Cambodia: Birding the Khmer Kingdom · 11th March – Ang Trapaeng Tmor We set off in the dark for Ang Trapaeng Tmor, a huge reservoir dug during the Khmer Rouge times. We drove towards

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Cambodia: Birding the Khmer Kingdom

Set Departure Tour 8th – 21st March, 2015 Laos extension: 21st – 25th March, 2015

Guided by Charley Hesse & Mony Sang Report by Charley Hesse. Photos by Keith Barnes & Charles Hesse.

The Giant Ibis, once more widespread across SE Asia now numbers as few as 230 mature indiviuals (Keith Barnes)

If any tour destination deserves the description, ‘last chance to see’ it would be Cambodia. On this tour we saw an incredible 17 threatened species of birds including 6 critically endangered ones. With a redesigned itinerary including several key locations not visited by other companies we recorded 356 species of birds and an impressive 25 species of mammal. Highlights included a trip to the amazing Angkor Wat; seeing both adjutants, Milky Stork and Spot-billed Pelican on a boat trip to Prek Toal, the endangered race of Sarus Crane plus Black-necked Stork and Eld’s Deer at Ang Trapaeng Tmor, the critically endangered Bengal Florican and rare Manchurian Reed Warbler at the florican grasslands, the critically endangered Giant and White-shouldered Ibis plus countless owls and woodpeckers at Tmat Boey; the endangered White-winged Duck plus 2 colourful broadbill species at Okoki, 3 critically endangered vulture species battling with Golden Jackal over a carcass at the Veal Krous vulture restaurant; the recently discovered Mekong Wagtail and critically endangered Irrawaddy River Dolpin during a boat ride on the Mekong River near Kratie, the endangered Green Peafowl and Red-vented Barbet at Seima; White-cheeked Laughingthrush and Black-headed Parrotbill at Dak Dam and the recently described endemic Cambodian Tailorbird near Pnom Penh. For the first time we offered an extension to the neighbouring country of Laos where


we saw the recently discovered Bare-faced Bulbul, rare Sooty Babbler and endangered endemic Lao Langur. It was truly an unforgettable trip and we were proud that our trip directly contributed to the important conservation efforts to save Cambodia’s wildlife. 9th March – Angkor Wat Today was our trip to visit the temples at Angkor, including the most famous one, Angkor Wat. The birding there is great too and it helped to get there early. Unfortunately 2 people had only arrived late last night but they were up with the rest of us, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to meet our driver and local guide who knew not only the temples but the birds too. We had to stop initially for our tickets at the gate and we also picked up a Lineated Barbet calling from up in a tree. We birded nice forest around Angkor Wat and we started picking many common birds, including Shikra, Germain's Swiftlet, Coppersmith Barbet, the similar Asian Brown & Taiga Flycatchers, Ashy & Brown-rumped Minivets, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo and Yellow-browed Warbler. We had a Black Baza fly overhead and we added our first mammal, the Variable Squirrel, the local form of which has a white ring around its tail. As we continued birding we found Black-naped Monarch, Streak-eared Bulbul, Hainan Blue-Flycatcher, the rather shy Forest Wagtail, Asian Barred Owlet and even had an Oriental Pratincole fly over. We were disappointed to have missed the Brown Boobook before light but the local guide managed to find us a roosting individual which posed nicely for photos.

Ta Prom is the wildest of the temples at Angkor (Charley Hesse)

We moved out of the forest and had our first views of Angkor Wat, but we still kept on picking up new birds even though we were now in temple mode. As we walked up to the complex we had a distant, soaring Asian Openbill, lots of Asian Palm-Swifts, with just a single Brown-backed Needletail mixed in. Some Long-tailed Macaques were being fed by the hordes of Korean tourists and they were looking a little overweight if truth be told. One last bird around the temple was a Blue Rock-Thrush perched up on one of the corners of the buildings. Angkor Wat is the largest religious building in the world and was very impressive but equally so were the extensive carvings on the inside. Some of which contained birds, including species like Green Peafowl which are no longer in the area. After a fascinating walk around Angkor Wat, we set off to the north to the other temples in the complex. We stopped at a little bridge where we saw a few waterbirds, like Little Cormorant, Oriental Darter, Little Egret and Black-capped Kingfisher but also a beautiful Green Lotus-frog. At the Southern gate of Bayon, we looked up inside to find many Black-bearded and Theobold’s Tomb Bats. Bayon is smaller but the carved faces were nevertheless very cool to see. After lunch we took a walk around Ta Prom, the most overgrown of the temples. The habitat we walked


around was great and it was nice without the crowds, but it was a bit hot to see too much. We did however see the interesting pale race of Ashy Drongo, an Indian Roller and a Black-naped Oriole. We entered the Ta Prom complex, one of the best places to see both Alexandrine & Red-breasted Parakeets, although we also saw a nice Many-striped Sun-Skink and plenty of butterflies, including Common Lime, Yellow Orange Tip, Blue Glassy Tiger and Grey & Peacock Pansies. We had time to freshen up back at the hotel before dinner and we even saw the attractive Banded Bulfrog in the garden fountain. 10th March – Prek Toal We left the hotel very early today and drove to where our boat was waiting. We boarded and chugged along a canal past a traditional floating village towards the huge Tonle Sap lake. It was very birdie on the way out and we saw Yellow & the uncommon Black Bittern, the very distinctive Black-backed Swamphen, a Greater Coucal perched up on some grass, Oriental Reed-Warbler and several Common Kingfishers. The main birding site was all the way on the other side of Tonle Sap so we had to cross over the open water where we saw Great, Indian & Little Cormorants and managed to pick out several Bank from the far more numerous Barn Swallows. As we approached the other side of the lake we started seeing many Whiskered & White-winged Terns, and here we changed to 2 smaller boats and entered the channel. We had hadn’t gone far before we saw both Lesser Adjutant and Greater Adjutants. Despite Greater being the rarer bird, they were far more numerous and we had incredible views and photo opportunities of these enormous birds. Spot-billed Pelicans were everywhere and with their slow wing beats, they were the perfect photographic subjects.

The endangered Greater Adjutant may number as few as 1,000 mature individuals (Charley Hesse).

The water birds were phenomenal and as the channel was quite narrow, they were all very close. We had Oriental Darter, Cinnamon Bittern, Gray, Purple & Striated Herons, Intermediate Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Black-headed Ibis, a brief view of Rufous Woodpecker and great views of Grey-headed Fish-Eagle. We stopped the engines at one spot and heard Ruddy-breasted Crakes calling nearby. Playing the tape, I managed to coax them to the edge and we all got good views. It was now getting rather hot and we sheltered from the sun on a rather


rickety bamboo platform. While the boatmen caught themselves some fish, we scanned the numerous flying Asian Openbill, Adjutant & Painted Storks for the rare Milky Stork. We sat there chatting and scanning for a long time and I almost decided to give up when I spotted one flying across, ahead of us. We had varying views but we were very lucky to have found this endangered and incredibly rare bird that many birders are missing this year. We started heading back and a few of us saw a Himalayan Cuckoo disappearing into a bush. We reached the mouth of the channel and boarded the larger boat back to Prek Toal village, where we had lunch on a floating restaurant. We got back on the boat and went back to the small port. On the way the local guide got very excited when 2 Glossy Ibis flew by, a rare bird in Cambodia if not the rest of the world. We got back to the small port and started our drive, spotting our first Malaysian Pied-Fantail on the way. By the time we had reached Pnom Kraom it was mid-afternoon and past the hottest part of the day. We walked along a track and immediately started seeing some open country birds like Black-shouldered Kite, Indian Roller, Yellow-vented & Streak-eared Bulbuls, Siberian Stonechat, Pied Bushchat and Oriental Pipit. We saw Oriental Pratincole, Red-rumped Swallow and also had a pair of distant Black-collared Starlings in flight. Perched on some of the bushes bordering the path we had scope views of the large Striated Grassbird, along with Plain Prinia, both Streaked & Baya Weavers and we heard a very skulking Lanceolated Warbler which I managed to call in. We reached a flooded field with beautiful pink lotus flowers. We scanned from here and found a couple of female Cotton Pygmy-Geese, several Black-winged Stilts, both Pheasant-tailed & Bronze-winged Jacanas, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, and even a small Dusky Warbler feeding just above the water. We heard White-browed Crake and Watercock but didn’t manage to coax them out. It had been a long but wonderful day and we decided to head back to Siem Riep to freshen up before dinner.

The Black-shouldered Kite, although common, is always a delight to see (Keith Barnes)

11th March – Ang Trapaeng Tmor We set off in the dark for Ang Trapaeng Tmor, a huge reservoir dug during the Khmer Rouge times. We drove towards the Thai border and turned off the main road onto a gravel track where we had a quick birding stop along


here and saw Oriental Pipit and Plain-backed Sparrow. We drove to the local ranger station to pick up our locals guides, then set off on dirt roads in search of the endangered race of Sarus Crane which is the main attraction here. We soon passed a small pond with around 20 Comb Ducks on it, then stopped to scan for Sarus Cranes. We had a few Initial cranes very far away and also some Greater Adjutants. The dry open plains were dotted with Purple Herons but were also good for raptors, and we saw Black-shouldered Kite, Short-toed Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle and Eastern Marsh-Harrier. There were plenty of Oriental Pratincoles flying around although we did get photos of some on the ground. Further exploration of the open areas produced Asian Openbill, much closer Sarus Cranes, Red-wattled Lapwing, Green & Blue-tailed Bee-eaters, Indian Roller, Indochinese Bushlark and Zitting Cisticola. The front car had Small Buttonquail on the track but by the time the rest of us had caught up, they were history. We did get the whole group on a flock of Oriental Plovers which were just to the right of our vehicles and which posed nicely for photos. We moved to a woodland area where there was a known day roost of a Spotted Wood-Owl, normally a bird we look for at Tmat Boey. On one last forest stop before lunch, we also added Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Racket-tailed & Rufous Treepies, Sooty-headed Bulbul and the often heard but rarely seen Asian Koel. On the way back, we passed by a regular site for Spotted Owlet which took us to 4 owls already, and all seen during the day! Next we moved to the edge of reservoir where we scanned the marshy and muddy areas for shorebirds and other water birds. Here we saw Red-throated Pipit, Lesser Whistling-Duck, an Osprey perched on a post, many Black-backed Swamphens and Pheasant-tailed & Bronze-winged Jacanas. We built up quite a shorebird list with Black-winged Stilt, Pacific Golden-, Kentish Plover & Little Ringed Plovers, Common, Marsh, Wood Sandpipers, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank, Ruff and Long-toed & Red-necked Stints. We had a nice lunch at the ranger station after which some of us wandered around outside and saw a few common birds, like Rufous-winged Buzzard, Olive-backed Sunbird, Coppersmith Barbet, Red Collared-Dove and Scaly-breasted Munia.


