KIN, several daily
Oriental Pied-Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris): KIN (12)
Black Hornbill (Anthracoceros malayanus): SEP (2); KIN (4)
Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros): KIN (2); BRL (5)
Helmeted Hornbill (Buceros vigil): BRL (1)
Bushy-crested Hornbill (Anorrhinus galeritus): SEP (3); KIN (3); BRL (8)
White-crowned Hornbill (Aceros comatus): BRL (2)
Wrinkled Hornbill (Aceros corrugatus): KIN (5); BRL (2)
Wreathed Hornbill (Aceros undulatus): BRL (2)
Bornean Brown Barbet (Calorhamphus f. fuliginosus): RAF (1); KIN (2); BRL (1)
Gold-whiskered Barbet (Megalaima chrysopogon): BRL (1)
Mountain Barbet (Megalaima monticola): RAF (5)
Golden-naped Barbet (Megalaima pulcherrima): KNP (5); MES (2)
Blue-eared Barbet (Megalaima australis): KIN (1); BRL (7)
Bornean Barbet (Megalaima eximia): RAF (1)
Rufous Piculet (Sasia abnormis): KIN (1); BRL (1)
Sunda Woodpecker (Dendrocopos moluccensis): KK (2)
White-bellied Woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis): SEP (2)
Banded Woodpecker (Picus miniaceus): SEP (1)
Checker-throated Woodpecker (Picus mentalis): MES (3)
Maroon Woodpecker (Blythipicus rubiginosus): KIN (2; BRL (3); KNP (4)
Buff-rumped Woodpecker (Meiglyptes tristis): SEP (2)
Buff-necked Woodpecker (Meiglyptes tukki): BRL (1)
Gray-and-buff Woodpecker (Hemicircus concretus): SEP (2)
Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus): KIN (3)
White-fronted Falconet (Microhierax latifrons): KIN (1)
Blue-naped Parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis): KK (10)
Long-tailed Parakeet (Psittacula longicauda): KK (1); SEP (12); KIN (5)
Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot (Loriculus galgulus): SEP (1); BRL (6)
Green Broadbill (Calyptomena viridis): BRL (1)
Whitehead's Broadbill (Calyptomena whiteheadi): KNP (1)
Black-and-red Broadbill (Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos): SEP (3); KIN (10)
Banded Broadbill (Eurylaimus javanicus): BRL (2)
Black-and-yellow Broadbill (Eurylaimus ochromalus): SEP (3); KIN (5); BRL (1)
Giant Pitta (Pitta caerulea): KIN (1)
Blue-headed Pitta (Pitta baudii): BRL (3)
Blue-banded Pitta (Pitta arquata): BRL (3), heard only
Black-headed Pitta (Pitta ussheri): GOM (1); BRL (1)
Hooded Pitta (Pitta sordida): KIN (2), heard only
Golden-bellied Gerygone (Gerygone sulphurea): RAF (1), heard only
Large Woodshrike (Tephrodornis gularis): BRL (2)
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike (Hemipus picatus): BRL (1); KNP (1)
Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike (Hemipus hirundinaceus): SEP (1); KIN (3); BRL (4)
Rufous-winged Philentoma (Philentoma pyrhoptera): BRL (2)
Maroon-breasted Philentoma (Philentoma velata): BRL (3)
White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus): common in KK
Bornean Bristlehead (Pityriasis gymnocephala): KIN (5+); BRL (3)
Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia): KK (2)
Green Iora (Aegithina viridissima): SEP (1); BRL (3)
Fiery Minivet (Pericrocotus igneus): SEP (3)
Gray-chinned Minivet (Pericrocotus solaris): KNP (10); MES (1)
Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocotus speciosus): SEP (2)
Sunda Cuckooshrike (Coracina larvata): KNP (1); MES (1)
Pied Triller (Lalage nigra): KK (2)
Bornean Whistler (Pachycephala hypoxantha): KNP (10+); MES (2)
Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach): 1 along road near Kundasang
Blyth's Shrike-Babbler (Pteruthius aeralatus): RAF (1); KNP (4); MES (1)
White-bellied Erpornis (Erpornis zantholeuca): BRL (2)
Black-and-crimson Oriole (Oriolus cruentus): RAF (1); KNP (1)
Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus): RAF, common; KNP (3); MES (2)
Hair-crested Drongo (Dicrurus hottentottus): KNP (3)
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus): SEP (2); BRL (6)
Spotted Fantail (Rhipidura perlata): BRL (3)
Malaysian Pied-Fantail (Rhipidura javanica): KK (1); SEP (1); KIN (8); BRL (1-4 daily)
White-throated Fantail (Rhipidura albicollis): KNP (9); MES (5)
Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea): SEP (2); KIN (3); BRL (4)
Asian Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi): BRL (4)
Bornean Black Magpie (Platysmurus l. aterrimus): SEP (1); KIN (2)
Bornean Green-Magpie (Cissa jefferyi): KNP (4)
Bornean Treepie (Dendrocitta cinerascens): RAF (2); KNP, common
House Crow (Corvus splendens): KK (3)
Slender-billed Crow (Corvus enca): small numbers daily at SEP, KIN, BRL
Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica): common at all lowland sites
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch (Sitta frontalis): KNP (2); MES (3)
Puff-backed Bulbul (Pycnonotus eutilotus): BRL (3)
Black-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus atriceps): SEP (7)
Bornean Bulbul (Pycnonotus montis): RAF (4)
Scaly-breasted Bulbul (Pycnonotus squamatus): BRL (5+)
Pale-faced Bulbul (Pycnonotus flavescens leucops): KNP (2)
Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier): KIN (1); BRL (5); common at KK, SEP
Olive-winged Bulbul (Pycnonotus plumosus): BRL (1)
Cream-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus simplex): SEP (2); BRL, common
Red-eyed Bulbul (Pycnonotus brunneus): common at SEP, BRL
Spectacled Bulbul (Pycnonotus erythropthalmos): SEP (1); BRL (3)
Hairy-backed Bulbul (Tricholestes criniger): SEP (1); BRL (1)
Finsch's Bulbul (Alophoixus finschii): BRL (1)
Ochraceous Bulbul (Alophoixus ochraceus): KNP (7)
Gray-cheeked Bulbul (Alophoixus bres): BRL (7)
Yellow-bellied Bulbul (Alophoixus phaeocephalus): SEP (1); BRL (9)
Buff-vented Bulbul (Iole olivacea): SEP (2); BRL (3)
Cinereous Bulbul (Hemixos flavala): RAF (1)
Streaked Bulbul (Ixos malaccensis): SEP (4); KIN (1)
Bornean Stubtail (Urosphena whiteheadi): KNP (2)
Sunda Bush-Warbler (Horornis vulcanius): KNP (1); MES (2)
Mountain Warbler (Phylloscopus trivirgatus): KNP, common; MES (4)
Yellow-breasted Warbler (Seicercus montis): KNP, common; MES (2)
Striated Grassbird (Megalurus palustris): KK (2)
Dark-necked Tailorbird (Orthotomus atrogularis): BRL (1)
Ashy Tailorbird (Orthotomus ruficeps): KK (1); SEP (3); KIN (2); BRL (1)
Rufous-tailed Tailorbird (Orthotomus sericeus): SEP (2); KIN (1); BRL (5)
Yellow-bellied Prinia (Prinia flaviventris): KK (1); KIN (1); BRL (2)
Chestnut-crested Yuhina (Yuhina everetti): common at RAF, KNP, MES
Mountain Black-eye (Chlorocharis emiliae): MES (1)
Black-capped White-eye (Zosterops atricapilla): RAF (1); common at KNP
Bold-striped Tit-Babbler (Mixornis bornensis): KIN (2); BRL (2)
Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler (Macronus ptilosus): BRL (2)
Chestnut-winged Babbler (Cyanoderma erythropterum): SEP (3); KIN (5); BRL (1)
Chestnut-backed Scimitar-Babbler (Pomatorhinus montanus): BRL (1)
Chestnut-rumped Babbler (Stachyris maculata): BRL (4)
Gray-throated Babbler (Stachyris nigriceps): common at KNP; MES (4)
Gray-headed Babbler (Stachyris poliocephala): BRL (2)
Moustached Babbler (Malacopteron magnirostre): BRL (6)
Sooty-capped Babbler (Malacopteron affine): BRL (1)
Scaly-crowned Babbler (Malacopteron cinereum): BRL (2)
?Rufous-crowned Babbler (Malacopteron magnum): BRL, uncertain ID
Black-capped Babbler (Pellorneum capistratum): GOM (1); BRL (3)
Short-tailed Babbler (Pellorneum malaccense): BRL (2)
White-chested Babbler (Pellorneum rostratum): KIN (6); BRL (2)
Ferruginous Babbler (Pellorneum bicolor): BRL (1)
Striped Wren-Babbler (Kenopia striata): BRL (5)
?Horsfield's Babbler (Turdinus sepiarius): GOM (2), uncertain ID
Black-throated Wren-Babbler (Turdinus atrigularis): BRL (2)
Mountain Wren-Babbler (Turdinus crassus): KNP (4)
Brown Fulvetta (Alcippe brunneicauda): BRL (6)
Sunda Laughingthrush (Garrulax palliatus): KNP (14)
Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush (Ianthocincla treacheri): common at RAF, KNP, MES
Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella): BRL (3)
Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis): KK (3); SEP (4); BRL (2)
White-crowned Shama (Copsychus malabaricus stricklandii): KIN (2); GOM (1); BRL (3)
