Thailand: Mystical Asia
1-21 March 2006 – Set
departure trip
Leader: Uthai Treesucon
Report by Charles Bell
(trip participant)
Photos by Nancy Bell (trip participant)
The incredible Eared Pitta, one of the star
attractions in SE Asia and one of 525 species seen on this trip!
This itinerary was designed to provide maximum opportunity to see as many bird species as possible in Thailand, including the near-endemics and species of conservation concern. It fully lived up to its intent. Participants saw a near-record total of 520 species in just three weeks, including 2 critical, 2 endangered, 4 vulnerable and 28 near-threatened birds for a total of 36 species listed in the IUCN Red Data Book. The number of species seen in some of the families was at times almost overwhelming: 47 species of babbler, 35 flycatchers, 34 warblers including 15 of the difficult Phylloscopus genus, 29 bulbuls, 22 woodpeckers, 15 cuckoos and 15 sunbirds, 11 barbets and 11 kingfishers, and 9 owls. By the end of the trip, the participants were reeling as images of the many birds seen spun in their heads.
To see this many birds, the trip covered the major national parks of the north, from Bangkok up to the Golden Triangle, the marshlands along the coast and near the Mekong River, and then an extension down to the steamy tropics of peninsular Thailand for the Gurney’s Pitta and other tropical species, and an overnight at an island resort rebuilt after the December 2004 tsunami.
The weather was beautiful though warm and humid throughout the trip. The only rain shower was on the last day of the trip in a forest outside Krabi on the Thai peninsula. Birding on the upper slopes of northern Thailand’s mountains was positively cool in the mornings, but warmed up to pleasant temperatures during the day. The Thai people were gentle, kind and welcoming everywhere we went. The food was stupendous every time we sat down for a meal, with Thai cooking living up to its fame. The accommodations were always comfortable and often quite up-scale, though we hardly had time to notice as we kept up a rigorous birding schedule of being in the field by first light and staying out until dark.
Following is a day-by-day account covering trip highlights. A complete list of species seen follows.
March 1 – Gulf of Thailand
We had arrived a day early and did a little birding on a university campus near our hotel, familiarizing ourselves with some of the common birds (best bird was a near-threatened Oriental Darter flying high overhead). We had begun to recover from jet lag when Uthai picked us up at our Bangkok hotel before dawn to head south to the coast. Our first stop was a marsh area, and our first bird was a Streaked Weaver, which Uthai had never seen here before. We drove down into
a chili farming area – the source of the “heat” found in Thai food – and stopped at a swamp. A White-browed Crake ran across the road and turned to look at us, allowing great views. Then a Ruddy-breasted Crake called from the swamp. It eventually came out, and we had a good look. A Yellow Bittern flew by, and a Laced Woodpecker, a forest bird totally out of place in this habitat, gleaned insects off a palm leaf. We were picking up new species at a fast pace: Chinese and Javan Pond-herons, White-breasted Waterhen, and Pheasant-tailed and Bronze-winged Jacanas. A Stork-billed Kingfisher flew by, with its oversized bill piercing the air seemingly well ahead of the bird itself! And we saw the very abundant Asian Koel, whose plaintive call provided an audio backdrop for most of our time in Thailand. We then moved directly on to the saltpans of Petchburi, where reports indicated we would have the best chance of seeing the endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper. After considerable searching, involving long walks on narrow dikes separating the saltpans, we found two birds in the shallows with their distinctive bills. We also saw the endangered Nordmann’s Greenshank, which is reportedly down to a global population of less than 1000. We were challenged by huge numbers of shorebirds in several places. Sorting through them, we identified 28 species of shorebirds in all. Among them were seven plovers, including the near-threatened Malaysian Plover, which unfortunately prefers to nest on the same beautiful beaches where people like to play. We returned to our Bangkok hotel for the night, stopping along the way at a Black Kite roost, where Uthai explained that this species is likely to be split and called the Black-eared Kite.
March 2 – Rang Sit Marsh
and Khao Yai
We drove to Rang Sit, a northern suburb of Bangkok, and into its extensive marshland. The early part of the morning was devoted to ferreting out skulkers: Lanceolated Warbler, Pallas’ Grasshopper-warbler, Black-browed Reed-warbler, Oriental Reed-warbler and Dusky Warbler. We saw the near-threatened Asian Golden Weaver, Asian Pied and White-shouldered Starlings, Yellow-bellied and Plain Prinias, and our first member of the Iora family, the Common Iora. We also said hello to a domesticated two-year-old elephant, giving him great pleasure by scratching his head. Then, we turned to “temple birding.” First to Wat (Thai for Buddhist temple) Thien Tawai, where a Spotted Owlet perched on the head of a Buddha and a small flock of Alexandrine Parakeets vied with some escaped Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos for nesting holes (the parakeets are losing to these feral birds). We proceeded to Wat Phailom, with its bird sanctuary for thousands and thousands of nesting Asian Openbills. And finally to Wat Phaput Thabadnoi to see two Limestone Wren-babblers flitting about the huge limestone outcrops that surround an ornate temple complex. This final stop also yielded Lineated Barbet, Asian Brown and Taiga Flycatchers, and Golden-fronted Leafbird. We finished the day with a drive to Khao Yai National Park, where we watched thousands upon thousands of Wrinkled-lip Bats stream out of a cave high on a steep hillside just as darkness fell.
This Spotted Owlet perched conveniently on top of Budda
for our birding and culture stop!