The Painted Stork’s bright pink feathers give the impression of flamingos from a distance (Charley Hesse)

After lunch we had one last chance to pick up a few more birds by the reservoir before heading back. There were more of the same shorebirds again although we did add several dozen Black-tailed Godwits. There were plenty of other water birds, with Painted Stork, Oriental Darter, Spot-billed Pelican, Cotton Pygmy-Goose, Indian Spot-billed Duck and after a lot of scanning, Garganey. One of the best sightings though was a family of 3 Black-necked Storks which were new for the trip. A couple of Pied Harriers came down to drink and we also had Common & Pied Kingfisher perching on posts. It was baking hot and some people retired to shelter in the car and missed the uncommon Freckle-breasted Woodpecker. We called it a day here and drove back to Siem Riep, but before going back to the hotel, we drove into a park in Siem Riep where there was a big bat roost with mainly Lyle's Flying Foxes with a few Large Flying Foxes as well. We spent a while trying to locate the rarer ones and also trying to get flight shots of the active individuals. It had been another full day. 12th March – Florican Grasslands to Tmat Boey We started the day searching for one of the rarest birds of the trip, the critically endangered Bengal Florican. We turned off the main road and wound our way down dusty tracks to the Florican Grasslands. On the drive in we passed a cute little Green Bee-eater and some Zitting Cisticolas. The local guys were waiting for us, indicating the spot and sure enough, seconds after getting out we were looking at a displaying male Bengal Florican through the scope. It gave a couple of athletic jumps up into the air and then strutted around with its neck puffed out. While we waiting, we had fly bys of Comb Duck, Eastern Marsh-Harrier, Painted Stork, Oriental Pratincole and Blue-tailed Bee-eater. We walked closer to the florican and looked over the flat grasslands from a raised pond. The displays became less frequent and we transferred our attention to other birds nearby, including Australasian Bushlark, Oriental Skylark, Red-rumped Swallow, Bluethroat and a pair of Red Avadavats. We were all happy with


our views of the floricans so started to walk back to the vehicles flushing a Small Buttonquail on the way. After breakfast we drove a short distance to an area of small bushes on the edge of a larger pond. As we approached the water, we flushed up Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank and Wood Sandpiper and also saw Striated Grassbird before the local guys managed to track down our target Manchurian Reed-Warbler.

Collared Falconet is one of the few raptors in the world that the word ‘cute’ best describes (Charley Hesse)

We had lunch on the way to Tmat Boey, and afterwards had a couple of birding stops. Our local guide got out and searched for Collared Falconet and in the meantime we scanned from the road and found Large Cuckooshrike, Black-hooded Oriole and Black-crested Bulbul. He radioed back telling us that he had located the bird and we walked up a track to join him for views of this tiniest of raptors. It even caught a cicada, perched and started to tear it apart in front of us. We carried on and soon arrived at the lodge, where we settled in before heading out in the afternoon. We drove to a point where we would walk to a trapaeng or pond, where Giant Ibis were supposed to feed. We set off and started picking up some nice woodland birds straight away, including Common Woodshrike, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Small Minivet, Gray-breasted Prinia, Purple Sunbird and Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. Further on we saw Orange-breasted Pigeon, Green Imperial-Pigeon, Red-billed Blue-Magpie, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Indochinese Bushlark and even an Indochinese Ground Squirrel. When we arrived at the pond, lots of birds flushed up including 4 Giant Ibis. They cirdled round and we watched them settle in some far trees. We followed them and got scope views of 2 individulas, before we realised that there was a juvenile in a tree much closer to us. After we had good views of this species, we had some real luck when a pair of White-shouldered Ibis flew over. To have seen both of our main targets the first afternoon meant that we could now spend the time on the many other interesting birds in this area. While watching the ibis we also saw Rufous-winged Buzzard, Blossom-headed & Red-breasted Parakeet and Black-collared Starling. On the walk back we saw Olive-backed Pipit, Green-billed Malkoha and Scarlet Minivet plus a couple of interesting reptiles. A


dwarf gecko species and a Speckled Forest Skink. After dark we went to a stake out for Oriental Scops-Owl. One bird was vocal but finding the thing took quite a while.

This tiny Oriental Scops-Owl was one of 9 species of owl seen on this tour (Keith Barnes)

13th March – Tmat Boey Even though we had already seen both ibises, on our only full day here we still had a lot of targets to search for. We set off again in the dark to get to a spot for the rare Pale-capped Pigeon just after dawn. This is one of the more difficult species in the family but they are well staked out at a drinking pool. As ever, we saw many other species on the walk in, including Violet Cuckoo, Greater Yellownape, Common & Greater Flameback and Golden-fronted Leafbird. As we waited for the pigeons to show, we scanned across a clearing and saw a Crested Serpent-Eagle perched up high and we also saw a White-throated Kingfisher in the scope. We heard the booming calls the Pale-capped Pigeons and soon 2 flew by but didn’t perch for us. In the end persistence paid off and our eagle-eyed guide got a perched bird in the scope for us. Another major target for many people on this tour was Great Slaty Woodpecker and we had a family of 3 birds in the scope on the way back. Our next location was a stake out for the pint-sized White-rumped Falcon, a species seldom seen outside Cambodia. We stopped at a point along the road and as we prepared to hike into the forest, Doug, one of the tour participents spotted a Barred Buttonquail running between 2 clumps of grass. We called everybody over and we managed to flush it up giving flight views. We didn’t have to walk far into the forest before we reached the spot for the White-rumped Falcon, and after playing the tape, a beautiful pair came in and showed very nicely. On the way back we were lucky enough to come across a mixed flock containing Indochinese & Large Cuckooshrikes, Ashy & Bronzed Drongos, Black-naped Monarch and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch. We also had great scope views of the very attractive Burmese Shrike. The last main target for the morning was a day roost for the Brown Wood-Owl. We drove to another area and hiked in


to a point where we were asked to wait while the local guides went in search of the birds. While we waited, we had a Red-billed Blue-Magpie flyby, followed by some other nice birds, including Green-billed Malkoha, Eurasian Hoopoe, a rather confusing juvenile Oriental Honey-buzzard, Oriental Pied-Hornbill, Blossom-headed Parakeet and a Shikra. A pair of Brown Wood-Owls were flushed by the local guides and flew along the line of trees in front of us whilst being mobbed by a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. We didn’t get to see them perched but they passed by again and finally flew right over head giving excellent flight views. By now it was late morning and very hot so we drove back to the lodge for lunch followed by a siesta.

The female White-rumped Falcon is arguably more attractive than the male (Keith Barnes)

At 3pm we drove out again for our afternoon birding, on which our main target was Brown Fish-Owl. On the way I spotted a Brown Prinia from the vehicle and we stopped to pish it out. We also stopped the vehicle again to get photos of Green Bee-eater which was perched quite close. One last stop before we arrived was to get nice scope views of Rufous Woodpecker which our local guide had heard. We reached the parking spot and continued on foot, and soon stopped by a trapaeng, or waterhole, where we saw a family of Black-necked Storks, a single Woolly-necked Stork perched up in tree and a Giant Ibis feeding on the ground. There birds are very shy so we kept a respectful distance and stayed out of sight inside the forest. We left the birds in peace and went on towards the owl roost. On the rest of the walk, we saw some other nice birds, including Crested Treeswift, Blue-winged Leafbird and Yellow-footed Pigeon. The Brown Fish-Owl was perfectly staked out and the local guides knew the tree and even the branch. We walked the 1km back to the vehicles and then birded the surrounding open area until dusk, for Purple Sunbird, Golden-headed Cisticola and Common Iora, plus fly bys of Black-collared Starling and Alexandrine Parakeet. We walked up to a band of bamboo forest in a dry gully and waited for the light to fall and owls to start calling. Keith spotted a Spotted Wood-Owl fly into a nearby tree and we had scope views. Our target though was the much smaller Collared Scops-Owl, which we soon heard. We walked towards the call, and all stood very still while we called it in. It flew in straight away and we spot-lighted it and everybody had a very brief but good view before it realized it had been duped and flew off. Another great day’s birding in Cambodia drew to a close. 14th March – Tmat Boey to Okoki


This was the last morning of birding at Tmat Boey and we decided to spend it in the riverine forest which held plenty of species we hadn’t seen yet. As luck would have it, one of the 4x4s flushed a Wild Boar on the way there. When we got out at the other end, most of us got on a Chinese Francolin that dropped out of a close tree and ran on the ground not too far away. From where we parked, there was a bit of a walk in during which we saw Rufescent Prinia, Rufous-winged Buzzard and Gray-capped Woodpecker. Most of the morning we spend by the lookout here and we saw a good variety of species. Seen on the river itself were Stork-billed & Black-capped Kingfishers, Striated Heron and even some Red Junglefowl which came down to drink. We had flyovers of Thick-billed Pigeon, Green Imperial-Pigeon, Vernal Hanging-Parrot, Oriental Pied-Hornbill. In the forest behind the viewpoint we saw a female Orange-breasted Trogon, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Great Iora, Black-naped Monarch, Radde's & Two-barred Warblers, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Hainan Blue-Flycatcher, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Ruby-cheeked & Van Hasselt's Sunbirds. In the scope we had views of Violet Cuckoo, Blue-bearded & Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters, Laced Woodpecker and Green-billed Malkoha. On the walk back to the vehicles, we saw Tickell's Blue-Flycatcher, a Garden Fence Lizard and lots of nice butterflies including Common Sailer and Peacock Pansy. It was a very preoductive morning.

We were very lucky to see the endangered White-winged Duck so easily (Charley Hesse)

After an early lunch, we set off for Okoki where we would be camping for 2 nights. On arrival, we got ourselves settled in in our spacious safari tents before going out for an afternoon walk. The main target at Okoki was the White-winged Duck, one of the rarest and most difficult duck species in the world. There were 2 blinds set up, one over a larger pond which had a much better chances of the duck. On our walk out to blind, we saw an Oriental Honey-buzzard and heard some Scaly-breasted Partridges although they wouldn’t come in to the tape. We were given a serious talk about what to do in the blind. No photographs of the ducks before they were settled and silence on the way in. The seats were low and not particularly comfortable but we all waited in silence and spent our time watching the White-breasted Waterhens, Greater Coucal, Red Junglefowl and Chinese Pond-Heron. After about 40 minutes, there was a big splash and moments later a White-winged Duck floated by and out of view around the corner of the pond. It reappeared a bit later and gave truly wonderful performance of feeing and preening. At one point, a Black Giant Squirrel spotted us as it was climbing above the blind and started giving an alarm call. The duck looked up and we all held our breath but the squirrel moved off and the duck relaxed. Keith


went to a different blind and saw Siberian Blue Robin, Indian Cuckoo and a pair of nest-building Black-and-red Broadbills, but it got rather quiet so luckily he came to our blind and saw the duck. We walked back all very chuffed with ourselves and as we relaxed with a beer at dusk, we heard the unmistakeable calls of Great Eared-Nightjar flying above the canopy. 15th March – Okoki It was great to have our main target under our belts so quickly and we could relax and enjoy the rest of our birding here. After breakfast, we took a bird walk for the morning and we did pretty well with several additions to our list, including a stunning Banded Kingfisher, Black-and-buff Woodpecker and Scaly-crowned Babbler. We also saw Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Red-breasted Parakeet, Black-naped Monarch, Puff-throated Bulbul, Asian Brown Flycatcher, White-rumped Shama, Laced Woodpecker, Ruby-cheeked & Olive-backed Sunbirds. Keith spent the morning in hide 1, and made us jealous with a troop of Indochinese Silvered Langurs and Siamese Fireback. After our walk, we went to hide 2 for a bit to see if we could see his broadbills from yesterday. They weren’t there, although we did come face to face with a pair of Giant Ibis which were so ridiculously close that even a chimpanzee could have got amazing photos. We sent the local guide running to get Keith at the other hide as there was no way he would want to miss such an opportunity.

