Thailand Birding: Indochinese Bushlark

A few days ago I was looking for an Indochinese Bushlark just outside Kaeng Krachan national park for some visitors who had never seen one. After obtaining a few brief flight views of one bird in some scubby grassland a few minutes later one crossed the road in front of us and settled in the roadside vegetation.

We drew alongside it and the bird did not fly away allowing us good views which allowed us to notice that it was moulting heavily. I then got out of the vehicle to see if I could take a photo of the bird and was amazed that it did not fly away or run away, allowing me to take a number of photographs at very close range.

Indochinese Bushlark

We could only assume that as the bird was moulting it was in fact incapable of flight. Whatever the reason that it did not disappear, it gave me an opportunity to get close to it that I am not likely to ever have again.

Thailand Birding: Kaeng Krachan

Unseasonal weather continues in Thailand and we ran into overcast skies and mist at Kaeng Krachan which made the general levels of activity lower than would be expected. However, what we lost in activity we made up for with quality birds. The wet weather seems to have fooled some species into thinking the wet season is arriving and it is time to breed and this meant that we were able to get good sightings of Silver-breasted Broadbill and Black-and-red Broadbill, both species that are hard to find at Kaeng Krachan outside of the breeding season.

Some other excellent birds that we found were a pair of Bamboo Woodpeckers, Black-and-buff Woodpeckers, Black-throated Laughingthrush, Collared Babbler, Red-headed Trogon and Ratchet-tailed Treepie at Km 27.5 as well as Great Hornbills and White-handed Gibbons in a fruiting tree in the same area.

The White-fronted Scops Owls are still roosting in the same spot near stream 2 and two Tickell's Brown Hornbill nests are also active in the same area; we also found Black-and-yellow Broadbill in the same area.

Staying at Ban Maka provided a few interesting sightings too with Oriental Pied Hornbill coming to the bananas at the feeder next to the restaurant as well as a female White-shouldered Starling on a flowering tree and an Orange-headed Thrush hanging around the restaurant.

Oriental Pied Hornbill

Also in the garden at Ban Maka were a pair of Black-hooded Orioles busy making a nest, which made obtaining excellent views very easy indeed, and a Stripe-throated Bulbul nest right next to the restaurant - be careful not to disturb it please!

Stripe-throated Bulbul in the nest

So, despite less than optimal weather Kaeng Krachan is still providing birders with some great sightings right now; other interesting species that we saw in three days included Drongo Cuckoo, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Golden-crested Myna, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Rufous-bellied Eagle, Mountain Hawk Eagle and Orange-breasted Trogon; the bird spectacular at Lung Sin hide also contributed to a very memorable few days at Kaeng Krachan.

Thailand Birding: Slaty-legged Crake at Lung Sin Hide

Slaty-legged Crake is a bird that is seldom seen in Thailand and its status and movements in Thailand are poorly known. However, this species has made a number of appearances at the Lung Sin's waterhole near Kaeng Krachan national park and I was lucky enough to witness this bird's performance there a few days ago on 16th December.

Slaty-legged Crake

After watching many species bathing and drinking at the waterhole the Slaty-legged Crake came in and took a lengthy bath, splashing around and giving itself a good clean allowing us to get excellent views.

Other species we saw at the waterhole included Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Siberian Blue Robin, Large Scimitar-babbler, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Orange-headed Thrush, Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush and Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush.

If you want to visit the waterhole yourself there is a 200 baht per person fee and the hide can be booked through Ban Maka guesthouse or Samarn Bird Camp.

Thailand Birding: Great Hornbill

There are lots of great birds to see in Thailand but one of the best, to me, is the Great Hornbill. Whilst it is not the rarest bird, it is certainly one of the most memorable and any sighting is a highlight in my opinion: a few years ago I did a survey and Great Hornbill was voted the third most wanted bird by birders visiting Thailand.

Great Hornbill Calling Poster Available on Amazon.com

Great Hornbills are striking looking birds but when you hear them flying over the forest canopy the sound is amazing. I have had people ask me in the past if a helicopter is overhead; the surprise on their faces when I tell them it is a Great Hornbill is quite funny.

I see Great Hornbills virtually every time I go to Kaeng Krachan or Khao Yai national parks, but it is one of those birds I never tire of seeing and every time it is one of the highlights of the trip for me.

Thailand Birding: Hornbill at Ban Maka

Those birders visiting Kaeng Krachan and wishing to stay in comfort rather than camping in the national park, have a choice of a number of places close to the forest. I usually use Ban Maka which is a pleasant place to stay with air conditioned rooms, private bathrooms and excellent food as well as having helpful staff.

One of the features at Ban Maka is their tame Oriental Pied Hornbill which was given to the owner after a local had become tired of it. The hornbill goes by the name of Gak Gak ( the Thai name for this species is Nok Gak) and can be somewhat overfriendly. A bit of finger drumming on the table usually sees Gak Gak come swooping down looking for a tickle or some food.

"Gak" looking for food at Ban Maka

Photograph by Nick Upton

The trouble is that he doesn't seem to know when enough is enough and he often takes to stealing food from your plate or pulling your shoe laces and after the first night his company wears a bit thin.

If you are going to feed the bird then he seems to like rice and chicken and sometimes fruit.

It is worth noting that there are a couple of wild Oriental Pied Hornbills that visit the garden of Ban Maka but Gak Gak doesn't seem to be interested and never flies away with them; in fact, judging by his behaviour, he was taken from a nest when a small chick and has spent his whole life around humans.

If you go to Ban Maka you will meet him soon enough and he may be a highlight of your stay, or perhaps the biggest irritation.

Update: For those hoping to meet Gak there is disappointment as he flew off to be with the wild Hornbills in late 2010.

Thailand Birding: Rusty-cheeked (Tickell’s Brown) Hornbill

Rusty-cheeked Hornbill is a recent split from Brown Hornbill and this taxon has been adopted by the BCST on their latest checklist of the birds of Thailand; formerly it was known as the tickelli subspecies of Brown Hornbill. At Kaeng Krachan this species is fairly easy to see with most sightings being between the Bang Krang campsite and stream 3. Sometimes this species can be quite unobtrosive but often gives itself away with its manic screeching.

The bird in the photo below was part of a flock of 9 birds and was checking out a nest hole beside the road at Kaeng Krachan in late February 2009. This was a nest hole which had been used the previous year by a pair which had successfully reared chicks and I have a vivid memory of them passing lizards to the young birds.

Rusty-cheeked Hornbill

Photo by Nick Upton

The BCST issued accompanying notes with their checklist and these make interesting reading; here I reproduce the notes on Rusty-cheeked Hornbill.

Rusty-cheeked Hornbill Anorrhinus tickelli and Brown Hornbill A. austeni
P. Poonswad (Hornbill Project Thailand; unpubl. data) has suggested that the genetic distance between these two taxa is at least as great as that between Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis and Rhinoceros Hornbill B. rhinoceros, and on this basis we tentatively treat them as distinct species following some earlier authors (e.g., Kemp 1988). It should be noted, however, that the vocalisations of the two “brown hornbill” taxa are very similar. In addition, although the females are highly distinctive, A. tickelli being dark-billed and A. austeni being pale billed, occasional whitish-throated male A. tickelli that appear inseparable from typical male austeni have been observed in tickelli groups (Anak Pattanavibool, in litt.).