March 3 to 5 – Khao Yai
National Park
On our first morning here, we entered the park at dawn and drove up a steep road. We hadn’t gone very far when we heard the calls of a Coral-billed Ground-cuckoo. As we got out of the van, life birds were flitting through the trees all around us. But we elected to stay with the ground-cuckoo, which Uthai called
“the hardest bird to get in the park.” It took half an hour but we eventually enjoyed very good looks at this elusive bird. After a moment of self-congratulation, we turned to the other birds and began ticking off lifers one after another – Vernal Hanging-Parrot, Blue-bearded and Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, the near-threatened Great Hornbill, Oriental Pied-hornbill, Green-eared and Blue-eared Barbet, Scarlet and Rosy Minivets, Great Iora, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Green-billed Malkoha, and Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, to name a few. A Crested Goshawk displayed over our heads, fluffing out its undertail coverts in a fluttering flight. We finished the day with a quartette of woodpeckers: Black-and-buff and Heart-spotted Woodpeckers, Greater Yellownape, and finally the Great Slaty Woodpecker, the second largest woodpecker in the world after the Ivory-billed.
Great hornbills are always, well……great!
On our second day in Khao Yai, we got up with the chickens, or more precisely the Red Junglefowl, enjoying a handsome rooster strutting out of the mist as dawn broke over an open meadow. We birded our way through the forest mist, serenaded by the haunting cries of the White-handed Gibbon. We had good views of Long-tailed and Silver-breasted Broadbill, Red-headed Trogon, and several bulbuls, among others, and spent time working out the subtle plumage differences of the Phylloscopus warblers, seeing Radde’s, Yellow-browed, Two-barred, Blyth’s and Sulphur-breasted. In the afternoon, a very cooperative Eared Pitta posed for photographs, and we watched a White-crowned Forktail gleaning insects off a tiny creek.
We began our third day birding a bamboo forest patch, which yielded Bamboo Woodpecker, Pin-tailed Parrot-finch, Pale-legged Leaf-warbler and our second Laced Woodpecker, this time in its proper habitat. After three days of taunting us with its “Take a look” call, sung from the inner recesses of the high canopy, the Moustached Barbet finally showed itself. We also saw Sultan Tit and a magnificent Banded Broadbill. We interrupted our search for the Blue Pitta to watch a pair of Wreathed Hornbill fly overhead. We then turned back to the pitta, which eventually showed itself in the underbrush. A fruiting fig tree near park headquarters produced (Austen’s) Brown Hornbill and great looks at the Wreathed and Great Hornbills. Lunch at a small cafeteria in the park was enhanced by two new sunbirds, the Purple-throated and Crimson. Then we headed back to Bangkok Airport, flew to Chiang Mai, and drove to Doi Inthanon.
March 6 to 8 – Doi
Inthanon National Park
Doi means mountain in Thai, and our first mountain was Thailand’s highest at 2265 meters (7430 feet). We set out early and headed to the very top of Doi Inthanon to bird its sphagnum bog and rhododendron forest. Birding from a boardwalk in the gray light of dawn, a few toots on an owl tape brought a frenzy of activity – striking Mrs. Gould’s and Green-tailed Sunbirds, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Chestnut-tailed Minla and Buff-barred Warbler. We searched in vain for the Dark-sided Thrush, but as a consolation prize, we had good views of a Eurasian Woodcock, a White-browed Shortwing and the Rufous-throated Partridge. Walks along the road yielded Golden-throated Barbet and Black-backed Sibia. We stopped for lunch at Mr. Daeng’s, a well-known birder and restaurant owner, and
enjoyed a sumptuous meal of Pad Thai and morning glory shoots, while a Siberian Rubythroat called to us from above. We ate here all three of our days on the mountain. Later in the day, we birded a shade-grown coffee plantation sheltering under some very tall pines. The day was filled with new species from some of the more exotic-sounding families found in Thailand: minivet, leafbird, tailorbird, niltava, laughingthrush, mesia, minla, fulvetta, sibia, yuhina, and flowerpecker.
Our second day began well before dawn with a foray into the dry dipterocarp forest looking for owls and nightjars. The Oriental Scops-owl came very close but eluded our vision. The Indian and Savannah Nightjars were more cooperative, flying over us just as the sky turned rosy in the east. After breakfast, we returned to the dry dipterocarp, on the lower flanks of Doi Inthanon, and saw Common Flameback, Purple Sunbird, and a pair of Black Baza. A Collared Falconet was seen eating a dragonfly, living up to its Thai name of “Dragonfly Small Hawk.” Then came the not-so-common Common Woodshrike. We moved on to a farm that welcomes birdwatchers, where we saw Daurian Redstart, Olive-backed Pipit, Yellow-eyed Babbler (with its red eye!), Yellow-streaked Warbler, Burmese Shrike, Oriental Honey-buzzard and Gray-breasted Prinia. After lunch, we saw a pair of striking White-headed Bulbuls in the treetops along a road, and enjoyed Slaty-bellied Tesia, Pygmy Wren-babbler and Spectacled Barwing in the trees around a small pond.