This gorgeous Banded Kingfisher flew in right above our heads (Keith Barnes)

We had our first good looks at Stripe-throated Bulbul, and when our legs got sore, we stood outside and saw Gray-eyed Bulbul and White-bellied Erpornis. Walking back we stumbled across a family of Scaly-breasted Partridges although only half the group saw them. We also had great views of Pileated Gibbon and another Black Giant


Squirrel. The place was great for butterflies and during the morning we saw Grey Pansy, Common Earl, Common Imperial, Grey Count and Blue Glassy Tiger. Later on we took an afternoon walk, which was very quiet, although we did see the very popular Orange-breasted Trogon and Banded Broadbill, the first broadbill for several people in the group. We went to hide 2 again for a while and saw 2 Wild Boar and White-breasted Waterhen but still no Black-and-red Broadbill which were supposed to be nest-building. Before dusk we walked out to a clearing near the camp for views of Great Eared-Nightjar before dinner. Later on we went out owling and had great views of Blyth's Frogmouth and an Oriental Bay-Owl calling although we couldn’t get it to come in. 16th March – Okoki to Veal Krous For the very keen, we went out owling again before breakfast but our efforts were not rewarded and there was no Bay Owl calling. After breakfast we walked out to hides seeing Scaly-crowned Babbler on the way. As we had seen the most important birds, we decided to split up for more comfort. The hide 2 people were finally rewarded with great views of Black-and-red Broadbills nest building and a group of Indochinese Silvered Langurs. At hide 1, there was only Chinese Pond Heron and White-breasted Waterhen, although again we sent a runner and so nobody missed the broadbill. Keith stayed longer and had Giant Ibis again later. We took one last walk around the forest and saw Puff-throated, Black-crested & Gray-eyed Bulbuls, Puff-throated & Abbott’s Babblers, White-rumped Shama, Lesser Yellownape, White-crested Laughingthrush, Hainan Blue-Flycatcher and Pale-legged Leaf Warbler. Again we had lots of butterflies, with Grey Pansy, Common Earl, Common Imperial and Grey Count along with countless others. Back at the camp we finally saw Green-eared Barbet which seemed to be excavating a nest hole.

The impressive Crested Serpent-Eagle was a common sight on the tour. (Keith Barnes)

After lunch we set off for our next camping location called Veal Krous. The drive passed through plenty of dry deciduous woodland and we saw Crested Serpent-Eagle, Rufous-winged Buzzard, Eurasian Hoopoe and Black-headed Woodpecker from the car. We had a couple of birding stops, and one place was particularly active, with Burmese Shrike, Cinereous Tit, Burmese & Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Brown Prinia, Black-naped Monarch and Asian Brown Flycatcher. Just before arriving at Veal Krous, we found another pocket of activity with Indian Cuckoo,


the uncommon Yellow-crowned & Rufous-bellied Woodpeckers, Common Woodshrike, Small Minivet, White-browed Fantail and Golden-fronted Leafbird. After we arrived at the camp site, we settled in and relaxed for a while outside our tents and saw a Rufous Treepie nearby. We took an afternoon walk nearby and saw Crested Treeswift, Blossom-headed Parakeets, Large Cuckooshrike, Rufescent Prinia, White-throated Rock-Thrush, Black-collared Starling and a flock of Lesser Whistling-Ducks in flight. We got to a large pond where we had Stork-billed Kingfisher, Chestnut-tailed Starling, Bluethroat, Olive-backed Pipit and Red-wattled Lapwing plus a flock of Vinous-breasted Starlings which flew over. Looking into the distance we could see some Slender-billed Vultures and a Lesser Adjutant perched on a tree in the distance. If all went according to plan, we would be seeing a lot more vultures in the morning. At dusk we went out for night jars but only heard Large-tailed & Savanna Nightjar plus a distant Oriental Scops-Owl. Passing by the pond on the way back, we found that it was absolutely full of frogs of at least 4 different species. 17th March – Veal Krous to Kratie We walked out in the dark, hearing Large-tailed & Savanna Nightjars on the way. We had received very clear instructions again. No flashlights on the way in, no photos until the vultures had started to feed, and of course silence. We split into 3 groups and settled into the blinds. In the half light we already saw a pair of Chinese Francolins and a Red-wattled Lapwing running around the feeding area. It wasn’t long before we had our first vultures flying in, and there were soon dozens there and they wasted no time in tucking into the cow. We had a full compliment of Red-headed, White-rumped & Slender-billed Vultures with White-rumped being the most common. The light was still a bit low for photography but it got brighter and brighter. A Lesser Adjutant was loitering nearby, an Indochinese Bushlark running around on the ground, and some people were also lucky enough to see both Small & Barred Buttonquails. The best action that we had though was when a Golden Jackal showed up and started trying to chase the vultures off the kill. The vulture restaurant had most definitely lived up to all expectations. All 3 of the vulture species are critically endangered and on the brink of extinction. These birds are being monitored and nesting success and numbers are improving. We were very happy that our visit was supporting this important conservation effort. The photographers decided to stay a little longer while the rest of us started walking back to camp. On the way we saw Large Cuckooshrike, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Purple Sunbird, Red-rumped Swallow, Chestnut-tailed Starling, Shikra, Crested Treeswift, Eurasian Hoopoe and Blossom-headed Parakeet, while those that waited had their patience rewarded with the rare Indian Spotted Eagle, a White-rumped Falcon, Olive-backed Pipit and Baya Weaver.


Dramatic scenes of Red-headed Vultures at the feeding station (Keith Barnes)

We had breakfast, packed and started our drive towards Kratie on the banks of the might Mekong River. On the way, we had a few birding stops and saw Rufous-winged Buzzard, Large Hawk-Cuckoo, Green Bee-eater and Red-billed Blue-Magpie. It was a 3 hour drive during which we had to stop to change a flat tyre. We checked into our hotel in Kratie and enjoyed the glorious AC before heading out to check a couple of local birding sites. At the first, we found our target Asian Golden Weaver straight away and also saw a Small Pratincole in flight, Common Kingfisher, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Malaysian Pied-Fantail, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Bluethroat, Blue Rock-Thrush, Pied Bushchat, Oriental Pipit, Plain-backed Sparrow plus both White-rumped & Scaly-breasted Munias. At the second site we saw Indian Spot-billed Duck, Little Cormorant, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Black-shouldered Kite, Plaintive Cuckoo, Germain's Swiftlet, Striated Grassbird plus both Zitting & Golden-headed Cisticolas. The main target here though was Pallas's Grasshopper-Warbler, which was a particular nemesis for me. It didn’t show particulary well but we had tickable views and we returned to the town after a very productive afternoon birding session. 18th March – Kampi to Seima We had a surprisingly leisurely 6am start, and after breakfast drove the short distance to the village of Kampi, a little further north on the banks of the Mekong. From the parking lot we saw dozens of Germain's Swiftlets and Asian Palm-Swifts criss-crossing the sky as we walked down the steps to start our boat ride on the Mekong River in search of Mekong Wagtail. Hundreds of Little Cormorants and several Oriental Darters were flying along to their feeding sites and we also saw Pied Kingfisher, Gray-throated Martin and Indian Spot-billed Duck. Doug spotted a small bird on one of the small islands we passed and we stopped to check it out. It hopped up and we saw it was the recently discovered Mekong Wagtail. We saw several more birds including some striking males. We stopped at a larger island where we got out to take a look at the Small Pratincoles which were flying all around us. We also saw Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Yellow-vented Bulbul and lots of Dusky Warblers. On the way back we found the rare Irrawaddy Dolphin and we spent some quality time with these amazing creatures as we tried to get photos. We went back for lunch before checking out and setting off for our next site, Seima Protected Forest.


The recently described Mekong Wagtail (Keith Barnes) and critically endangered Irrawaddy River Dolphin (Charley Hesse)

It was a couple of hour’s drive to the park and when we arrived in the mid afternoon heat was just starting to drop. It was surprisingly active and at the first view point we had scope views of Golden-crested Myna, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Vernal Hanging Parrot and Red-breasted Parakeets flying over. We drove up the road and a couple of the vehicles were lucky enough to see a Besra on a roadside wire, before it took off. At another roadside spot, we had great views of Blue-eared Barbet, Thick-billed Pigeon and Black-crested Bulbul, before we set off up a trail to an upper clearing. This was a very productive spot and we got our main target, the Red-vented Barbet straight away. We also had several Scarlet Minivets, a White-throated Kingfisher, a Dollarbird in flight, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Black-winged Cuckooshrike, Ashy Drongo, Stripe-throated Bulbul and had a Collared Owlet calling which refused to come in. We also saw the tiny Cambonian Striped Squirrel. Back down at the view point on the main road, we saw Common Hill Myna and Great Hornbill while waiting for the endangered Green Peafowl to go


to roost. We actually saw a couple of birds flying down from a big tree, which seemed to be the opposite of what we were expecting, and they didn’t reappear. We set off back to our hotel an hour away in the town of Senmonorom and saw a tree full of Long-tailed Macaques on the way.

