The Dusky Broadbill Corydon sumatranus is found in the lowland forest of South-east Asia.  It prefers the upper canopy of the forest and moves around in small hunting parties.  Such groups can be quite noisy.  It is a large bird (26 to 28cm) with an equally large head!

A first look at the Banded Broadbill Eurylaimus javanicus reminds you of the smaller Black and Yellow Broadbill.  Both birds display similar wing patterns and blue bills.  However the Banded does not have the white collar and the pinkish belly of the Black and Yellow.  The calls of the two birds are very similar with the Banded starting its song with a loud note.  They also share the same habitat in lowland forest up to 1,200m.

Long-tailed Broadbill by Ck Leong

Due to the difficulty in getting to the Trus Madi mountain range where the Long-tailed Broadbill Psarisomus dalhousiae is common, this beautiful bird is locally considered to be quite a twitch.  My friend Jason spotted this pair carrying nest material along the Tambunan road earlier this week.  Many years ago in the same area I saw a party of 5 birds.  My only other big encounter was in Cuc Phuong National Park near Hanoi in north Vietnam about 4 years ago when I saw a party of 30 to 40 moving through the forest in a fantastic and noisy spectacle.  It is difficult to forget the brilliance of this bird.

On a really slow morning at the Penampang hills today, we only had this bird to show.  Not that I am complaining.  After so many previous misopportunities for a decent picture, this Black & Yellow Broadbill Eurylaimus ochromalus showed up well and true.  It reminds me of the excitement it (a common bird here) caused when seen by visiting Taiwanese birders during their trips here.  The broadbill is not represented on that island while on this Borneo island, we have 8 species!  But then they have that pheasant with a Japanese name…