Borneo Birds

Despite its name, I wouldn’t spend too much time looking for the hairlike feathers on the back of the Hairy-backed Bulbul Tricholestes criniger.  Better to look for the pale yellow face around the eye.  This common bird of the lowland forest is also one of the smallest bulbuls here.

Wreathed Hornbill male

Last month while at Tabin Wildlife Reserve I saw this male Wreathed Hornbill Rhyticeros undulatus steadily feeding his sealed-in female partner on this huge “Mengaris” Koompassia excelsa tree.  I estimated that the nest-hole would be about 40m above the ground.  I believed this is still the incubation period and the male has a huge effort ahead to feed both the female and the coming chick. Studies done in Thailand have indicated that the Wreathed Hornbill would have a feeding range of up to 10 km2 during this breeding season.  On Mount Kinabalu I have seen this hornbill in flight near the mountain huts at around 3,200m.  More power to you, Mr Hornbill.

Blue-headed Pitta male

Here’s one of my all time favorites, the Blue-headed Pitta Hydrornis baudii.  This Bornean endemic is locally common in lowland primary forest but is constantly threatened by habitat loss.  Its behavior is similar to that of other pittas as is its feeding habit.

Grey-and-buff Woodpecker male

Grey-and-buff Woodpecker female

The genus Hemicircus has only 2 species including this wonderful Grey-and-buff  Woodpecker H. concretus.  The male displays its scarlet triangular crest with great pomp with the female no less respondent in all grey.  While at Tabin Wildlife Reserve many years ago I observed a pair of them excavating a series of holes on a dead branch.  At that time I had never heard of group roosting of these woodpeckers so I thought it was rather smart of this little birds to make some false cavities to fool would be predators.  And of course I admired their great industry.

An uncommon bird of the lowlands, the Thick-billed Spiderhunter Arachnothera crassirostris is sometimes confused with the Little Spiderhunter A. longilostra which has whitish-grey throat.   Both birds also have similar eye markings.