The stunning male Crimson Sunbird adds a splash of colour to the forest (Keith Barnes)

19th March – Dak Dam Today we had a full day at the Dak Dam highlands which holds several species usually only found in neighbouring Vietnam, just some 20km away. On the drive there we saw our first Black Eagle, a really spectacular and distinctive raptor and several Ashy Woodswallows on the roadside wires. When we arrived at the site we spent some time at a viewpoint which was very productive. Straight waya we saw some Oriental Pied-Hornbills flying across the valley and perching, then Scarlet Minivet, Black-winged Cuckooshrike, Burmese Shrike, Maroon Oriole, Red-whiskered, Black & Ashy Bulbuls, Chestnut-tailed Starling, Olive-backed Pipit and the rather common Indochinese Barbet. We also had flybys of of Barred Cuckoo-Dove, Thick-billed & Pin-tailed Pigeons, Mountain Imperial-Pigeon and Crested Goshawk. A nearby flowering tree was a magnet for birds and brought it Thick-billed Flowerpecker, the stunning Crimson Sunbird, Streaked Spiderhunter and Blue-winged Leafbird. We started walking down the hill by the side of the forest and along this stretch we saw Eastern Crowned Leaf Warbler, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, White-rumped Shama, Orange-breasted Pigeon, Fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Red-vented Barbet, Common Iora and White-throated Fantail although the best bird was the White-cheeked Laughingthrush and we had great views of a large flock as they crossed the track in front of us. At the end of the track we entered the forest and found a nice spot which great activity where we just stood for quite a while. A Red-headed Trogon and we managed to call them in although they weren’t particularly cooperative and not everybody was lucky enough to get on them. Other birds seen were Radde's & Plain-tailed Warblers, Black-browed Fulvetta, White-rumped Munia, Hainan Blue-Flycatcher, White-bellied Erpornis and Great Iora. The nicest surprise of the morning was when some Silver-breasted Broadbills appeared out of nowhere, very close to us and gave amazing views to the whole group. As we emerged from the forest we had a Crested


Serpent-Eagle soaring quite low overhead and we walked back up the trail and finished our morning’s birding. Our hotel wasn’t far, so we went back for lunch and went out again in the mid afternoon after a well-deserved rest.

The comical Silver-breasted Broadbill looks almost like a made up bird (Keith Barnes)

We went to a different site in the same area, and as we walked along another track, we saw a Mountain Hawk-Eagle soaring overhead. Birding was a little slow, but we did pick up Emerald Dove, Silver-backed Needletail, Black-headed, Ochraceous & Gray-eyed Bulbuls, Dark-necked Tailorbird, Vinous-breasted Starling, Little Spiderhunter plus Black Giant, Pallas's and Cambonian Striped Squirrels. Some of the forest had been very recently cut down here, and the rapid pace of habitat destruction here is a very sad reality. We decided to go back to the same place as in the morning and this time we added Oriental White-eye, Plain Flowerpecker, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, Bay Woodpecker an other fleeting glimpses of Red-headed Trogon. The main target of the afternoon though was the Black-headed Parrotbill, which wasn’t very cooperative, but everybody saw it, although there were a few people muttering ‘BVD’ - better view desired. We stayed until dusk when the sky was filled with Germain's Swiftlets, Pacific Swifts and even a couple of Asian House-Martin. On the drive back, one vehicle spotted a Large-tailed Nightjar on the edge of the road which they got some of the rest of us on too. 20th March – Seima This morning we drove to the Seima Protection Forest about an hour away from our hotel. A bit of a misnomer as we were later to see. We arrived at the supposed Green Peafowl roost site after day break but apparently they


stay in their roosting tree for a while. We scanned the trees with the scope and had a nice perched Black Baza, Golden-crested, Vinous-breasted & Common Hill Mynas. We had fly overs of Silver-backed Needletail, Dollarbird and Red-breasted Parakeet plus a pair of Racket-tailed Treepies in a nearby tree. The Green Peafowl called which helped us locate the general direction. It wasn’t by their suppoed roosting tree but rather the largest tree in the clearing. It was huge and leafy and scanning its branches carefully I saw a peafowl changing branches at the other side of the clearing. We move to a better view and we finally had good scope views of the male. There was a tense few minutes while everybody got on the bird, but then we could relax and enjoy our views of what would become the bird of the trip. After that we went to get a park ranger to accompany us into the park along a forest trail.

With stiff competition, Green Preafowl was voted bird of the trip. (Keith Barnes)

It was depressing walking in as what had recently been bamboo forest was now just smouldering ashes. At less than 1km from the ranger station, it was clear that this protection forest was protected in name only. Birds were still hopping round in the left over scraps of bamboo and here we saw both Pin-striped & Gray-faced Tit-Babblers, Thick-billed Warbler and Dark-necked Tailorbird. We entered the forest and started seeing a greater diversity of birds with Crested Goshawk, both Orange-breasted & Thick-billed Pigeons, Little & Purple-naped Spiderhunters, Great Iora, Black-naped Monarch, Stripe-throated Bulbul and Yellow-bellied Warbler. The forest was particularly good for woodpeckers and we saw Pale-headed, Laced & Black-and-buff Woodpeckers, Common & Greater Flamebacks. We had added many new birds to the trip list, but it was getting hot and it was time to head back. On the way, we heard a Germain's Peacock-Pheasant calling close to the trail but the bird was reluctant to come out and it was too thick to see in. We walked around the edge and found a way in, but by now it had given up responding and move back deeper into the forest. A final new bird was Large Woodshrike before we left the forest.


For lunch we went to a beautiful restaurant called Osaris set in beautiful gardens. A stream ran through and on a little island we saw dozens of bluebottle and tree yellow butterflies plus some stunning mayflies and other insects. After lunch we did some birding around the gardens and saw an amazing variety of birds, including Pin-tailed Pigeon, Indochinese Barbet, Red-whiskered, Gray-eyed, Ochraceous & Black Bulbuls, Arctic & Eastern Crowned Leaf Warblers, Black-browed Fulvetta, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Thick-billed, Plain, Scarlet-backed & Yellow-vented Flowerpeckers and Crimson Sunbird. It was shady and a wonderful places to relax during the hottest hours of the day. After it cooled down a bit, we drove to a nearby site, where our local guide had previously seen Blue Pitta. We approached quietly and at the spot stood in absolute silence as he played the tape, but there was no sign. The site was fantastic though and we had great scope views of Ashy-headed Green-Pigeon, as well as Large Cuckooshrike, Black-hooded Oriole, Striated Swallow, Golden-fronted Leafbird and Ashy Drongo, plus close up views of Vernal Hanging-Parrot feeding on fruits and posing wonderfully for photos. On the way back to the hotel, we saw another Black Eagle and one vehicle even had Hen Harrier.

Indochinese Barbet, common at Dak Dam, was split from Black-browed. (Keith Barnes)

21st March – Seima to Pnom Penh It was the final day of the Cambodia tour, and those going on the Laos extension had an evening flight to catch and we had a long drive to Pnom Penh, so we only had a little birding time this morning. We drove to the same spot as 2 days ago to see if we could pick up a couple of extra species. The clearing had plenty of birds around, and we saw Blue-eared Barbet, Lesser Yellownape, Black-naped Oriole, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Black-crested & Stripe-throated Bulbuls, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Common Hill Myna, Golden-fronted Leafbird and Streaked Spiderhunter. We also had fly overs of Thick-billed Pigeon, Silver-backed Needletail, Oriental Pied-Hornbill, Red-breasted Parakeet. We heard Scaly-breasted Partridge calling within the forest and we played the tape. The birds responded but refused to come in, meanwhile our local guide spotted a Northern Slender-tailed Treeshrew which a couple of people were lucky enough to see. He had also found us a group of Black-shanked Doucs nearby which were luckily still there and we narrowly avoided missing these strangest looking of primates. After the monkeys had taken off through the trees, we heard a Germain's Peacock-Pheasant calling nearby and we tried to call it in. It responded, one of the clients saw some movement through the gap and then it started calling on the other side. It had obviously sneaked across avoiding detection. Our time was up here, but of course we had one final bird on the tour, Cambodia’s newest species, the endemic Cambodian Tailorbird. It proved a good deal easier to see than some of the other birds we had been trying for, and flew straight in to the tape. It wasn’t the easiest bird to get


photos of. We made it to the airport in Pnom Penh just as check in for our flight opened. The rest of the group had late evening flights and we had arranged day use rooms to freshen up before their flights home. The main tour had been a tremendous success and we had seen almost all of our main target birds and some very cool mammals too. LAOS EXTENSION 22nd March – Vientiane to Ban Nahin Our Laos extension birding kicked off upstream of Vientiene. A brand new road had just been finished so it was pretty quick and smooth going, and just after dawn, we were exploring the riverside bushes and grass clumps in search of the rare Jerdon’s Bushchat. We saw a few shorebirds, with Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Common Greenshank and even Small Pratincole on the river. We saw our first White Wagtail (amazingly) and had many Oriental Pipits. Plaintive Cuckoo was calling and we saw one in flight as well as several Gray-throated Martins. The long grassy clumps were full of small birds like Yellow-bellied & Plain Prinias, Dusky Warbler and a few Siberian Stonechats perched up on top. We had single Common Kingfisher and Chestnut-headed Bee-eater but our best bird of the morning was our first Lesser Coucal, which flushed out and flew across the the river. Apart from one brown unidentified flying object, there were no obvious Jerdon’s Bushchat’s but at least we’d had some nice birding before our long drive. We went back to Vientiane for breakfast at the nice ‘Benoni Café’ which sounded strange for the South Africans on the trip as it is not such a nice area of Johannesburg.

Small Pratincoles are a common sight along the Mekong River (Keith Barnes)

We started our 5 hour drive to Ban Nahin which was fairly uneventful with just Asian Palm-Swift, Ashy Woodswallow, Large-billed Crow, a calling Gray-breasted Prinia, Red-rumped Swallow and Black-collared Starling. We stopped at a bridge over a large river where we picked up our target Wire-tailed Swallow which is not such a common bird in South East Asia. It was mid afternoon by the time we reached the limestone karst near Ban Nahin and still a bit hot, but we waited around and it slowly started to pick up. Our main target of the extension was the newly described and totally unique Bare-faced Bulbul, but we picked up Black-headed, Black-crested & Red-


whiskered Bulbul before Keith finally spotted a pair on a couple of limestone peaks. It was nice to get that straight away but our other target, the Sooty Babbler, was not as cooperative. We did see a few other nice birds, with Himalayan Swiftlet, Shikra, Taiga Flycatcher, Plain Flowerpecker and Crimson Sunbird plus the huge black and yellow Common Birdwing butterfly. We continued along the road to a stunning viewpoint over the limestone formations where we saw many more distant Bare-faced Bulbuls as well as a group of Rhesus Macaques. We met a group of French Entomologists and they turned out to be staying at our lodge too. We finished the day with some tasty Lao cuisine. 23rd March – Ban Nahin We started back at the view point over the spectacular karst scenery. Our target here was not actually a bird, but the very rare and little known Lao Langur. Birds and mammals are severely persecuted in Laos, but the steep cliffs and jagged rocks are such a good defence, they protect the langurs and other animals living in this habitat. We found some more Rhesus Macaques warming themselves in the early morning sun, then Keith spotted a distant Chinese Serow. What a find! We spent quite a while here and were about to give up on the langurs when Keith spotted these too. They were distant, but we had good scope views of them sitting out on top of rocks. We also had a pair of Bare-faced Bulbuls plus a few other common birds like Red-whiskered, Black-headed, Black-crested Bulbuls and Golden-fronted Leafbird. We went on to look for Sooty Babblers again but we had no more luck than yesterday. There were many Himalayan Swiftlets and the odd Silver-backed Needletail and Cook's Swift. We also had a nice male Crimson Sunbird and a Shikra.

