Bornean Bristlehead by Hazwan Suban

Tour Dates: Sunday 23rd May – Sunday 6th June 2027 (Kota Kinabalu to Kota Kinabalu)
Tour Price: £5,499 plus flight
Estimated Flight Price: Approx. £900 return
Deposit: £700 per per person
Conservation Donation from Wise Birding: £250
Minimum Number: 6 people
Maximum Group Size: 7 people

Target Birds:
Storm’s Stork, Sabah Patridge, Crimson-headed Partridge, Wallace’s Hawk Eagle, Mountain Serpent Eagle, Blyth’s Frogmouth, Large Frogmouth, Buffy Fish Owl, Sunda Scops Owl, Oriental Bay Owl, Bornean Ground Cuckoo, Black-eared Barbet, Red-naped Trogon, Diard’s Trogon, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Bornean Wren Babbler, Black-throated Wren Babbler, Green Broadbill, Whitehead’s Broadbill, Bornean Bristlehead, Whitehead’s Broadbill, Whitehead’s Trogon, Whitehead’s Spiderhunter, Bornean Green Magpie, Bare-headed Laughingthrush, Chestnut Hooded Laughingthrush, Sunda Laughingthrush, Bornean Treepie, Bornean Flowerpecker, Bornean Leafbird, Mountain Wren-babbler, Bornean Whistling Thrush, Mountain Tailorbird, Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Fruithunter, Black-capped White Eye, Grey-chinned Minivet and many more!

Mammals: Bornean Orangutan, Proboscis Monkey and Bornean Pygmy Elephant plus a good selection of smaller mammals.

Tour Summary
The island of Borneo and its incredible tropical rainforests are quite simply one of those “bucket-list” destinations for both birders and mammalers! The list of spectacular endemic birds (over 40 species on the island as a whole) is tempting enough and some real gems can be found in the northern state of Sabah which include Blue-headed Pitta, Whitehead’s Trogon, Whitehead’s Broadbill and Bornean Bristlehead! In addition there are the iconic species like the huge Rhinoceros and eccentric looking White-crowned Hornbills, or the tiny White-fronted Falconet and some exciting night birds too, with chances for the beautiful Oriental Bay Owl and bothBlyth’s and Large Frogmouth. Finally, there are the mammals! Though not a specific mammal tour, we have excellent chances of birding amongst some impressive primates. Both Bornean Orangutan, and the comical Proboscis Monkey are very likely to be seen on this tour, simply as a result of  birding in such pristine habitats. We also have a a good chance to see Borneo’s Pygmy Elephants and maybe other species too!


Our tour focuses on the northern state of Sabah and starts at both the Crocker Range and Mount Kinabalu National Parks, where a whole host of new exciting endemic birds can be found and all to the impressive backdrop of Malaysia’s largest mountain. We then move to Sepilok with a fantastic canopy walkway where we should have eye-level views of some fabulous birds. Next location is Sabah’s longest river (560Km), the Kinabatangan River, a highly biodiverse area with some great birds and mammals. It begins in the Crocker Range in Southwest Sabah and ends at the Sulu Sea southeast of Sandakan. Finally, we visit Tabin Wildlife Reserve, a designated Important Bird Area, located in the eastern part of Sabah and considered to be the largest wildlife reserve in Malaysia and sure to be another highlight of the tour. This tour is sure to be a packed full of exciting birds, great mammals and amazing scenery too!

Note: This is a birding focused tour but we should also see a good selection of mammals as a result of the birding sites we visit. If you want to see more mammals, then we recommend our Borneo Mostly Mammals Tour.

