Malaysia: Birding the Peninsula

Southeast Asia has an identity all of its own. It is remarkably different from the northern Asian countries. The region is peppered with steamy lowland jungles with highly desired species like giant hornbills, ornately-patterned pittas and technicolor trogons. Southeast Asia can rightly lay claim to some of the dazzling and most wanted birds in all of Asia, from Malayan Peacock-Pheasant to Malayan Banded Pitta to Red-naped Trogon to the enigmatic Rail-Babbler, this part of Asia has its fair share of both the beautiful and the odd. This short tour visits the three premier sites on mainland Malaysia: Kuala Selangor for a dose of mangrove species and coastal birds, then Fraser’s Hill, one of the most famous sites in all of Asia, for an array of hill forest birds, before dropping down into the sweaty lowlands at Taman Negara, a park loaded with spectacular birds, the likes of which draw people there from all over the world, frequently to return again. This park is so rich in birdlife it is sometimes referred to as “Malaysia’s Amazon”! This is an especially rich region for woodpeckers, with some intensive, longer, tours in this area having yielded more than 20 species! Malaysia is a modern country, often at the cutting edge of technology in the region, with a high standard of living; thus the tour is undertaken while staying in comfortable lodging throughout.