How did the unique Bare-faced Bulbul, which sits ontop of limestone rocks next to a main road, avoid being described until

2009? (Keith Barnes) We would have to try again for the Sooty Babblers but we went from here further along the road in search of Limestone Leaf-Warbler. No luck with this either, but we had a colourful pair of Scarlet Minivets and a responsive,


if somewhat skulking Buff-chested Babbler. Afterwards, we also visited a cave briefly which had some very interesting formations inside. Back for lunch and out again in the afternoon to the evergreen forest which has a very different set of birds. Mid afternoon was still hot but surprisingly active. We parked the car and straightaway saw Taiga Flycatcher, Yellow-vented Flowerpecker and Speckled Piculet. We walked from here up a trail along a ridge where barbets were surprisingly common and we actually had views of Blue-eared, Green-eared & Moustached Barbets, the latter new for the trip. We saw a few other birds higher up but only found White-bellied Erpornis and Ashy Drongo. The Blue-naped Pitta I had calling 3 weeks previously was now silent. We drove down and tried one more time for the Sooty Babbler but missed it again, so me were down to our last chance tomorrow. 24th March – Ban Nahin to Vientiane Today was our last birding day of the tour and we decided to start the day in search of our most important remaining target, the Sooty Babbler. It had rained overnight for the first time on the tour and the sky was still overcast and light low. Hundreds of Himalayan Swiftlets flew high over our heads starting their day too. We spread out along the road, scanning the limestone cliffs above and boulder strewn forest covered in dense tangles. I had seen the babblers here on my recce and knew they must be around somewhere. A Shikra flew overhead and a pair of Black-crested Bulbuls chattered away in a tree. I heard some calls similar to those on the recordings and called everone over. Keith spotted the birds and we followed them as they made their way along the overgrown limestone cliff. The light was low and getting photographs of them proved tricky but eventually they hopped out into better light. Sooty Babbler went missing for over 70 years and was only rediscovered a mere 20 years ago. We were very stoked to have found them and drove back for a well-deserved breakfast, after which we set off for the evergreen forest spotting a flock of Garganey on the river and a couple of Siberian Stonechats perching on fence posts.

Sooty Babbler, another denizen of the limestone forest, went missing for 70 years until the mid 90s (Keith Barnes)


With the rain overnight, we were unable to drive up the clay road towards the forest but it was pretty birdie and we saw White-bellied Erpornis, Taiga Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Warbler and Pin-striped Tit-Babbler in the first clearing. We started to climb the ridge and we picked up quite a bit of stuff, including a female Gray Bushchat, the very attractive white-headed subspecies of Black Bulbul and a mixed flock with Grey-throated & Buff-breasted Babblers and White-tailed Flychatcher which zipped across the trail. We also had several Cook's Swifts flying low overhead. At the top, a Collared Owlet impersonation brought it many birds, with Black-throated Sunbird, Streaked Spiderhunter, Hume's Warbler, Hainan Blue-Flycatcher, Dark-necked Tailorbird and Puff-throated & Gray-eyed Bulbuls. An owlet responded in the distance but we were unable to get much closer or tempt it in. Our time was almost up so we turned round and started back down, spotting a Speckled Piculet and Oriental Honey-buzzard on the way. We got back and pack our bags, then enjoyed our last meal in the very charming riverside restaurant. It was a 5 hour drive back to Vientiane on which we even managed a new trip bird, the House Swift. At night we went out for our final dinner together and wound down after a truly amazing trip on which we recorded an impressive 357 species of birds, 24 species of mammal and many other interesting animals as well as enjoying some wonderful food, scenery and hospitality from the locals.

BIRD LIST Avian taxonomy follows Clements 6.9 (Updated Aug 2014) ANSERIFORMES: Anatidae Lesser Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna javanica Seen at Prek Toal, ATT & Veal Krous. Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos Seen at ATT & Florican Grasslands. White-winged Duck Cairina scutulata Endangered. Seen at Okoki. Cotton Pygmy-Goose Nettapus coromandelianus Seen at Pnom Krom & ATT. Indian Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha Seen at Pnom Krom, ATT, Florican Grasslands & Kratie. Garganey Anas querquedula Seen at ATT & Ban Nahin. GALLIFORMES: Phasianidae Chinese Francolin Francolinus pintadeanus Seen at Tmat Boey, Veal Krous & Dak Dam. Scaly-breasted Partridge Arborophila chloropus Seen at Okoki & heard at Seima. Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus Seen at Tmat Boey & Okoki. Heard at Dak Dam & Seima. Siamese Fireback Lophura diardi Only seen by one of the tour leaders at Okoki. Germain's Peacock-Pheasant Polyplectron germaini Near-threatened. Seen at Seima. Green Peafowl Pavo muticus Endangered. Seen at Seima. Voted bird of the trip. PODICIPEDIFORMES: Podicipedidae Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Seen at Prek Toal. CICONIIFORMES: Ciconiidae Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans Seen at Angkor Wat, Prek Toal, Pnom Krom & ATT. Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus Seen at Tmat Boey.


Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus Near-threatened. Seen at ATT & Tmat Boey. Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus Vulnerable. Seen at Prek Toal, ATT, Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Greater Adjutant Leptoptilos dubius Endangered. Seen at Prek Toal & ATT. Milky Stork Mycteria cinerea Endangered. Seen at Prek Toal. Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala Near-threatened. Seen at Prek Toal, ATT & Florican Grasslands. SULIFORMES: Phalacrocoracidae Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis Seen at Prek Toal. Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Seen at Prek Toal. Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger Seen at Angkor Wat, Prek Toal, ATT & Kratie. SULIFORMES: Anhingidae Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster Near-threatened. Seen at Angkor Wat, Prek Toal, ATT & Kratie. PELECANIFORMES: Pelecanidae Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis Near-threatened. Seen at Prek Toal & ATT. PELECANIFORMES: Ardeidae Yellow Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis Seen at Prek Toal. Cinnamon Bittern Ixobrychus cinnamomeus Seen at Prek Toal. Black Bittern Ixobrychus flavicollis Seen at Prek Toal. Gray Heron Ardea cinerea Seen at Prek Toal, ATT, Florican Grasslands & Veal Krous. Purple Heron Ardea purpurea Seen at Prek Toal & ATT. Great Egret Ardea alba Seen at Prek Toal, ATT & Florican Grasslands. Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia Seen at Prek Toal & ATT. Little Egret Egretta garzetta Seen at most sites near water. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Commonly seen at most sites. Chinese Pond-Heron Ardeola bacchus Seen at most sites near water. Striated Heron Butorides striata Seen at Prek Toal & Tmat Boey. Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax Seen at Prek Toal & Kratie. PELECANIFORMES: Threskiornithidae


Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus Seen at Prek Toal. Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus Near-threatened. Seen at Prek Toal. White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davisoni Critically Endangered. Seen at Tmat Boey. Giant Ibis Pseudibis gigantea Critically Endangered. Seen at Tmat Boey & Okoki. ACCIPITRIFORMES: Pandionidae Osprey Pandion haliaetus Seen at ATT. ACCIPITRIFORMES: Accipitridae Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus Seen at Pnom Kraom, ATT, Florican Grasslands & Kratie. Oriental Honey-buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki & Ban Nahin. Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes Seen at Angkor Wat & Seima. Red-headed Vulture Sarcogyps calvus Critically Endangered. Seen at Veal Krous. White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis Critically Endangered. Seen at Veal Krous. Slender-billed Vulture Gyps tenuirostris Critically Endangered. Seen at Veal Krous. Crested Serpent-Eagle Spilornis cheela Seen at Tmat Boey, on the way to Veal Krous, Dak Dam & near Senmonoram. Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus Seen at ATT. Mountain Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus nipalensis Seen at Dak Dam. Black Eagle Ictinaetus malaiensis Seen at Dak Dam & near Seima. Indian Spotted Eagle Clanga hastata Vulnerable. Seen at Veal Krous. Greater Spotted Eagle Clanga clanga Vulnerable. Seen at ATT. Rufous-winged Buzzard Butastur liventer Seen at ATT, Tmat Boey, on the way to Veal Krous & Kratie. Eastern Marsh-Harrier Circus spilonotus Seen at ATT & Florican Grasslands. Pied Harrier Circus melanoleucos Seen at ATT. Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus Seen on the way to Seima. Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus Seen at Dak Dam, Seima & Ban Nahin. Shikra Accipiter badius Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey, Veal Krous, Seima & Ban Nahin. Besra Accipiter virgatus Seen at Seima. Black Kite Milvus migrans Seen at ATT.


Gray-headed Fish-Eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus Near-threatened. Seen at Prek Toal. OTIDIFORMES: Otididae Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis Critically Endangered. Seen at Florican Grasslands. GRUIFORMES: Rallidae White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus Seen at Prek Toal, Okoki & Veal Krous. Heard at Tmat Boey. Ruddy-breasted Crake Porzana fusca Seen at Prek Toal. White-browed Crake Porzana cinerea Heard at Pnom Kraom. Watercock Gallicrex cinerea Heard at Pnom Kraom. Purple (Black-backed) Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio (indicus) Seen at Prek Toal & ATT. Eurasian Moorhen Gallinula chloropus Seen at Prek Toal. GRUIFORMES: Gruidae Sarus Crane Grus Antigone sharpei Vulnerable. Seen at ATT. CHARADRIIFORMES: Recurvirostridae Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus Seen at Pnom Kraom & ATT. CHARADRIIFORMES: Charadriidae Pacific Golden-Plover Pluvialis fulva Seen at ATT. Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus Seen at ATT, Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus Seen at ATT. Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius Seen at ATT, Kratie & Mekong river in Laos. Oriental Plover Charadrius veredus Seen at ATT. CHARADRIIFORMES: Jacanidae Pheasant-tailed Jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus Seen at Pnom Kraom & ATT. Bronze-winged Jacana Metopidius indicus Seen at Pnom Kraom & ATT. CHARADRIIFORMES: Scolopacidae Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Seen at ATT, Kratie & Mekong river in Laos. Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus Seen at ATT & Florican Grasslands. Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia Seen at ATT, Florican Grasslands, Mekong river in Laos. Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis


Seen at ATT. Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola Seen at ATT & Florican Grasslands. Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa Seen at ATT. Ruff Calidris pugnax Seen at ATT. Long-toed Stint Calidris subminuta Seen at ATT. Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis Seen at ATT. Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago Seen at ATT & Florican Grasslands. Pin-tailed Snipe Gallinago stenura Seen at Pnom Kraom. CHARADRIIFORMES: Turnicidae Small Buttonquail Turnix sylvaticus Seen at ATT, Florican Grasslands & Veal Krous. Barred Buttonquail Turnix suscitator Seen at Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. CHARADRIIFORMES: Glareolidae Oriental Pratincole Glareola maldivarum Seen at Angkor Wat, Pnom Kraom, ATT & Florican Grasslands. Small Pratincole Glareola lactea Seen at Kratie & Mekong river in Laos. CHARADRIIFORMES: Laridae Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida Seen at Prek Toal & ATT. White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus Seen at Prek Toal. COLUMBIFORMES: Columbidae Rock Pigeon Columba livia Introduced. Seen at Angkor Wat, ATT & Ban Nahin. Pale-capped Pigeon Columba punicea Vulnerable. Seen at Tmat Boey. Red Collared-Dove Streptopelia tranquebarica Seen at ATT, Veal Krous & Kratie. Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis Commonly seen at most sites. Barred Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia unchall Seen at Dak Dam. Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica Seen at Dak Dam & heard at Ban Nahin. Zebra Dove Geopelia striata Seen at Angkor Wat, Pnom Kraom, ATT, Tmat Boey, Veal Krous & Kratie. Orange-breasted Pigeon Treron bicinctus Seen at Tmat Boey, Dak Dam & Seima. Ashy-headed Green-Pigeon Treron phayrei Near-threatened. Seen near Senmonorom. Thick-billed Pigeon Treron curvirostra


