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1 10 Most wanted Thais birds
The Kingdom of Thailand covers a wide variety of natural
habitats across its country. One could enjoy birdwatching in every
single part of which hosts its own avian rarities. The editor of
Bird Conservation of Thailand bulletin has come up with an idea of
making a short compilation of the most sought-after species by
asking opinions fromanumberofwell-known,experiencedbird-watchers to
come up with their personal lists of species they have always been
longing to see. The results reveal ten of the most elusive birds
that top ranking birdwatchers have in common in their wishlist.
Most require the highest skilled knowledge and utmost preservence
in order to track them down just to have a glimpse.
An inhabitant of hill evergreen forests
start-ingfromapproximately1,800mabovesealevel.
There are only a handful of records in the past ten years. It is
said that only 5 or less people have photographed this elusive bird
in Thailand. Virtu-ally all records are from mountains in the
northern tip of Chiang Mai bordering Myanmar namely Doi Angkhang
and Doi Pha Hom Pok.
(Red-tailed Laughingthrush, Trochalopteron milnei)
Photo by Mr.Warawut Promsawat
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Arguably the largestkingfisher inThailand
with unmistakably loud and squeaky noises given
inflight.Despiteitswide-rangingdistributionfrom
northwesterntosouthwesternpartsofthecountry,
theCrestedKingfisherisgenerallyrarelyseen.Let
alone photographing. Its habitats are large streams of hill
slopes from 600 to 1,200m above sea
level. Popular sites for this species include Mae
WongNationalPark,Kampaengphet,andseveral
patchesofforestsinMaeHongSon.Surprisingly,
manybirdwatchershavehearditscalls,butfailed
to actually see it.
A regionally threatened waterbird which is
rarelyseeninthepast20yearsoutsideitsregular
sites, thisspecies is rathersecretiveas itsThai
nameimplies(Nok-kra-tair-pee-yaimeaningthe
greatghostlapwing).Mostbirdwatchersbasedin
Bangkok and lower central Thailand may have had this species
ticked in their life-lists from occasional dispersed non-breeding
individuals along the inner
gulf,whereastheironlyknownbreedingsitesare
located on sandbanks along Mae Kong River in the East. It is
largely crepuscular and nocturnal.
Despiteitslargesize,itcanbesurprisinglydifficult
tospotduetotheplaingrey-browncamouflage
colouration.
(Crested Kingfisher, Megaceryle lugubris)
Photo by Mr.Jaray Mekkaew
(Great Thick-knee, Esacus recurvirostris)
Photo by Mr.Watchara Sanguansombat
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(Chestnut-capped Thrush, Geokichla interpres)
Photo byMr.SantiLee
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One of the secretive specialties confined
to Southern lowland rainforests habitats which
haveseriouslybeenthreatenedbydeforestation,
mainlyowingtotheeverexpandingoilpalmand
rubber plantations. It has been found in Krung ChingWaterfall in
Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Ton
NgachangWaterfallinSongkhla,andKhaoPra-
Bang Khram Wildlife Sanctuary in Krabi. It is so
scarcethatthereisasayingWhereversomeone
findsthisbird,Iwillhavetobethereevenifmy
legisbroken.
Itisworthriskingyourlifetosee,saidan
experiencedbirdwatcherwhohadmadeattempts
to see this rare gem by hiking up a steep and
slip-peryhillofDoiPukhaNationalPark,Nan,whereit
is most frequently sighted in Thailand. Even when
onemakesitallthewayupthere,itcannoway
be guaranteed that this rare beauty would show up as its
population density is seemingly very little.
(Beautiful Nuthatch, Sitta formosa)
Photo byMr.WichyananLimparungpatthanakij
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(Large Frogmouth, Batrachostomus auritus)
Photo by Mr.Thiti Tanaree
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This bizarre nocturnal bird is said to be
heardonoccasionbythestaffofHala-BalaWildlife
Sanctuary and several birdwatchers who visited the place,but
isyet tobeactuallyseenbyanyone
despite itsenormoussize. Its first recordcame
fromNakhonSriThammarat,butitsoccurrence
nowadaysisonlyconfirmedfurthersouthinYala
andNarathiwat,whichtogetherwithPattanimake
up the most dangerous zone in Thailand.
(Crested Wood Partridge, Rollulus rouloul)
Photo by Dr.Kaset Sutasha
The Malay Peninsula is home to a variety of obscure and
spectacular members of Galliform
order.Unfortunately,mostofthemaredrivento
the verge of extinction and a few speciesmay
alreadybeextirpatedfromThailand.Amongthose
left to be rediscovered is the stunning Crested
WoodPartridge,auniquelysexualdimorphicand
socially monogamous species that used to thrive in broadleaved
evergreen forests from south Te-nasserim mountains downwards. Due
to hunting pressure,humandisturbanceanddeforestation,
It has become a highly sought-after species and has not been
recorded anywhere for many years.
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(Storms Stork, Ciconia stormi)
Photo by Mr.Jitti Wiseskarn
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Despite being a huge wading bird foraging
mainlyonaquaticvertebrates,thislargeenigmatic
stork inhabits lowland forests in Khao Sok National
Park,SuratThani.Itisclassifiedasgloballyendan-gered by IUCN. After
Sueb Nakhasathien found a
nestingpairon29September1986,thesurvival
of this species in Thailand had always been very
little-known.Untiloveradecadelater,picturesof
a pair were captured unintentionally by a camera
trapusedforFishingCatresearchin2004.This
particular incident generated a substantial unrest in
birdwatching society and triggered the aspiration in twitching
it.
Arguably one of the rarest resident birds in Thailand, this
compact-sized, predominantly
black-and-white woodpecker had only been recorded once in a
lowland deciduous forest of
Kampaengphetin1932theyearinwhichThai-landhaditsfirstconstitution.Thecurrentsituation
of this species is unknown. Given the fact that the particular
forest patch had largely been converted
intoagriculturallands,anoptimisticguessisthat
there may still be a few small populations surviving
indeciduousforestsinthevicinity.Nevertheless,
the area still faces further risk from a proposed
damconstructionproject,whichwouldwipeout
virtually all of its remaining habitats.
(Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, Dendrocopos mahrattensis)
Photo by Mrs.Wanna Tantanawat
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TheextraordinaryWhite-eyedRiverMartin
receiving number one position in this list may be somewhat
predictable to most readers. Since it is an especially little-known
species with instantly recognizable appearance, and also most
likely
endemictoUpperCentralPlainsofThailand,no
bird species in the country could rival that. Its
characteristicsincludebroad-basedyellowbill,long
centraltail-streamers,andwhiteiriseswithbroad
eye-rings. The latter component is what helped extablishing its
unofficial Thai name, Nok-Ta-
Pong,meaningabirdwithswolleneyes.Itwas
discovered among swallows and wagtails netted
bylocalpeoplewhileroostinginBungBoraphet,
Nakhon Sawan. This enormous lake and
surround-ingwetlandsnowmakeupanon-huntingarea,
whichistheonlyplacewithconfirmedsightings
ofthisspecies.Itwaslastseenin1971.Although
itmaybewidelyregardedasextinct,butif it is
ever rediscovered, itwouldbeoneof themost
gloriousnewsinbirdandconservationnetworks,
notonlylocally,butthroughouttheglobe.
(White-eyed River Martin, Pseudochelidon sirintarae) H.E.
McClure Photo by H.E. McClure
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