Malaysia birding trip (Broadbills)

 In the next few blog posts, I will be sharing about the experiences I had while in Sarawak, Malaysia. We visited Sarawak during the winter break, and spent two fulfilling weeks there. Sarawak is located in Borneo, where almost everything is lush green rainforests. During this visit, we managed to see 120 species, and made  20 checklists.Because we had never birded in Southeast Asia, we easily saw 88 lifers! We visited three national parks, Kubah, Bako, and Batang Ai. Because we were unfamiliar with the birds and Sarawak in general, Dad arranged for a two-day bird guide in Kubah, and in Bako and Batang Ai, we had a very high-quality tour agency, Borneo Adventures. Our bird guide, Julianna, was super experienced and highly professional. She would slow down, listen for a second, then immediately find the particular bird sound she was looking for, and play it, so the bird would reply. Julianna told us before we headed out,   “no playing bird sound, no birds.”

 In this particular post I am going to share about Broadbills, a type of bird I found quite interesting and unique. Of the 8 species present in Sarawak, I managed to see four species, Green Broadbill, Banded Broadbill (this one I only heard), Black-and-yellow Broadbill and the Black-and-red Broadbill. More specifically the Banded Broadbill and the Black-and-yellow Broadbill belong in the Eurylaimus genus, while the Black-and-red Broadbill and Green Broadbill belong in the genuses Cymbirhynchus and Calyptomena, respectively.

The Banded Broadbill and the Black-and-yellow Broadbill are both insect feeders, and usually sit still in the canopy until food is found, then the bird quickly flies towards the prey, then flies to another branch. Even though they prefer more exposed branches, because they are small and almost always in the canopy, unless you see it fly or hear its unique call, it can be a bit difficult to see. Their nests are quite a sight, the Banded Broadbill’s nest being as long as 90cm! Both birds are adaptable to many different woodland habitats. Although primarily lowland birds, some birds have been recorded as high as 1500 meters. I saw the Black-and-yellow Broadbill many times, the first time was in Kubah National Park. While we were walking up this steep hill, Julianna was playing some bird sounds. The first to respond was the Banded Broadbill, but even though it called several times, it never came out. The Black-and-yellow Broadbill wouldn’t come out at first either. After about ten minutes we moved on again, then, we heard its signature call, a bit like a cicada, slowly at first, then quickly rising in pitch and in speed. After calling back a few times, I saw a small bird fly to a branch, and there it was, a bird I had been fantasizing about since before we left. But because it almost always stays in the canopy, we had quite some difficulty trying to get a good look, straining our necks just so we could see this peculiar little bird. However, due to the fact that the bird was very high up, the pictures I took didn't turn out too well. Actually my best shot was taken in Batang Ai, at the Nanga Sumpa lodge. When I was strolling around the lodge, I saw a peach-looking thing on a protruding branch, and sure enough it was a Black-and-yellow Broadbill. I did some quick math, and calculated correctly that I could get a good shot on the bridge leading to the village. The bird stayed calm the whole time, so I got very good pictures.

My best Black-and-yellow Broadbill picture

The Black-and-red Broadbill is a very special bird, thus it is put in another genus. Even though it has a similar body shape as the other broadbills, the color stands out, and is unmistakable. The habitat is a bit different as well, as it prefers riparian forests, and is thus almost always found near streams and rivers. Because of its proximity to water, the Black-and-red Broadbill sometimes feeds on riverine species like fish, crabs etc. An interesting fact: the Broadbills are related to Asitys, which are found only in Madagascar! This bird is probably my favorite broadbill, mainly because of how intriguing it is. We were already searching for it on the first day in Kubah, but it didn’t even respond! The second day after our success in finding the Malaysian Plover, on our way back, we heard the Black-and-red Broadbill call, which is frankly, quite creepy and unusual. After calling numerous times, I heard it call very close, so I squatted down to get a better view. As if it by magic, a pair of them appeared in front of me. Even though there were some branches in the way, I still managed to get a decent enough shot. I think it was the build-up and not seeing it on the first day that made it so exciting and memorable. An interesting thing that I noticed about this bird is that it almost always shows up in pairs; everytime that I’ve seen it, it has been in pairs.

A pair of Black-and-red Broadbill

The Green Broadbill is in a different family than the previous Broadbills, and it does look very different. This kind of broadbill is very vibrantly-colored, possessing a brilliant green plumage. Instead of invertebrates, the Green Broadbill prefers fruits, especially figs. This Broadbill has adapted to consume large fruit, some even containing huge stone seeds! Seeing this bird was also very exciting, but sadly only I got a fleeting glance at it before it disappeared into the deep jungle again. It was 1:00 when we saw it, we had just started to head back when, suddenly, there was quite a hubbub, and a bunch of birds materialized out of nowhere: Malkohas, babblers, barbets, a Gray-headed Canary-Flycatcher, and of course the Green Broadbill. As I was looking for interesting birds in the big group, I saw a tiny shining green bird jumping, full of energy. Very excited, I shouted “ Green Broadbill” in the hope of gaining Dad’s attention, but I just didn’t know how to describe the precise location to him! After quite some frustration, he told me that me getting a good look was more important, so I got my last good look at it before it flew away, leaving me with quite mixed feelings; happy that I saw it but disappointed that Dad didn’t see it as well.