Seen at Tmat Boey, Seima & Dak Dam. Yellow-footed Pigeon Treron phoenicopterus Seen at Tmat Boey. Pin-tailed Pigeon Treron apicauda Seen at Dak Dam & Oramis. Green Imperial-Pigeon Ducula aenea Seen at Tmat Boey & heard at Okoki. Mountain Imperial-Pigeon Ducula badia Seen at Dak Dam. CUCULIFORMES: Cuculidae Large Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides Seen at Veal Krous. Indian Cuckoo Cuculus micropterus Seen at Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Heard at Okoki & Ban Nahin. Himalayan Cuckoo Cuculus saturatus Seen at Prek Toal. Banded Bay Cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii Seen at Tmat Boey. Heard at Seima, Dak Dam & Ban Nahin. Plaintive Cuckoo Cacomantis merulinus Seen at Kratie & Mekong river in Laos. Heard at Dak Dam. Violet Cuckoo Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus Seen at Tmat Boey. Fork-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo Surniculus dicruroides Seen at Dak Dam. Heard at Okoki & Ban Nahin. Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus Seen at ATT, Tmat Boey, Okoki & Dak Dam. Green-billed Malkoha Phaenicophaeus tristis Seen at Tmat Boey, Seima & Okoki & on the way to Kratie. Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis Seen or heard at most sites. Lesser Coucal Centropus bengalensis Seen at Prek Toal & Mekong river in Laos. STRIGIFORMES: Tytonidae Oriental Bay-Owl Phodilus badius Heard at Okoki. STRIGIFORMES: Strigidae Collared Scops-Owl Otus lettia Seen at Tmat Boey. Oriental Scops-Owl Otus sunia Seen at Tmat Boey & heard at Veal Krous. Brown Fish-Owl Ketupa zeylonensis Seen at Tmat Boey. Collared Owlet Glaucidium brodiei Heard at Seima & Ban Nahin. Asian Barred Owlet Glaucidium cuculoides Seen at Angkor Wat & Okoki. Heard at Tmat Boey & Ban Nahin. Spotted Owlet Athene brama Seen at ATT. Spotted Wood-Owl Strix seloputo Seen at ATT & Tmat Boey.


Brown Wood-Owl Strix leptogrammica Seen at Tmat Boey. Brown Boobook Ninox scutulata Seen at Angkor Wat. Heard at Tmat Boey & Okoki. CAPRIMULGIFORMES: Podargidae Blyth's Frogmouth Batrachostomus affinis Seen at Okoki. CAPRIMULGIFORMES: Caprimulgidae Great Eared-Nightjar Lyncornis macrotis Seen at Okoki. Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus Seen at Dak Dam & heard at Veal Krous. Savanna Nightjar Caprimulgus affinis Heard at Veal Krous. APODIFORMES: Apodidae Silver-backed Needletail Hirundapus cochinchinensis Seen at Dak Dam, Seima & Ban Nahin. Brown-backed Needletail Hirundapus giganteus Seen at Angkor Wat. Himalayan Swiftlet Aerodramus brevirostris Seen at Ban Nahin. Germain's Swiftlet Aerodramus germani Seen at Angkor Wat, Kratie & Dak Dam. House Swift Apus affinis Seen on the way to Vientiane. Pacific Swift Apus pacificus Seen at Dak Dam. Cook's Swift Apus cooki Seen at Ban Nahin. Asian Palm-Swift Cypsiurus balasiensis Commonly seen at most sites. APODIFORMES: Hemiprocnidae Crested Treeswift Hemiprocne coronata Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki, Veal Krous & Seima. TROGONIFORMES: Trogonidae Red-headed Trogon Harpactes erythrocephalus Seen at Dak Dam. Orange-breasted Trogon Harpactes oreskios Seen at Tmat Boey & Okoki. CORACIIFORMES: Alcedinidae Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis Seen at Prek Toal, ATT, Kratie & Mekong river in Laos. Banded Kingfisher Lacedo pulchella Seen at Okoki and heard at near Senmonorom. Stork-billed Kingfisher Pelargopsis capensis Seen at Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis Seen at Tmat Boey, Seima & Dak Dam.


Black-capped Kingfisher Halcyon pileata Seen at Angkor Wat, Prek Toal & Tmat Boey. Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis Seen at ATT & Kratie. CORACIIFORMES: Meropidae Blue-bearded Bee-eater Nyctyornis athertoni Seen at Tmat Boey. Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis Seen at ATT, Florican Grasslands, Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus Seen at Prek Toal, Pnom Kraom, ATT, Florican Grasslands, Okoki & Kratie. Chestnut-headed Bee-eater Merops leschenaulti Seen at Tmat Boey, Dak Dam & on the Mekong river in Laos. CORACIIFORMES: Coraciidae Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis Seen at Angkor Wat, Pnom Kraom, ATT, Tmat Boey & on the way to Veal Krous. Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis Seen at Seima. CORACIIFORMES: Upupidae Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops Seen at Tmat Boey, Veal Krous & Dak Dam. CORACIIFORMES: Bucerotidae Oriental Pied-Hornbill Anthracoceros albirostris Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki, Seima & Dak Dam. Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis Near-threatened. Seen at Seima. PICIFORMES: Megalaimidae Coppersmith Barbet Psilopogon haemacephalus Seen at Angkor Wat, ATT & Tmat Boey. Heard at Okoki, Dak Dam & Ban Nahin. Blue-eared Barbet Psilopogon duvaucelii Seen at Tmat Boey, Dak Dam, Seima & Ban Nahin. Heard at Okoki. Red-vented Barbet Psilopogon lagrandieri Seen at Seima & Dak Dam. Heard at Oramis. Green-eared Barbet Psilopogon faiostrictus Seen at Okoki & Ban Nahin. Lineated Barbet Psilopogon lineatus Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey & Okoki. Moustached Barbet Psilopogon incognitus Seen at Ban Nahin. Indochinese Barbet Psilopogon annamensis Seen at Dak Dam & Oramis. PICIFORMES: Picidae Speckled Piculet Picumnus innominatus Seen at Ban Nahin. Gray-capped Woodpecker Dendrocopos canicapillus Seen at Tmat Boey, Veal Krous & Dak Dam. Freckle-breasted Woodpecker Dendrocopos analis Seen at ATT.


Yellow-crowned Woodpecker Dendrocopos mahrattensis Seen at Veal Krous. Rufous-bellied Woodpecker Dendrocopos hyperythrus Seen at Veal Krous. White-bellied Woodpecker Dryocopus javensis Seen at Tmat Boey. Lesser Yellownape Picus chlorolophus Seen at Okoki & Seima. Greater Yellownape Picus flavinucha Seen at Tmat Boey & heard at Dak Dam. Laced Woodpecker Picus vittatus Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki & Seima. Black-headed Woodpecker Picus erythropygius Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki & on the way to Veal Krous. Common Flameback Dinopium javanense Seen at Tmat Boey & Seima. Heard at Dak Dam. Pale-headed Woodpecker Gecinulus grantia Seen at Seima. Rufous Woodpecker Micropternus brachyurus Seen at Prek Toal & Tmat Boey. Black-and-buff Woodpecker Meiglyptes jugularis Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki & Seima. Greater Flameback Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus Seen at Tmat Boey & Seima. Bay Woodpecker Blythipicus pyrrhotis Seen at Dak Dam. Heart-spotted Woodpecker Hemicircus canente Seen at Seima. Great Slaty Woodpecker Mulleripicus pulverulentus Vulnerable. Seen at Tmat Boey. FALCONIFORMES: Falconidae White-rumped Falcon Polihierax insignis Near-threatened. Seen at Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Collared Falconet Microhierax caerulescens Seen at on the way to Tmat Boey & Seima. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus Seen at Florican Grasslands. PSITTACIFORMES: Psittaculidae Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria Near-threatened. Seen at Angkor Wat & Tmat Boey. Blossom-headed Parakeet Psittacula roseata Near-threatened. Seen at Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Red-breasted Parakeet Psittacula alexandri Near-threatened. Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey, Okoki, Veal Krous, Seima & Dak Dam. Vernal Hanging-Parrot Loriculus vernalis Seen at Tmat Boey, Dak Dam, Seima & near Senmonorom. Heard at Okoki. PASSERIFORMES: Eurylaimidae Black-and-red Broadbill Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos Seen at Okoki. Silver-breasted Broadbill Serilophus lunatus Seen at Dak Dam. Banded Broadbill Eurylaimus javanicus


Seen at Okoki. PASSERIFORMES: Vangidae Large Woodshrike Tephrodornis gularis Seen at Seima. Common Woodshrike Tephrodornis pondicerianus Seen at Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike Hemipus picatus Seen at Tmat Boey & Oramis. PASSERIFORMES: Artamidae Ashy Woodswallow Artamus fuscus Seen at Dak Dam, on the way to Seima & near Senmonorom. PASSERIFORMES: Aegithinidae Common Iora Aegithina tiphia Seen at Tmat Boey & Dak Dam. Great Iora Aegithina lafresnayei Seen at Tmat Boey, Dak Dam & Seima. PASSERIFORMES: Campephagidae Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus Seen at Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Scarlet Minivet Pericrocotus speciosus Seen at Tmat Boey, Seima, Dak Dam, Oramis & Ban Nahin. Ashy Minivet Pericrocotus divaricatus Seen at Angkor Wat & on the way to Veal Krous. Brown-rumped Minivet Pericrocotus cantonensis Seen at Angkor Wat. Large Cuckooshrike Coracina macei Seen at Tmat Boey, Veal Krous & on the way to Seima. Black-winged Cuckooshrike Lalage melaschistos Seen at Seima, Dak Dam. Indochinese Cuckooshrike Lalage polioptera Seen at Tmat Boey. PASSERIFORMES: Laniidae Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus Seen at Prek Toal, ATT, Florican Grasslands, Veal Krous, Seima & Ban Nahin. Burmese Shrike Lanius collurioides Seen at Tmat Boey, on the way to Veal Krous, Dak Dam & on the way to Seima. PASSERIFORMES: Vireonidae White-bellied Erpornis Erpornis zantholeuca Seen at Okoki, Dak Dam & Ban Nahin. PASSERIFORMES: Oriolidae Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey & Seima. Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus Seen at on the way to Tmat Boey & on the way to Seima. Heard at Okoki. Maroon Oriole Oriolus traillii Seen at Dak Dam.