We returned to the dry dipterocarp on our second afternoon and third morning in an effort to find special birds that are becoming harder to see, due to an illegal road that has been built through park land to provide motorized access for a Karen village. The road, according to Uthai, is a prime example of the negative impact a road can have on wildlife. We searched and searched for two special woodpeckers, the Black-headed and White-bellied. Very little birdlife was to be seen or heard, as the temperature climbed to near 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). Finally, a Large Cuckoo-shrike flew in and perched nearby, and a Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch appeared in a tree overhead. We felt our luck had turned, and indeed it had – for shortly afterward, a small group of noisy Black-headed Woodpeckers began moving from tree to tree in an arc around us. We then looked in vain for the White-bellied Woodpecker, and instead we found a small flock of Gray-headed Parakeet and a Black-hooded Oriole in a dry creek bed below the road. Later in the morning, we climbed back up to 1000 meters (3300 feet) to bird more in the hill evergreen habitat and saw Brown-cheeked Fulvetta and Omei Spectacled Warbler (a recent split from Gray-cheeked). The afternoon brought White-gorgeted Flycatcher, White-necked Laughingthrush, Small Niltava, and a Golden Babbler that posed for photos. Then birding around our lodge, we saw our first treepie, the Racket-tailed, then a Rufous Treepie and a Hoopoe. We finished the day with a flock of Blossom-headed Parakeets feeding on a fruiting tree, and, after dinner, heard but didn’t see a skittish Oriental Scops-owl.
March 9 – Chiang Mai &
Fang
We drove back to Chiang Mai and as a red sun rose through a very hazy, hot morning, we birded the agricultural research campus of Chiang Mai University. Red Avadavat, Siberian Rubythroat, Chestnut-capped Warbler, Indochinese Bushlark, and Barred Buttonquail were the highlights. Nearby rice paddies produced Wryneck, Grey-headed Lapwing, House Swift and Oriental Skylark. We moved on to Doi Chiang Dao, but did little birding as Nancy was suffering from a bad cold that had moved into her inner ear. We drove on to the small town of Fang.
March 10 – Mae Fang
National Park & Doi Ang Khang
We visited the hot springs area of this park at dawn. As a tall geyser erupted several times an hour, we watched a flock of Spot-winged Grosbeaks cavorting in the treetops. We also saw Black-headed Bulbul, Pin-tailed Pigeon, Buff-breasted Babbler, Chestnut-tailed Starling and Chestnut Bunting. We stopped at a super-clean, efficient local hospital to get Nancy some medication for her ear infection, then bought a bagful of succulent local tangerines and headed to Doi Ang Khang in time for lunch. As smoke from bushfires created a thick haze around the mountain, we headed out for roadside birding that brought us White-capped Water Redstart, Brown-breasted Bulbul, Long-tailed Shrike and Aberrant Bush-warbler. With a deep orange sun setting through the haze behind steep hills, we saw Crested Bunting, Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-babbler and Spot-breasted Parrotbill.
March 11 – Doi Ang Khang
We awoke in our luxurious lodge to an outdoor temperature of only 8C (43F), a welcome change from the hot days, but the haze was thick and ash from bush fires fell from the sky. We went first to the Royal Project, a demonstration farm developed by Thailand’s King to help local farmers grow alternative crops to the opium poppy. We had a very quick view of the Grey-winged Blackbird, behind a project restaurant, and then a good look at the Streaked Wren-babbler in a bonsai garden artistically cultivated in a limestone outcrop. Then, off to the Burmese border for the Giant Nuthatch, which was nowhere to be found. We spent the remainder of the day birding the hills that make up part of the Ang Khang massif. New birds included Great Barbet, Himalayan Swiftlet, Yellow-bellied Warbler, and Buff-breasted and Spot-throated Babbler. After dinner, we spent an hour in an ultimately successful effort to find a cute little Mountain Scops-owl tooting from on high in the thick foliage of a tree.
March 12 – Doi Ang Khang
& Tha Ton
At 6 am, Uthai called to us to come out and see the Collared Scops-owl right behind our chalet – a very obliging little bird with big brown eyes. We spent much of the morning in a futile search for the Giant Nuthatch, which was probably nesting and unresponsive to taped calls. We did find Russet Bush-warbler, White-tailed Robin and two beautiful rufous-winged Mountain Bamboo- partridge. We drove north to Tha Ton after lunch and went out into what little is left of the Tha Ton marsh in late afternoon. Most of this area is now under cultivation. We ended the day watching at least a thousand Yellow Wagtails dive by twos and threes straight down into an area of tall marsh grass to roost for the night.
March 13 – Doi Lang
We left our Tha Ton hotel at 5 am to be up on Doi Lang by first light, counting Gray Nightjars flying up from the road as we neared the summit. When we arrived, the dawn chorus was tremendous. Our first big bird of the day was Red-tailed Laughingthrush, which Uthai had never seen in Thailand in all of his 20-plus years of leading birding tours. We silently watched five birds in the bush, as Uthai made the first ever recordings of the Thai dialect of their song, which differs slightly from the song of the Red-tailed Laughingthrush in Vietnam. Then Whiskered Yuhina came along, and so did Gray-chinned Minivet. Other good birds as we walked back and forth on the deserted road were Black-eared Shrike-babbler, Black-throated Sunbird, Buff-barred Warbler, and Yellow-browed, Fire-capped and Black-throated Tits. By mid-morning, the bird chorus gave way to a cicada crescendo that reached almost deafening proportions. We went part way back down the mountain to eat our picnic lunch in a field with a herd of wallowing Water Buffalo, and most importantly, a pair of Jerdon’s Bushchat. We went back to the summit in the afternoon, where we had a very close flyby of a Large Hawk-cuckoo and photographed a nesting Crested Finchbill. We finished the day with stunning looks at a Crimson-breasted Woodpecker male chasing a Stripe-breasted Woodpecker away from its nesting tree.
