Highlights from Borneo: Sabah

Our Borneo birding tour took us from the misty montane forests of Kinabalu to the steamy lowlands of Danum Valley, delivering a rich variety of habitats and birdlife. 

At Trus Madi, we had a brilliant start with Crested Partridge and Bulwer’s Pheasants, while Kinabalu Park gave us stunning views of Whitehead’s Trogon and other endemic montane species, including the tiny but feisty Bornean Stubtail.

We continued east to Sepilok, where the canopy walkway offered close encounters with Rhinoceros Hornbill, Black Hornbill, and the musical Bornean Black Magpie. Boat trips along the Kinabatangan yielded Storm’s Stork, Wrinkled Hornbill, and excellent looks at White-crowned Hornbill.

Tabin provided great lowland birding, plus night drives with Buffy Fish-Owl, Barred Eagle-Owl, and a superb Leopard Cat. In Danum, we explored forest trails and canopy walkways, turning up Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Violet Cuckoos and a memorable sighting of Black-crowned Pitta.

The trip was a rewarding mix of iconic species, challenging conditions, and classic Bornean birding—from trogons to tailorbirds, mud to magpies, leeches to lifers.