PASSERIFORMES: Dicruridae Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus Seen at Pnom Kraom, ATT, Florican Grasslands, Veal Krous, Kratie & by the Mekong river in Laos. Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey, Seima, Dak Dam & Ban Nahin. Bronzed Drongo Dicrurus aeneus Seen at Tmat Boey & Dak Dam. Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus remifer Seen at Dak Dam. Hair-crested Drongo Dicrurus hottentottus Seen at Tmat Boey & on the way to Veal Krous. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey, Okoki & Seima. PASSERIFORMES: Rhipiduridae Malaysian Pied-Fantail Rhipidura javanica Seen at Prek Toal & Kratie. White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis Seen at Dak Dam. White-browed Fantail Rhipidura aureola Seen at Veal Krous. PASSERIFORMES: Monarchidae Black-naped Monarch Hypothymis azurea Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey, Okoki & Seima. Heard at Ban Nahin. Asian Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi Heard at Okoki. PASSERIFORMES: Corvidae Red-billed Blue-Magpie Urocissa erythrorhyncha Seen at Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda Seen at ATT & Veal Krous. Racket-tailed Treepie Crypsirina temia Seen at ATT, Tmat Boey & Seima. Large-billed (Southern Jungle) Crow Corvus m. macrorhynchos Seen at Prek Toal, Tmat Boey, Veal Krous & Ban Nahin. PASSERIFORMES: Alaudidae Australasian Bushlark Mirafra javanica Seen at Florican Grasslands. Indochinese Bushlark Mirafra erythrocephala Seen at ATT, Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula Seen at Florican Grasslands. PASSERIFORMES: Hirundinidae Gray-throated Martin Riparia chinensis Seen at Kratie & by the Mekong river in Laos. Bank Swallow Riparia riparia Seen at Prek Toal. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Commonly seen throughout.


Wire-tailed Swallow Hirundo smithii Seen at Pakkading. Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica Seen at Pnom Kraom, Florican Grasslands, Veal Krous & Ban Nahin. Striated Swallow Cecropis striolata Seen at on the way to Seima. Asian House-Martin Delichon dasypus Seen at Dak Dam. PASSERIFORMES: Paridae Cinereous Tit Parus cinereus Seen at on the way to Veal Krous. PASSERIFORMES: Sittidae Burmese Nuthatch Sitta neglecta Seen at on the way to Veal Krous. Velvet-fronted Nuthatch Sitta frontalis Seen at Tmat Boey & on the way to Veal Krous. PASSERIFORMES: Pycnonotidae Black-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus atriceps Seen at Tmat Boey, Dak Dam, Seima & Ban Nahin. Black-crested Bulbul Pycnonotus flaviventris Commonly seen throughout. Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus Seen at Dak Dam, Oramis & Ban Nahin. Sooty-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus aurigaster Seen at ATT, Tmat Boey, Veal Krous, Dak Dam & Seima. Stripe-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus finlaysoni Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki & Seima. Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier Seen at Pnom Kraom, ATT & Kratie. Streak-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus blanfordi Seen at Angkor Wat, Pnom Kraom, ATT, Tmat Boey & Seima. Bare-faced Bulbul Pycnonotus hualon Endemic to Laos. Seen at Ban Nahin. Puff-throated Bulbul Alophoixus pallidus Seen at Okoki & Ban Nahin. Ochraceous Bulbul Alophoixus ochraceus Seen at Dak Dam, Seima & Oramis. Gray-eyed Bulbul Iole propinqua Seen at Okoki, Dak Dam, Oramis & Ban Nahin. Black Bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus Seen at Dak Dam, Seima, Oramis & Ban Nahin. Ashy Bulbul Hemixos flavala Seen at Dak Dam. PASSERIFORMES: Cettiidae Yellow-bellied Warbler Abroscopus superciliaris Seen at Seima & Ban Nahin. PASSERIFORMES: Phylloscopidae Dusky Warbler Phylloscopus fuscatus Seen at Pnom Kraom, ATT, Kratie & by the Mekong river in Laos.


Radde's Warbler Phylloscopus schwarzi Seen at Dak Dam. Heard at Seima & Ban Nahin. Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey & Dak Dam. Heard at Seima & Ban Nahin. Hume's Warbler Phylloscopus humei Seen at Ban Nahin. Arctic Warbler Phylloscopus borealis Seen at Oramis. Two-barred Warbler Phylloscopus plumbeitarsus Seen at Tmat Boey & Dak Dam. Heard at Okoki & Seima. Pale-legged Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus tenellipes Seen at Okoki & Tmat Boey. Heard at Angkor Wat & Dak Dam. Eastern Crowned Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus Seen at Dak Dam & Oramis. Kloss's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus ogilviegranti Heard at Dak Dam. Plain-tailed Warbler Seicercus soror Seen at Dak Dam. PASSERIFORMES: Acrocephalidae Thick-billed Warbler Iduna aedon Seen at Seima. Black-browed Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps Seen at Prek Toal & Pnom Kraom. Manchurian Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus tangorum Vulnerable. Seen at Florican Grasslands. Oriental Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus orientalis Seen at Prek Toal. PASSERIFORMES: Locustellidae Striated Grassbird Megalurus palustris Seen at Pnom Kraom, Florican Grasslands & Kratie. Pallas's Grasshopper-Warbler Locustella certhiola Seen very briefly at Kratie. Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata Seen at Pnom Kraom. PASSERIFORMES: Cisticolidae Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis Seen at ATT, Florican Grasslands & Kratie. Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis Seen at Tmat Boey & Kratie. Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius Seen at Siem Riep & heard in Kratie. Dark-necked Tailorbird Orthotomus atrogularis Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki, Dak Dam, Seima & Ban Nahin. Cambodian Tailorbird Orthotomus chaktomuk Endemic to Cambodia. Seen near Pnom Penh. Brown Prinia Prinia polychroa Seen at Tmat Boey & on the way to Veal Krous. Rufescent Prinia Prinia rufescens Seen at Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Gray-breasted Prinia Prinia hodgsonii


Seen at Tmat Boey & by the Mekong River in Laos. Yellow-bellied Prinia Prinia flaviventris Seen at Kratie & by the Mekong River in Laos. Heard at Prek Toal. Plain Prinia Prinia inornata Seen at Pnom Kraom, Tmat Boey, Veal Krous & by the Mekong river in Laos. Heard at Kratie. PASSERIFORMES: Paradoxornithidae Black-headed Parrotbill Psittiparus margaritae Near-threatened. Seen at Dak Dam. PASSERIFORMES: Zosteropidae Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus Seen at Dak Dam. PASSERIFORMES: Timaliidae Pin-striped Tit-Babbler Mixornis gularis Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki, Dak Dam, Seima & Ban Nahin. Heard at Prek Toal. Gray-faced Tit-Babbler Mixornis kelleyi Seen at Seima. Buff-chested Babbler Cyanoderma ambiguum Seen at Ban Nahin. White-browed Scimitar-Babbler Pomatorhinus schisticeps Heard at Seima. Grey-throated Babbler Stachyris nigriceps Seen at Ban Nahin. Sooty Babbler Stachyris herberti Seen at Ban Nahin. PASSERIFORMES: Pellorneidae Scaly-crowned Babbler Malacopteron cinereum Seen at Okoki. Puff-throated Babbler Pellorneum ruficeps Seen at Okoki. Buff-breasted Babbler Pellorneum tickelli Seen at Ban Nahin. Abbott's Babbler Turdinus abbotti Seen at Okoki. PASSERIFORMES: Leiothrichidae Black-browed Fulvetta Alcippe grotei Seen at Dak Dam & Oramis. White-crested Laughingthrush Garrulax leucolophus Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki & heard at Seima. Black-throated Laughingthrush Ianthocincla chinensis Heard at Dak Dam. White-cheeked Laughingthrush Ianthocincla vassali Seen at Dak Dam. PASSERIFORMES: Irenidae Asian Fairy-bluebird Irena puella Seen at Dak Dam, Oramis. Heard at Ban Nahin.


PASSERIFORMES: Muscicapidae Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa latirostris Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey, Okoki, Oramis & Seima. Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis Seen at Prek Toal, ATT, Seima & Oramis. Heard at Tmat Boey. White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki & Dak Dam. Heard at Ban Nahin. White-tailed Flychatcher Cyornis concretus Seen at Ban Nahin. Hainan Blue-Flycatcher Cyornis hainanus Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey, Okoki, Dak Dam & Ban Nahin. Tickell's Blue-Flycatcher Cyornis tickelliae Seen at Tmat Boey. Siberian Blue Robin Larvivora cyane Seen at Okoki. Bluethroat Luscinia svecica Seen at Florican Grasslands, Veal Krous & Kratie. Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla Commonly seen throughout. White-throated Rock-Thrush Monticola gularis Seen at Veal Krous. Blue Rock-Thrush Monticola solitarius Seen at Angkor Wat & Kratie. Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maurus Commonly seen throughout. Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata Seen at Pnom Kraom, Florican Grasslands, Tmat Boey, on the way to Veal Krous & Kratie. Gray Bushchat Saxicola ferreus Seen at Ban Nahin. PASSERIFORMES: Turdidae Green Cochoa Cochoa viridis Heard at Seima. PASSERIFORMES: Sturnidae Golden-crested Myna Ampeliceps coronatus Seen at Seima. Common Hill Myna Gracula religiosa Seen at Seima & heard at Angkor Wat. Great Myna Acridotheres grandis Commonly seen throughout. Common Myna Acridotheres tristis Commonly seen throughout. Vinous-breasted Starling Acridotheres burmannicus Seen at Veal Krous, Dak Dam & Seima. Black-collared Starling Gracupica nigricollis Seen at Pnom Kraom, Tmat Boey, Veal Krous & on the way to Ban Nahin. Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnia malabarica Seen at Veal Krous, Seima & Dak Dam. PASSERIFORMES: Chloropseidae Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis cochinchinensis Seen at Tmat Boey & Dak Dam.