March 14 – Golden Triangle
& Chiang Mai
We were up early again today to drive to Chiang Saen on the Mekong River. We started in a marsh, where Nancy saw a
Chinese Bush-warbler, and we all saw Black-faced Bunting and a male Eastern
Marsh Harrier. A large lake came next,
with several new ducks, including Spotted Duck, Gargany, Tufted Duck, the
near-threatened Ferruginous Pochard and lots of Lesser Whistling-ducks. We also saw Striated Grassbird singing on
the lake shore. We drove on to the
Mekong and went out onto the river’s extensive sandbars at this season of low
water, actually crossing into Laotian territory, to see the Citrine Wagtail,
scores of nesting Small Pratincole, a host of shorebirds, and a Pied
Harrier. Then back into the van and on
north to the famed Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet along the
Mekong. After a brief touristy stop, we
headed back to Chiang Mai, stopping at another Royal Project on the city’s
outskirts to see the vulnerable Green Peafowl.
We were rewarded with good looks at four females and one resplendent
male.
March 15 – Chiang Mai and
Bangkok
This morning we headed up to Chiang Mai’s dual mountain – Doi Suthep and Doi Pui. We started walking up the road on Doi Pui and looked in vain for Hume’s Pheasant. The fog was very thick up there at 1500 meters (5000 feet), and it
was wonderfully cool in contrast to the steamy, hot morning down in the city. Two Eye-browed Thrushes appeared through the fog. When we reached the top, we heard Green Cochoa and eventually tracked it down, even getting some photos through the dense foliage. After we had our fill of the cochoa, two Large Woodshrikes appeared overhead, and as we left the top, a pair of Vivid Niltava came into view – absolutely beautiful! Then back to Chiang Mai airport and our flight back to Bangkok to end the northern Thailand part of our tour.
March 16 – Krabi &
Khao Nor Chuchi
An early morning flight from Bangkok to Krabi took us into the heart of peninsular Thailand. By late morning, when we boarded our van, it was very hot and humid, and Krabi had all the smells of a typical town in the deep tropics. We drove up to a small resort on the edge of a coastal forest remnant made famous among birders by the rare Gurney’s Pitta. The resort had no hot water, but who cares when it’s over 35C (nearly 100F) out. Its air conditioned rooms with fans were a welcome respite from the heat. A fruiting tree at the back of the resort had Plain-throated and Ruby-cheeked Sunbirds, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Gray-breasted and Thick-billed Spiderhunters, and a Forest Wagtail patrolled the lawn. An afternoon walk in the forest produced Ferruginous Babbler, several bulbuls, Red-throated Barbet, and Moustached Hawk-cuckoo. We also heard White-crested Hornbill, which thrilled Uthai, as he thought the bird had vanished from this area due to poaching of young birds from the nest for the caged bird trade. Our best sightings of the afternoon were Green Broadbill and a male Black-and-yellow Broadbill.
March 17 – Khao Nor Chuchi
This was a full day of birding the remnant of what was once a vast lowland forest of huge trees in peninsular Thailand. Though logging has been stopped, there is little native habitat left for the many special species of birds and mammals that once made this area their home. Highlight birds were the near-threatened Diard’s Trogon and the Orange-bellied Trogon, Blue-eared Kingfisher, six new bulbuls, Chestnut-breasted and Red-billed Malkohas, Whiskered Treeswift, Chestnut-rumped Babbler with its pale blue cheek patches that show when he sings, Red-bearded Bee-eater which grumps from the treetops, Brown Barbet, Rufous-winged Babbler and Streak-breasted Woodpecker. We had 53 species today, half of them lifers.
March 18 – Khao Nor Chuchi
This was THE BIG MORNING of the trip. We set off early with Jotin “The Pitta Man”
to tuck into his well camouflaged blind to view the endangered Gurney’s
Pitta. After about a half hour of
waiting, a male and female foraged slowly into our view. We watched transfixed, for this is one of
the rarest birds on earth. Researchers
say there are about 20 pairs in Thailand, but the locals believe there are far
fewer birds than that in this small patch of forest. A very small population is also thought to exist in southern
Burma, but no hard estimates have been made. The rest of the morning was anti-climactic,
though fleeting views of
Orange-backed Woodpeckers and a beautiful singing Large
Wren-babbler did their best to distract us from our thoughts of the
pittas. Finally, a new show did the
trick – a Wallace's Hawk-eagle, listed as vulnerable, with fledglings, chased
off a Malaysian Cuckoo-hawk in the tall trees right over our heads. In the afternoon, we went to see two fluffy
young Spotted Wood-owls in a nest at the top of a rubber tree snag, while two
adults were seen flying into nearby trees.
Several days ago Jotin had paid a villager to climb up the snag and
return the larger of the two to the nest after it had fallen out. Next on the list for a very special day was
a near-threatened Gould's Frogmouth sitting on a tiny nest, and good views of a
pair of Gray-and-buff Woodpeckers. We
continued birding right into night, stopping to see the area’s well known
Spotted Wood-owl, which every bird tour sees from the roadside, then the
vulnerable White-fronted Scops-owl and a magnificent huge Brown Wood-owl. We also heard the Bay Owl but did not manage
to see it.