ACCOMMODATION: 14 nights in Borneo
1 night Kota Kinabalu, 1 night Tambunan, 3 nights Kinabalu NP, 2 nights Sepilok, 3 nights Kinabatangan River, 3 nights Tabin Wildlife Reserve, 1 night Kota Kinabalu
 Inclusive Meals: Full board

DAY 1: Arrival Kota Kinabalu
Today is a primarily an arrival day and we will meet with our  local bird guide and enjoy an evening meal together ready for the start of the tour. Overnight Kota Kinabalu

DAY 2: Crocker Range – Kinabalu National Park
This morning we take an early morning visit to Crocker Range National Park which is around 1.5 hours by road. We will do most of our birding at Gunung Alab for a good selection of montane species. Key species we will be looking for today include, Red-breasted Partridge, Crimson-headed partridge, Orange-headed Thrush, Long-tailed Broadbill, Orange-breasted Trogon, Whitehead’s Spiderhunter, Little Pied Flycatcher, Bornean Bulbul, Bornean Treepie, Mountain Serpent Eagle, Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Bornean Whistler, Bornean Barbet, Mountain Barbet, Pygmy White-Eye, Bornean Leafbird, Dayak Blue Flycatcher, Penan Bulbul, Cinereous Bulbul, Little Cuckoo-Dove, Grey-throated Babbler. Later in the morning, we will travel to Kinabalu National Park (KNP) where we will have lunch and then we will take the further 2 hour journey to our accommodation at Kinabalu NP. If time allows, we will make a few birding stops en route before arriving at our hotel. Overnight Tambunan

DAY 3 Trusmadi Bird Hide
This morning we depart very early and visit a now very popular bird hide where we have great chances to see some otherwise very shy and difficult species. In particular, Bulwers Pheasant and Bornean Banded Pitta. Of course, in addition to these two big targets we have great chances to see other species that may include Crested Partridge, Dayak Blue Flycather, Rufous Chested Flycather, Bornean Black Capped Babbler, Asian Emerald Dove, Chestnut Hooded Laughingtrush, Temminks Babbler, Crimson Headed Partridge, Red Breasted Patridge, etc.
After lunch, we will then head to Kinabalu National Park which is around 2 hours by road and if time permits, we will spend some time birding the late afternoon. Overnight Kinabalu Pine Resort

DAYS 4 – 5: Kinabalu National Park
We will enjoy two full days birding the Kinabalu National Park. Mount Kinabalu with its peak at just under 4,100M makes for an impressive sight and the largest peak in Southeast Asia. During the next two days we have no need to head to the highest peaks, as most of our birding will focus at around 1,500M- 2,000M where many new species of bird await us, but we will need to venture higher for some of the most sought after species! We will explore the various trails and birding along the Timpohon Road for submontane species and pretty much everything will be new here, so a very exciting two days! The birding will be done along often very quiet forest trails where we will be looking for species such as noisy flocks of Chestnut-crested Yuhinas, Golden-naped Barbet, mixed feeding flocks with Laughingthrushes such as Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush and Sunda Laughingthrushs, Blyth’s Shrike-babbler and the unmistakable Bornean Green Magpie! Other gems that we hope to find include, Black-sided Flowerpecker, Temminck’s Sunbird, Bornean Forktail and Bornean Whistling-Thrush.  We also have chances for Crimson-headed Partridge, Bornean Treepie, Bornean Flowerpecker, Bornean Leafbird, Mountain Serpent Eagle, Crimson-headed Partridge, Mountain Wren-babbler, Bornean Whistling Thrush, Mountain Tailorbird, Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Fruithunter, Black-capped White-Eye, Grey-chinned Minivet, Ashy Drongo etc. Mammals will also feature during the next few days with squirrels in particular from Bornean Giant Squirrel to one of the world’s smallest, the Whitehead’s Pygmy Squirrel. The highest parts of the trail are where the real gems are to be found and with perseverance we will hopefully find one or two of the hardest and incredibly beautiful species such as Whitehead’s Trogon, Whitehead’s Broadbill or Whitehead’s Spiderhunter! Overnight Kinabalu Pine Resort