Golden-fronted Leafbird Chloropsis aurifrons Seen at Tmat Boey, Veal Krous, Seima & Ban Nahin. PASSERIFORMES: Dicaeidae Thick-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum agile Seen at Dak Dam & Oramis. Yellow-vented Flowerpecker Dicaeum chrysorrheum Seen at Seima & Ban Nahin. Plain Flowerpecker Dicaeum minullum Seen at Dak Dam, Seima & Ban Nahin. Fire-breasted Flowerpecker Dicaeum ignipectus Seen at Dak Dam. Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Dicaeum cruentatum Seen at ATT & Oramis. PASSERIFORMES: Nectariniidae Ruby-cheeked Sunbird Chalcoparia singalensis Seen at Tmat Boey & Okoki. Van Hasselt's Sunbird Leptocoma brasiliana Seen at Tmat Boey. Purple Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus Seen at Tmat Boey & Veal Krous. Olive-backed Sunbird Cinnyris jugularis Seen at Angkor Wat, Prek Toal, ATT, Tmat Boey & Okoki. Black-throated Sunbird Aethopyga saturata Seen at Ban Nahin. Crimson Sunbird Aethopyga siparaja Seen at Dak Dam, Oramis, Ban Nahin. Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra Seen at Dak Dam & Seima. Heard at Ban Nahin. Purple-naped Spiderhunter Arachnothera hypogrammicum Seen at Seima. Streaked Spiderhunter Arachnothera magna Seen at Dak Dam, Seima & Ban Nahin. PASSERIFORMES: Motacillidae Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis Seen at Pnom Kraom. Gray Wagtail Motacilla cinerea Seen at Oramis. White Wagtail Motacilla alba Seen by the Mekong river in Laos. Mekong Wagtail Motacilla samveasnae Near-threatened. Seen at Kratie. Oriental Pipit Anthus rufulus Seen at Pnom Kraom, ATT, Florican Grasslands, Kratie & by the Mekong river in Laos. Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni Seen at Tmat Boey, Veal Krous & Dak Dam. Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus Seen at ATT. Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus Seen at Angkor Wat. PASSERIFORMES: Passeridae


House Sparrow Passer domesticus Seen at Kratie. Plain-backed Sparrow Passer flaveolus Seen at ATT, Tmat Boey & Kratie. Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus Commonly seen throughout. PASSERIFORMES: Ploceidae Streaked Weaver Ploceus manyar Seen at Pnom Kraom. Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus Seen at Pnom Kraom & Veal Krous. Asian Golden Weaver Ploceus hypoxanthus Near-threatened. Seen at Kratie. PASSERIFORMES: Estrildidae Red Avadavat Amandava amandava Seen at Florican Grasslands. White-rumped Munia Lonchura striata Seen at Kratie & Dak Dam. Heard at Tmat Boey. Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata Seen at ATT & Kratie.

MAMMAL LIST Mammal taxonomy follows ‘Mammals of Thailand and South-East Asia’ by Charles M. Francis (2008). TREE SHREWS: Tupaiidae Northern Slender-tailed Treeshrew Dendrogale murina Seen at Seima. FRUIT BATS: Pteropodidae Lyle's Flying Fox Pteropus lylei Vulnerable. Seen at Siem Riep. Large Flying Fox Pteropus vampyrus Near-threatened. Seen at Siem Riep. TOMB BATS: Emballonuridae Black-bearded Tomb Bat Taphozous melanopogon Seen at Angkor Wat. Theobald's Tomb Bat Taphozous theobaldi Careful inspection of photos confirmed the presence of this species together with the previous one at Angkor Wat. OLD WORLD MONKEYS: Cercopicethidae Indochinese Silvered Langur Trachypithecus germaini Endangered. Seen at Okoki. Lao Langur Trachypithecus laotum Endemic to Laos Vulnerable. Seen at Ban Nahin. Black-shanked Douc Pygathrix nigripes Endangered. Seen at Seima. Long-tailed Macaque Macaca fascicularis Seen at Angkor Wat & Seima. Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta Seen at Ban Nahin.


GIBBONS: Hylobatidae Pileated Gibbon Hylobates pileatus Endangered. Seen at Okoki. Buff-cheeked Gibbon Nomascus gabriellae Endangered. Heard at Seima. DOGS: Canidae Golden Jackal Canis aureus Seen at Veal Krous. DOLPHINS: Delpinidae Irrawaddy Dolphin Orcaella brevirostris Critically Endangered. Seen at Kratie. PIGS: Suidae Wild Boar Sus scrofa Seen at Tmat Boey & Okoki. BOVIDS: Bovidae Chinese Serow Capricornis milneedwardsii Near-threatened. A distant animal spotted on top of a limestone peak at Ban Nahin. DEER: Cervidae Eld’s Deer Rucervus eldii Endangered. Seen at ATT. Red Muntjak Muntiacus muntjak Heard at Veal Krous. SQUIRRELS: Sciuridae Black Giant Squirrel Ratufa bicolor Near-threatened. Seen at Okoki & Dak Dam. Pallas's Squirrel Callosciurus erythraeus Seen at Dak Dam. Variable Squirrel Callosciurus finlaysoni Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey & Okoki. Cambonian Striped Squirrel Tamiops rodolphii Seen at Tmat Boey, Seima & Dak Dam. Eastern Striped Squirrel Tamiops maritimus Seen at Ban Nahin. Indochinese Ground Squirrel Menetes berdmorei Seen at Tmat Boey. RATS & MICE: Muridae Lesser Ricefield Rat Rattus losea A medium-sized, short-tailed, orange-brown rodent seen at in open fiels at ATT was probably this species.

REPTILE LIST Reptile taxonomy follows www.wikipedia.org. Gekkonidae Tockay Gecko Gekko gecko Seen at Senmonorom. Heard at Angkor Wat, Dak Dam & Ban Nahin.


Spiny-tailed Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus Seen at Angkor Wat, Tmat Boey, Dak Dam, Seima & Ban Nahin. Gecko sp Cnemaspis sp Seen at Tmat Boey. Agamidae Indochinese Gliding-lizard Draco indochinensis Seen at Tmat Boey. Garden Fence Lizard Calotes versicolor Seen at Tmat Boey, Oramis & Ban Nahin. Scincidae Many-striped Sun Skink Eutropis multifasciata Seen at Angkor Wat & Oramis. Bronze Mabuya Eutropis macularia Seen at Tmat Boey, Okoki & Veal Krous.

AMPHIBIAN LIST Amphibian taxonomy follows www.wikipedia.org. Ranidae Common Green Frog Hylarana erythraea Seen at Angkor Wat Marbled Slender Frog Hylarana macrodactyla Seen at Veal Krous. Microhylidae Banded Bulfrog Kaloula pulchra Seen at Angkor Wat sticky frog sp Kalophrynus sp Seen at Veal Krous. Dicroglossidae Crab-eating Frog Fejervarya cancrivora Seen at Veal Krous. Round-tongued Floating Frog Occidozyga martensii Seen at Veal Krous. Green Puddle Frog Occidozyga lima Seen at Tmat Boey.

BUTTERFLY LIST Butterfly taxonomy follows www.wikipedia.org. Papilionidae Common Birdwing Troides helena Seen at Ban Nahin.


Common Rose Pachliopta aristolochiae Seen at Tmat Boey & Ban Nahin. Common Lime Papilio demoleus Seen at Angkor Wat. Common Mormon Papilio polytes Seen at Angkor Wat. Common Bluebottle Graphium sarpedon Seen at Oramis. Spotted Jay Graphium arycles Seen at Prek Toal. Spotted Zebra Graphium megarus Seen at Seen at Angkor Wat. Lycaenidae Cycad Blue Chilades pandava Seen at Veal Krous. Common Caerulean Jamides celeno Seen at Tmat Boey & Ban Nahin. Common Pierrot Castalius rosimon Seen at Seima & Mekong in Laos. Tailess Line Blue Prosotas dubiosa Seen at Tmat Boey & Dak Dam. Pale Grass Blue Pseudozizeeria maha Seen at Tmat Boey. Lesser Grass Blue Zizina otis Seen at Dak Dam & Ban Nahin. Vinous Oakblue Arhopala athada Seen at Okoki. Common Posy Drupadia ravindra Seen at Okoki. Malayan Sunbeam Curetis santana Seen at Ban Nahin. Pieridae Tree Yellow Gandaca harina Seen at Angkor Wat, Okoki & Oramis. Common Grass Yellow Eurema hecabe Seen at Dak Dam. Chocolate Grass Yellow Eurema sari Seen at Ban Nahin. Psyche Leptosia nina Seen at Okoki & Ban Nahin. Yellow Orange-tip Ixias pyrene Seen at Ban Nahin. Nymphalidae Black-veined Tiger Danaus melanippus Seen at Okoki. Common Tiger Danaus genutia Seen at Angkor Wat & Ban Nahin. Striped Blue Crow Euploea mulciber Seen at Angkor Wat & Ban Nahin. Striped Black Crow Euploea eyndhovii Seen at Okoki.


Blue Glassy Tiger Ideopsis vulgaris Seen at Angkor Wat. Black Prince Rohana parisatis Seen at Ban Nahin. Knight Lebadea martha Seen at Okoki. Clipper Parthenos sylvia Seen at Ban Nahin. Common Glider Neptis sappho Seen at Tmat Boey. Grey Sailor Neptis leucoporos Seen at Ban Nahin. Archduke Lexias pardalis Seen at Okoki. Archduke Lexias albopunctata Seen at Ban Nahin. Common Lascar Pantoporia hordonia Seen at Ban Nahin. Drury's Red Lacewing Cethosia biblis Seen at Ban Nahin. Tawny Coaster Acraea violae Seen at Seima. Great Eggfly Hypolimnas bolina Seen at Ban Nahin. Peacock Pansy Junonia almana Seen at Angkor Wat & Tmat Boey. Lemon Pansy Junonia lemonias Seen at Ban Nahin. Grey Pansy Junonia atlites Seen at Angkor Wat & Okoki. Smooth-eyed bushbrown Orsotriaena medus Seen at Tmat Boey. Common Fivering Ypthima baldus Seen at Ban Nahin. Grey Count Tanaecia lepidea Seen at Okoki & Ban Nahin. Common Evening Brown Melanitis leda Seen at Okoki. Banded Treebrown Lethe confusa Seen at Ban Nahin. Riodinidae Larger Harlequin Taxila haquinus Seen at Ban Nahin. Hesperiidae Bush Hopper Ampittia dioscorides Seen at ATT. Fulvous Pied Flat Pseudocoladenia dan Seen at Ban Nahin. Formosan Swift Borbo cinnara Seen at Okoki.

BUTTERFLY GALLERY


Archduke Banded Tree Brown Black Prince

Black-veined Tiger Spotted Zebra Bush Hopper

Chocolate Grass Yellow Common Caerulean Common Evening Brown

Common Fivering Common Glider Common Grass Yellow

Spotted Jay Common Lascar Common Pierrot


Common Mormon Common Posy Common Rose

Common Tiger Cycad Blue Drury's Red Lacewing

Formosan Swift Fulvous Pied Flat Great Eggfly

Grey Count Grey Pansy Grey Sailor


Knight Lemon Pansy Larger Harlequin

Lesser Grass Blue Lime butterfly Malayan Sunbeam

Pale Grass Blue Peacock Pansy Psyche

Smooth-eyed bushbrown Striped Black Crow Striped Blue Crow


Tailess Line Blue Tawny Coaster Tree Yellow

Vinous Oakblue Yellow Orange-tip Common Bluebottle

Documents

Cambodia: Birding the Khmer Kingdom · 11th March – Ang Trapaeng Tmor We set off in the dark for Ang Trapaeng Tmor, a huge reservoir dug during the Khmer Rouge times. We drove towards