March
19 – Khao Nor Chuchi
We returned to the forest this morning and began the day
with outstanding views of a pair of Black-capped Babblers having a private chat
on a vine. Then, after several fleeting
views, we finally saw a Rufous-winged Philentoma perched long enough to see all
its field marks. We had good views of
the skulking Short-tailed Babbler with its mournful song, and Tickell's Blue-flycatcher,
with its rufous upper breast, was followed almost immediately by a Chinese
Blue-flycatcher, with more rufous on the chest that extended down onto the
flanks. Two males and one female
Raffle’s Malkoha cavorted high in a tall tree, offering neck-straining views
from directly below. A beautiful
migrating (Black-backed) Pygmy Kingfisher turned around on a branch and,
highlighted by a few rays of sun, showed his many colors like a fashion model
on a runway. In the afternoon, a hot
walk down a mountain road (38C/100F in the shade) produced a Grey-rumped
Treeswift and a Silver-rumped Needletail.
We then went into the relative cool of the forest and to a place where
birds come down to bathe and drink. As
we sat quietly on a log, seven species of bulbul, a Chinese Blue-flycatcher and
a Chestnut-winged Babbler came down to the water. As a finale for our time in the forest, a pair of Scarlet-rumped
Trogons appeared overhead just before we needed to head back.
March
20 – Krabi & Phi Phi Island
We returned to Krabi early in the morning and hired a long
river canoe with a very long drive shaft that put the propeller right at the
water surface allowing operation in very shallow water. We headed into the mangroves. We disembarked on a small island and walked
to the ruins of a never-completed resort, where we enjoyed good views of
Oriental Hobby, Crag Martin, Black-and-red Broadbill, and Mangrove Blue
Flycatcher. Back to the canoe and off
to look for Mangrove Pitta. We saw
three and heard a few more. It was
incredible to watch a pitta, which one assumes is only a denizen of the forest
floor, fly across our bow. Then we
headed out into the harbor. The tide
was low and sandbars held several species of shorebirds, including Eurasian
Curlew, which made the bills of the adjacent Whimbrels appear small. Also,
Bar-tailed Godwit, another vulnerable Nordmann's Greenshank, and Great
Knot. Back to the mangroves, and a
gleaming white Chinese Egret (also listed as vulnerable), with its diagnostic
yellow bill, flew out of the treetops and across our bow. We returned to Krabi for lunch at an upscale
garden restaurant, then to a bit more but unproductive mangrove birding before
it was time to head for the ferry terminal for the 1.5-hour ferry ride to Phi
Phi Island. We made a quick turnaround
at the hotel, then boarded another motorized canoe for a 45-minute trip out to
see frigatebirds that roost on an outer island. When we arrived, there were many birds very high in the sky. Eventually, a few came low enough to see
their breast markings. This plus size
allowed us to discern, at dusk, the critically endangered Christmas Island
Frigatebird and the Lesser Frigatebird.
We also saw Black-naped Terns roosting on a cliff face just above the
high tide mark, and as we returned in near darkness migrating Malayan
Night-herons flew low alongside our canoe.
Brown-winged Kingfisher is a
mangrove regular at Krabi.
March
21 – Krabi & Bangkok
We walked the beach early in the morning and saw the remaining
evidence of the tsunami that wiped most of Phi Phi’s buildings into the
sea. Nearly all of them have been
rebuilt, and large palms have been planted along the shoreline. We took the morning ferry back to
Krabi. With a few hours to spare, we went
into some mangroves near the ferry dock and rather quickly saw a Mangrove
Whistler. We then headed about 15km
north of the city to a forest patch, where we managed to see a Black-throated
Babbler for the final bird of our trip.
As we returned to the van, the skies opened up with a tropical downpour,
our first and only rain of the entire trip.
From the forest, we went directly to Krabi airport for a quick lunch and
our flight back to Bangkok, for our last night in Thailand and a toast to an
incredibly successful Thailand birding trip.