Whitehead’s Trogon by Hazwan Suban

DAY 6: Kota Kinabalu – Poring Hot Spring
After breakfast we transfer to Poring Hot Springs which is only 47 km from the national park. This nature reserve offers an array of lowland rainforest birds and depending on interest and if a flower is in bloom (the plant only flowers for a few days in a year), we may quickly stop at the Tambunan Rafflesia Forest Reserve where one of the world’s largest flowering plants with its enormous leathery petals and pungent aroma can be found. Birds species we hope to find today include Gold-whiskered Barbet, Scaly-breasted Bulbul, Green Broadbill, Black-and-Red Broadbill, Black-and-Yellow Broadbill, Waterfall Swift, Grey-rumped Treeswift, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Rufous-backed Dwarf Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Diard’s Trogon, Crested Jay, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Raffles Malkoha, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Dusky Munia, Chestnut Munia, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Wallace’s Hawk Eagle, Blyth Hawk Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Maroon Woodpecker and more! The afternoon will be spent travelling east to Sepilok which is around a 4.5 hour journey by road. We should arrive in good time to see a few forest species just within the grounds of our accommodation. Overnight Sepilok Nature Lodge

DAY 7: Sepilok / Rainforest Discovery Centre
We will spend a full day birding the Rainforest Discovery Centre, located within the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve which offers a steel canopy walkway with three large observation towers and inter-looping nature trails and is a great place to see a good number of  target species. Our key target here will be the Bornean Bristlehead, never easy, but we have a couple of days to be successful. We will also be looking for Black-headed Pitta, Hooded Pitta, Bornean Black Magpie, Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, Wallace’s Hawk Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, Black Hornbills, White-bellied Woodpecker, Sabah Patridge, Red Naped Trogon, Diard’s Trogon, Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Bornean Black-capped Babbler, Rufous-winged Philentoma, Asian Fairy Bluebird, Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler, Raffles Malkoha, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo etc. We will then return to our hotel for lunch before returning to the Rainforest Discovery Centre for more birding on the forest trails during the afternoon.

During the evening we will take a night walk specifically to look for owls. Always unpredictable, but we have chances for Reddish Scops Owl, Sunda Scops Owl and if we are lucky, Oriental Bay Owl. We are likely to see some of the commoner mammals too such as Red Giant Flying Squirrel, Thomas’s Flying Squirrel, Banded Civet and maybe Philippine Slow Loris or Western Tarsier. Overnight Sepilok Nature Lodge|

DAY 8: Rainforest Discovery Centre – Gomantong Caves – Kinabatangan
After breakfast, we will make a final birding session from the canopy walkway at the Rainforest Discovery Centre, for any missing species. After lunch at our hotel we will check-out and then take the 1.5 hour journey to the Kinabatangan River where we will be based for the next three nights. En route to the river we will stop at the Gomantong Cave to witness the exodus of over two million bats as Bat Hawks take advantage of an easy meal! Target species today include, Edible Nest Swiftlet, Black Nest Swiftlet, Mossy Nest Swiftlet, Plume-toed Swiftlet, Bat Hawk, Rufous-bellied Eagle, Black Eagle, Grey-chested Jungle Flycatcher, Pied Hornbill and more! Overnight Borneo Nature Lodge

DAYS 9 – 10:  Kinabatangan River
Over the next two days we will take morning and afternoon boat trips along the Menanggol River and our target species over the next couple of days are many! We will be looking in particular for the endangered Storm’s Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Lesser Fish Eagle, Wallace’s Hawk Eagle and hopefully all eight of Borneo’s Hornbill species! Rhinoceros Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill, Black Hornbill, White-crowned Hornbill, Pied Hornbill, Bushy-crested Hornbill and Helmeted Hornbill. In the forest we hope to find Black-crowned Pitta, Black-and-red Broadbill, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Bornean Ground Cuckoo, Black-eared Barbet, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Crested Serpent Eagle, Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, Red-naped Trogon, Diard’s Trogon, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, White Bellied Sea Eagle etc. On one night after dinner, we will take a night safari cruise to find some nocturnal birds where we may find Buffy Fish Owl. Mammals are also possible with species such as Civets, Chevrotains (Mouse Deer) and if we are exceptionally lucky, maybe a Flat-headed Cat.  Overnight Borneo Nature Lodge

