Borneo Birds

The Purple Heron Ardea purpurea has a large range from Africa to Eurasia to the Sundas.  Here in Sabah, this big heron has established itself in most of the freshwater habitats.  Along the Kinabatangan river, the population has increased tremendously in recent years.  In Kota Kinabalu, the heron is also a common sighting in many areas of the city.

The Spectacled Spiderhunter Arachnothera flavigaster is a bit of a bully, ready to chase away other birds from any flowering tree it frequents.  It also has a preference for the top level of trees.  If you are hoping a get a photo of the bird as I did, it is better to find a low level flowering tree.  Good luck.

The Yellow Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis must favour the weather here.  While it has been a common winter visitor here, there are now lots more of this species resident here.  Active in rice paddies and grassy wet areas, it is easily identified by its black flight feathers against buff wing coverts.  It has a territorial call but during all the occasions I have seen it, it remained silent.

White-bellied Woodpecker male with friend

The White-bellied Woodpecker Dryocopus javensis is loud and unmistakable.   For now it is still fairly common in lowland and mangrove forests.   With its preference for foraging on dead trees, reduction of habitat with corresponding decline in food sources and suitable nesting holes must surely be a problem for this species.  Usually in pairs or family parties.

As Borneo’s sole representative of the nuthatch family, the Velvet-fronted Nuthatch Sitta frontalis occupies the entire range of forest habitat on the island.  This bird seems always able to generate instant excitement from birders, probably due to its ability to climb downwards, a trait absent from woodpeckers.