Species list according to Clement’s
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Little Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax niger)
Darter (Anhinga
melanogaster)
Christmas Island
Frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi)
Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel)
Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Intermediate Egret (Egretta
intermedia)
Little Egret (Egretta
garzetta)
Chinese Egret
(Egretta eulophotes)
Pacific
Reef-heron (Egretta sacra)
Chinese Pond-heron
(Ardeola bacchus)
Javan Pond-heron (Ardeola
speciosa)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Striated
Heron (Butorides striata)
Black-crowned
Night-heron (Nycticorax
nycticorax)
Malayan
Night-heron (Gorsachius melanolophus)
Yellow Bittern
(Ixobrychus sinensis)
Asian Openbill
(Anastomus oscitans)
Lesser
Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna javanica)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Spot-billed
Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)
Garganey (Anas querquedula)
Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya nyroca)
Tufted Duck
(Aythya fuligula)
Black Baza (Aviceda leuphotes)
Oriental
Honey-buzzard (Pernis
ptilorhynchus)
Black-shouldered
Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)
White-bellied
Sea-eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)
Crested
Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela)
Eastern
Marsh-harrier (Circus spilonotus)
Pied Harrier
(Circus melanoleucos)
Crested
Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus)
Shikra (Accipiter badius)
Japanese Buzzard
(Buteo japonicus)
Mountain
Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus nipalensis)
Wallace's
Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus nanus)
Collared
Falconet (Microhierax
caerulescens)
Eurasian
Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
Oriental Hobby
(Falco severus)
Rufous-throated
Partridge (Arborophila
rufogularis)
Scaly-breasted
Partridge (Arborophila chloropus)
Mountain
Bamboo-partridge (Bambusicola
fytchii)
Red
Junglefowl (Gallus gallus)
Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus)
Barred Buttonquail (Turnix suscitator)
Slaty-breasted
Rail (Galliralus striatus)
White-breasted
Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
Ruddy-breasted
Crake (Porzana fusca)
White-browed Crake
(Porzana cinerea)
Purple
Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
Pheasant-tailed
Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus)
Bronze-winged
Jacana (Metopidius indicus)
Black-winged Stilt
(Himantopus himantopus himantopus)
Oriental
Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum)
Small Pratincole
(Glareola lactea)
Gray-headed
Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus)
Red-wattled
Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)
Pacific
Golden-plover (Pluvialis fulva)
Black-bellied
Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Little Ringed
Plover (Charadrius dubius)
Snowy Plover
(Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus)
Malaysian Plover
(Charadrius peronii)
Lesser
Sandplover (Charadrius mongolus)
Greater
Sandplover (Charadrius
leschenaultii)
Eurasian Woodcock
(Scolopax rusticola)
Common Snipe
(Gallinago gallinago gallinago)
Black-tailed
Godwit (Limosa limosa)
Bar-tailed
Godwit (Limosa lapponica)
Whimbrel (Numenius
phaeopus)
Eurasian Curlew (Numenius
arquata)
Spotted Redshank
(Tringa erythropus)
Common
Redshank (Tringa totanus)
Marsh Sandpiper
(Tringa stagnatilis)
Common
Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Nordmann's
Greenshank (Tringa guttifer)
Wood Sandpiper
(Tringa glareola)
Terek Sandpiper
(Xenus cinereus)
Common Sandpiper
(Actitis hypoleucos)
Great Knot (Calidris
tenuirostris)
Sanderling
(Calidris alba)
Red-necked Stint
(Calidris ruficollis)
Little Stint
(Calidris minuta)
Temminck's Stint
(Calidris temminckii)
Long-toed Stint
(Calidris subminuta)
Curlew Sandpiper
(Calidris ferruginea)
Spoon-billed
Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmaeus)
Broad-billed
Sandpiper (Limicola falcinellus)
Ruff (Philomachus
pugnax)
Brown-headed Gull
(Larus brunnicephalus)
Caspian Tern
(Sterna caspia)
Lesser
Crested-tern (Sterna bengalensis)
Black-naped
Tern (Sterna sumatrana)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)
Bridled Tern (Sterna anaethetus)
Whiskered
Tern (Chlidonias hybridus)
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
Speckled
Wood-pigeon (Columba hodgsonii)
Oriental
Turtle-dove (Streptopelia
orientalis)
Red
Collared-dove (Streptopelia
tranquebarica)
Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
Zebra Dove
(Geopelia striata)
Pink-necked Pigeon
(Treron vernans)
Thick-billed
Pigeon (Treron curvirostra)
Pin-tailed
Pigeon (Treron apicauda)
Wedge-tailed
Pigeon (Treron sphenura)
Mountain
Imperial-pigeon (Ducula badia)
Pied
Imperial-pigeon (Ducula bicolor)
Alexandrine
Parakeet (Psittacula eupatria)
Gray-headed Parakeet
(Psittacula finschii)
Blossom-headed
Parakeet (Psittacula roseata)
Red-breasted
Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri)
Vernal
Hanging-parrot (Loriculus vernalis)
Large
Hawk-cuckoo (Cuculus
sparverioides)
Moustached
Hawk-cuckoo (Cuculus vagans)
Malaysian
Hawk-cuckoo (Cuculus fugax)
Banded Bay
Cuckoo (Cacomantis sonneratii)
Plaintive
Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus)
Asian Emerald
Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus)