Storm Stork by Hazwan Suban

DAY 11:  Kinabatangan River – Lahad Datu – Tabin Wildlife Reserve
After breakfast we will take the two hour journey by land to Lahad Datu and then continue for another 2 hours to Tabin Wildlife Reserve. Tabin Wildlife Reserve spans 122,500 hectares of predominantly lowland dipterocarp forests, offering a sanctuary for some of Sabah’s most treasured birds and mammals. Declared a protected area in 1984 and a biodiversity hotspot with over 300 bird species and numerous primates. On arrival at our accommodation, we will take an afternoon walk and a night safari after dinner. Target species today include, Blyth’s Frogmouth, Buffy Fish Owl, Brown Wood Owl, Sunda Scops Owl and Oriental Bay Owl. Overnight Tabin Wildlife Resort

DAYS 12 & 13: Tabin Wildlife Reserve
During the next two days we will get into a routine of taking early morning and late afternoon drives and treks into the forest reserve to search for a great selection of target species. With luck, we should find a good selection of key birds here including species such as, Blue-headed Pitta, Bornean Banded Pitta, Giant Pitta, Blyth’s Paradise Flycatcher, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill, Asian Black Hornbill, White-crowned Hornbill, Pied Hornbill, Bushy-crested Hornbill, Helmeted Hornbill, Bornean Blue Flycatcher, Spotted Fantail, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Bornean Crested Fireback, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Verditer Flycatcher, Asian Emerald Dove, Malkohas species., Brown Fulvetta,Asian Fairy Bluebird, Maroon Woodpecker, Buff-rumped woodpecker, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Red-naped Trogon, Diard’s Trogon, White-bellied Woodpecker, Bornean Wren Babbler, Black-throated Wren Babbler, Striped Wren Babbler, Banded Broadbill, Green Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill, Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker, etc. Of course, we won’t forget the mammals as we have a good chance of finding a wild Bornean Orangutan, probably the key mammal of our stay here. Other species that we may see include Philippine Loris, two species of Mouse-deer and Western Tarsier. Night birding can also be very good with chances of Large Frogmouth and Owls. There will be optional extra mammal night drives available here too, with an outside chance of Sunda Clouded Leopard. Overnight Tabin Wildlife Resort

DAY 14: Tabin Wildlife Reserve – Kota Kinabalu
We will enjoy a final morning birding the forest before checking out and taking the return journey to Lahad Datu for our internal flight to Kota Kinabalu. Overnight Kota Kinabalu Hotel

DAY 15: Depart 
A final morning at leisure or an optional extra to visit the nearby Kota Kinabalu Wetland which should result in some final relaxing birding before transferring to the airport for a mid afternoon flight back to the UK.

Please note this is a flexible itinerary which may need to be adjusted slightly dependent on arrival / departure times, weather conditions and the most recent information from our local guides

Leaders: Wise Birding leader plus local guide throughout tour
Included in cost: Accommodation in twin en-suite rooms, all meals, bottled water, all entrance fees, boat trips, ground transport, internal flight and services of leaders
Not included in cost: International airfare, travel insurance, drinks other than water and any airport/visa fees
Single Supplement: £899
Transport: A/C Minibus and 4 wheel drive safari truck in Tabin
Difficulty: Medium – Difficult. There is a reasonable amount of walking on this tour, especially when at Tabin and Mount Kinabalu. The majority of trails are not necessarily hard in terms of being steep, but more the fact that they are often muddy and therefore very slippery. The more strenuous walks would be up to 8Km return when at Tabin and at Kinabalu, but much depends on the most recent locations of key birds.
Climate: Hot and very humid and a wet tropical climate with rain typically falling as short heavy downpours in the late afternoon. For most of the tour temperatures ranging between night and day at around 24°C – 32°C. When at higher altitude at Mount Kinabalu, daytime temperatures are cooler at around 20°C.
Tour Start Point: Sandakan airport, Borneo
Tour End Point: Kota Kinabalu airport, Borneo
Suggested Airlines: British Airways via Kula Lumpur

Black-and-Yellow Broadbill by Hazwan Suban