Long-billed Blue-Flycatcher (Cyornis caerulatus): BRL (3)
Malaysian Blue-Flycatcher (Cyornis turcosus): KIN (9)
Bornean Blue-Flycatcher (Cyornis superbus): BRL (4)
Pygmy Blue-Flycatcher (Muscicapella hodgsoni): KNP (2)
Indigo Flycatcher (Eumyias indigo): KNP (6)
Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus): BRL (1)
Eyebrowed Jungle-Flycatcher (Vauriella gularis): KNP (3); MES (1)
White-browed Shortwing (Brachypteryx montana): KNP (3)
Bornean Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus borneensis): KNP (7); MES (9)
White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti): BRL (2)
Bornean Forktail (Enicurus l. borneensis): KNP (1)
Little Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula westermanni): KNP (6); MES (1)
Snowy-browed Flycatcher (Ficedula hyperythra): KNP (6); MES (2)
?Everett's Thrush (Zoothera everetti): MES (1), uncertain ID
Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis): common in KK, SEP
Common Hill Myna (Gracula religiosa): SEP (4); KIN (2)
Crested Myna (Acridotheres cristatellus): common in KK and in towns in east
Greater Green Leafbird (Chloropsis sonnerati): BRL (1)
Lesser Green Leafbird (Chloropsis cyanopogon): SEP (2); BRL (3)
Bornean Leafbird (Chloropsis kinabaluensis): RAF (5)
Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker (Prionochilus maculatus): BRL (2)
Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker (Prionochilus xanthopygius): SEP (2); BRL (4)
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonostigma): SEP (2)
Black-sided Flowerpecker (Dicaeum monticolum): KNP (3)
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird (Chalcoparia singalensis): SEP (2); BRL (6)
Plain Sunbird (Anthreptes simplex): SEP (1); BRL (1-3 daily)
Plain-throated Sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis): KIN (2); common at SEP
Van Hasselt's Sunbird (Leptocoma brasiliana): SEP (4)
Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis): KK (2); KNP (2)
Temminck's Sunbird (Aethopyga temminckii): KNP (6)
Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja): KIN (2); BRL (2)
Thick-billed Spiderhunter (Arachnothera crassirostris): BRL (1)
Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra): SEP (2); BRL (1-4 daily)
Purple-naped Spiderhunter (Arachnothera hypogrammicum): KIN (2); BRL (3)
Whitehead's Spiderhunter (Arachnothera juliae): KNP (2), heard only
Yellow-eared Spiderhunter (Arachnothera chrysogenys): SEP (2)
Bornean Spiderhunter (Arachnothera everetti): BRL (1)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus): common at KK, SEP; BRL (4)
Dusky Munia (Lonchura fuscans): RAF (5); SEP (2); common at BRL
Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla): RAF (1); common in KK and along road to BRL
Mammals
Bornean Mountain Ground Squirrel (Dremomys everetti)
Kinabalu Squirrel (Callosciurus baluensis)
Plantain Squirrel (Callosciurus notatus)
Borneo Black-banded Squirrel (Callosciurus orestes)
Prevost's Squirrel (Callosciurus prevostii)
Least Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus exilis)
Horse-tailed Squirrel (Sundasciurus hippurus)
Jentink's Squirrel (Sundasciurus jentinki)
Red Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista petaurista)
Black Flying Squirrel (Aeromys tephromelas)
Thomas' Flying Squirrel (Aeromys thomasi)
Flat-headed Cat (Prionailurus planiceps)
Malayan Civet (Viverra tangalunga)
Masked Palm Civet (Paguma larvata)
Oriental Small-clawed Otter (Amblonyx cinereus)
Short-tailed Gymnure (Hylomys suillus)
Red Leaf Monkey (Presbytis rubicunda)
Silvered Leaf Monkey (Presbytis cristata)
Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus)
Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)
Pigtail Macaque (Macaca nemestrina)
Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)
Common Tree-Shrew (Tupaia glis)
Mountain Tree-Shrew (Tupaia montana)
Bearded Pig (Sus barbatus)
Common Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak)
Sambar (Cervus unicolor)