Asian
Drongo-cuckoo (Surniculus
lugubris)
Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea)
Green-billed
Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus tristis)
Raffles'
Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus
chlorophaeus)
Red-billed Malkoha
(Phaenicophaeus javanicus)
Chestnut-breasted
Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus
curvirostris)
Coral-billed
Ground-cuckoo (Carpococcyx renauldi)
Greater
Coucal (Centropus sinensis)
Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis)
White-fronted
Scops-owl (Otus sagittatus)
Mountain
Scops-owl (Otus spilocephalus)
Collared
Scops-owl (Otus lettia)
Spotted
Wood-owl (Strix seloputo)
Brown
Wood-owl (Strix leptogrammica)
Collared
Owlet (Glaucidium brodiei)
Asian Barred
Owlet (Glaucidium cuculoides)
Spotted Owlet (Athene brama)
Brown
Hawk-owl (Ninox scutulata)
Gould's Frogmouth
(Batrachostomus stellatus)
Great
Eared-nightjar (Eurostopodus
macrotis)
Gray Nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus)
Large-tailed
Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus)
Indian
Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus)
Savannah
Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis)
Himalayan Swiftlet
(Aerodramus brevirostris brevirostris)
German's
Swiftlet (Aerodramus germani)
Silver-rumped
Needletail (Rhaphidura leucopygialis)
Silver-backed
Needletail (Hirundapus
cochinchinensis)
Brown-backed
Needletail (Hirundapus giganteus)
Asian
Palm-swift (Cypsiurus balasiensis)
Fork-tailed
Swift (Apus pacificus)
House Swift (Apus nipalensis)
Crested Treeswift
(Hemiprocne coronata)
Gray-rumped
Treeswift (Hemiprocne longipennis)
Whiskered
Treeswift (Hemiprocne comata)
Diard's
Trogon (Harpactes diardii)
Scarlet-rumped
Trogon (Harpactes duvaucelii)
Red-headed
Trogon (Harpactes erythrocephalus)
Orange-breasted
Trogon (Harpactes oreskios)
Common
Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Blue-eared
Kingfisher (Alcedo meninting)
Black-backed
Kingfisher (Ceyx erithacus)
Banded
Kingfisher (Lacedo pulchella)
Brown-winged
Kingfisher (Pelargopsis amauropterus)
Stork-billed
Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis)
Ruddy
Kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda)
White-throated
Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
Black-capped
Kingfisher (Halcyon pileata)
Collared
Kingfisher (Todirhamphus chloris)
Pied
Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)
Red-bearded
Bee-eater (Nyctyornis amictus)
Blue-bearded
Bee-eater (Nyctyornis athertoni)
Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)
Chestnut-headed
Bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti)
Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)
Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis)
Eurasian
Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
Oriental
Pied-hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris albirostris)
Great Hornbill
(Buceros bicornis)
Austen's Brown
Hornbill (Anorrhinus austeni)
Wreathed Hornbill
(Aceros undulatus)
Great Barbet (Megalaima virens)
Lineated
Barbet (Megalaima lineata)
Green-eared Barbet
(Megalaima faiostricta)
Red-crowned
Barbet (Megalaima rafflesii)
Red-throated
Barbet (Megalaima mystacophanos)
Golden-throated
Barbet (Megalaima franklinii)
Blue-throated
Barbet (Megalaima asiatica)
Moustached
Barbet (Megalaima incognita)
Blue-eared
Barbet (Megalaima australis)
Coppersmith
Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala)
Brown Barbet (Calorhamphus fuliginosus)
Eurasian
Wryneck (Jynx torquilla)
Speckled
Piculet (Picumnus innominatus)
White-browed
Piculet (Sasia ochracea)
Gray-capped
Woodpecker (Dendrocopos
canicapillus)
Stripe-breasted
Woodpecker (Dendrocopos atratus)
Crimson-breasted
Woodpecker (Dendrocopos
cathpharius)
Lesser
Yellownape (Picus chlorolophus)
Greater
Yellownape (Picus flavinucha)
Streak-breasted
Woodpecker (Picus viridanus)
Laced Woodpecker
(Picus vittatus)
Black-headed
Woodpecker (Picus erythropygius)
Common
Flameback (Dinopium javanense)
Bamboo Woodpecker
(Gecinulus viridis)
Bay
Woodpecker (Blythipicus pyrrhotis)
Orange-backed
Woodpecker (Reinwardtipicus
validus)
Buff-rumped
Woodpecker (Meiglyptes tristis)
Black-and-buff
Woodpecker (Meiglyptes jugularis)
Gray-and-buff
Woodpecker (Hemicircus concretus)
Heart-spotted
Woodpecker (Hemicircus canente)
Great Slaty
Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus)
Black-and-red
Broadbill (Cymbirhynchus
macrorhynchos)
Banded
Broadbill (Eurylaimus javanicus)
Black-and-yellow
Broadbill (Eurylaimus ochromalus)
Long-tailed
Broadbill (Psarisomus dalhousiae)
Silver-breasted
Broadbill (Serilophus lunatus)
Green
Broadbill (Calyptomena viridis)
Eared Pitta (Pitta
phayrei)
Blue Pitta (Pitta cyanea)
Gurney's Pitta
(Pitta gurneyi)
Mangrove Pitta
(Pitta megarhyncha)
Indochinese
Bushlark (Mirafra erythrocephala)
Oriental Skylark (Alauda gulgula)
Dusky
Crag-martin (Ptyonoprogne
concolor)
Barn Swallow
(Hirundo rustica erythrogaster)
Pacific
Swallow (Hirundo tahitica)
Wire-tailed
Swallow (Hirundo smithii)
Red-rumped Swallow
(Cecropis daurica rufula)
Striated
Swallow (Cecropis striolata)
Asian Martin (Delichon dasypus)
Forest Wagtail
(Dendronanthus indicus)
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
Citrine
Wagtail (Motacilla citreola)
Yellow Wagtail
[angarensis] (Motacilla tschutschensis angarensis)
Siberian
Yellow-wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis simillima)
