Birding in Borneo X

Day 5 Poring Hot Springs 


In the bamboo garden by the lodge, our morning walk began with a lovely White-crowned Shama.

He noticed me getting closer on tiptoe.

massive Bornean Bamboo

bamboo shoots

a fallen leaf-like moth (sadly dead...)













a huge butterfly (I thought it was a bird!)

We walked on a path through the jungle, the kind of 'proper' jungle I had imagined:)

Canopy Walk - It was higher than I thought it'd be. You'd feel giddy if you don't like heights.

Raffle's Malkoha

its grey-ish head, white eye-ring, long orange-brown tail feathers with black and white tips
a rather elegant looking bird (difficult to see it in the photos...)


Crimson-winged Woodpecker - Argh!!!

I can tell you he was colourful and gorgeous!!



a bat cave

I didn't dare go in the cave of course! 

When I zoomed in, I was able to see many bats dangling from the ceiling and ones flying below them.

We saw a bat or two flying in the restaurant where we had dinner the previous night, attracted to the insects which were attracted to the lights in the restaurant. They may be resting now there:)

Sighting List: Crested Serpent Eagle, Chestnut-bellied Malkoha, Raffle's Malkoha, Bornean Banded (Oriental Dwarf) Kingfisher, Gorden-whiskdered Barbet, Red-crowned Barbet, Crimson-winged Woodpecker, Buff-necked Woodpecker, Black and Yellow Broadbill, Common Iora, Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo, White-breasted Woodswallow, Barn Swallow, Spectacled Bulbul, Hairy-backed Bulbul, Grey-cheeked Bulbul, Scaly-breasted Bulbul, Black-capped Babbler, Sooty-capped Babbler, Rufous-crowned Babbler, Oriental Magpie-robin, White-crowned Shama, Hill Blue Flycatcher, Pied Fantail, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Olive-backed Sunbird, Dusky Munia, Tree Sparrow
Banded Kingfisher (heard), Blue-eared Barbet (heard)

Osman and Julius kindly drove us back to Kinabalu Park, just in case the weather there got better and so that we might see some birds we would've missed. They were right again! We were able to see new birds even towards the end of our trip.

Sighiting List: Glossy Swiftlet, Checker-throated Woodpecker, Hair-crested Drongo, Bornean Green Magpie, Mountain Tailorbird, Mountain Leaf Warbler, Yellow-breasted Warbler, Sunda Laughingthrush, Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush, Black-capped White-eye, Little Pied Flycatcher, Indigo Flycatcher, Temminck's Sunbird

Sighting from car back to Kota Kinabalu: Little Egret, Great Egret, Pacific Reef Egret, Brahminy Kite, Spotted Dove, Asian Glossy Starling, House Swift, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Chestnut Munia, Scaly-breasted Munia

That's the end of our birding trip with Osman and Julius from Borneo Eco Tours.
We had a great time with them and we would like to recommend them as your guide to you all who wish to have a special time in Sabah, Malaysia.



the tallest tropical tree species - shorea

We would like to go back to Borneo some time in the future, maybe on the eastern side of Sabah.