Gray Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
Oriental
Pipit (Anthus rufulus)
Richard's
Pipit (Anthus richardi)
Olive-backed
Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni)
Red-throated Pipit
(Anthus cervinus)
Large
Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina macei)
Black-winged
Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina
melaschistos)
Rosy Minivet (Pericrocotus roseus)
Brown-rumped
Minivet (Pericrocotus cantonensis)
Ashy Minivet
(Pericrocotus divaricatus)
Long-tailed
Minivet (Pericrocotus ethologus)
Short-billed
Minivet (Pericrocotus
brevirostris)
Scarlet
Minivet (Pericrocotus flammeus)
Gray-chinned
Minivet (Pericrocotus solaris)
Bar-winged
Flycatcher-shrike (Hemipus
picatus)
Crested
Finchbill (Spizixos canifrons)
Striated
Bulbul (Pycnonotus striatus)
Black-headed
Bulbul (Pycnonotus atriceps)
Black-crested
Bulbul (Pycnonotus melanicterus)
Black-crested
Bulbul [johnsoni] (Pycnonotus melanicterus johnsoni)
Black-crested
Bulbul [caecilii] (Pycnonotus melanicterus caecilii)
Gray-bellied
Bulbul (Pycnonotus cyaniventris)
Red-whiskered
Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)
Brown-breasted
Bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthorrhous)
Sooty-headed
Bulbul (Pycnonotus aurigaster)
Puff-backed Bulbul
(Pycnonotus eutilotus)
Stripe-throated
Bulbul (Pycnonotus finlaysoni)
Flavescent
Bulbul (Pycnonotus flavescens)
Yellow-vented
Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)
Olive-winged
Bulbul (Pycnonotus plumosus)
Streak-eared
Bulbul (Pycnonotus blanfordi)
Cream-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus simplex)
Red-eyed
Bulbul (Pycnonotus brunneus)
Spectacled
Bulbul (Pycnonotus
erythropthalmos)
Puff-throated
Bulbul (Alophoixus pallidus)
Ochraceous
Bulbul (Alophoixus ochraceus)
Gray-cheeked
Bulbul (Alophoixus bres)
Yellow-bellied
Bulbul (Alophoixus phaeocephalus)
Hairy-backed
Bulbul (Tricholestes criniger)
Gray-eyed
Bulbul (Iole propinqua)
Buff-vented Bulbul
(Iole olivacea)
Streaked Bulbul
(Ixos malaccensis)
Mountain
Bulbul (Ixos mcclellandii)
Ashy Bulbul (Hemixos flavala)
Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus)
White-headed
Bulbul (Hypsipetes thompsoni)
Lesser Green
Leafbird (Chloropsis cyanopogon)
Blue-winged
Leafbird (Chloropsis
cochinchinensis)
Golden-fronted
Leafbird (Chloropsis aurifrons)
Orange-bellied
Leafbird (Chloropsis hardwickii)
Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia)
Green Iora (Aegithina viridissima)
Great Iora (Aegithina lafresnayei)
Chestnut-bellied
Rock-thrush (Monticola rufiventris)
Blue Rock-thrush (Monticola solitarius)
Blue
Whistling-thrush [eugenei] (Myophonus caeruleus eugenei)
Blue
Whistling-thrush [caeruleus] (Myophonus caeruleus caeruleus)
Gray-winged
Blackbird (Turdus boulboul)
Chestnut
Thrush (Turdus rubrocanus)
Eyebrowed Thrush
(Turdus obscurus)
Lesser
Shortwing (Brachypteryx
leucophrys)
White-browed
Shortwing (Brachypteryx montana)
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola
juncidis)
Golden-headed Cisticola
(Cisticola exilis)
Hill Prinia (Prinia atrogularis)
Rufescent
Prinia (Prinia rufescens)
Gray-breasted
Prinia (Prinia hodgsonii)
Yellow-bellied
Prinia (Prinia flaviventris)
Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata)
Slaty-bellied
Tesia (Tesia olivea)
Aberrant
Bush-warbler (Cettia flavolivacea)
David's
Bush-warbler (Bradypterus thoracicus davidi)
Chinese
Bush-warbler (Bradypterus tacsanowskius)
Russet Bush-warbler
(Bradypterus seebohmi)
Lanceolated
Warbler (Locustella lanceolata)
Pallas's
Grasshopper-warbler (Locustella
certhiola)
Black-browed
Reed-warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps)
Oriental
Reed-warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis)
Thick-billed
Warbler (Acrocephalus aedon)
Mountain
Tailorbird (Orthotomus cuculatus)
Common
Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius)
Dark-necked
Tailorbird (Orthotomus
atrogularis)
Rufous-tailed
Tailorbird (Orthotomus sericeus)
Ashy
Tailorbird (Orthotomus ruficeps)
Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus)
Buff-throated
Warbler (Phylloscopus subaffinis)
Yellow-streaked
Warbler (Phylloscopus armandii)
Radde's Warbler
(Phylloscopus schwarzi)
Buff-barred
Warbler (Phylloscopus pulcher)
Ashy-throated
Warbler (Phylloscopus
maculipennis)
Yellow-browed
Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)
Hume's
Warbler (Phylloscopus humei)
Arctic
Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis)
Greenish
Warbler (Phylloscopus
trochiloides)
Two-barred Warbler
(Phylloscopus plumbeitarsus)
Pale-legged
Leaf-warbler (Phylloscopus tenellipes)
Eastern
Crowned-warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus)
Blyth's Leaf-warbler (Phylloscopus reguloides)
White-tailed
Leaf-warbler (Phylloscopus
davisoni)
Sulphur-breasted
Warbler (Phylloscopus ricketti)
Omei Spectacled
Warbler (Seicercus omeiensis)
Plain-tailed
Warbler (Seicercus soror)
Chestnut-crowned Warbler (Seicercus castaniceps)
Yellow-bellied
Warbler (Abroscopus superciliaris)
Striated
Grassbird (Megalurus palustris)
Fulvous-chested
Jungle-flycatcher (Rhinomyias
olivacea)
Asian Brown
Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica)
Slaty-backed Flycatcher
(Ficedula hodgsonii)
Taiga Flycatcher
(Ficedula albicilla)
White-gorgeted
Flycatcher (Ficedula monileger)
Little Pied
Flycatcher (Ficedula westermanni)
Slaty-blue
Flycatcher (Ficedula tricolor)