Malaysia is a country of great diversity, filled with natural wonders, safe and friendly to visitors. It was my first visit to an Asian country, and turned out to be a great choice.

I visited three main areas while in Malaysia:

Ipoh and area

Frasier's Hill

Tamara Negara National Park

Ipoh and area

The city of Ipoh is surrounded by jutting limestone hills and it has a very spiritual quality, augmented by temples built into the cliff faces. I was fortunate to meet up with some of Ipoh's birders and digiscopers, including Laurence Poh and Ooi Beng Yean, two of the very finest digiscopers in the world.

While in Ipoh, I stayed at the Hotel Excelsior, an old time colonial type of accommodation. While there are no doubt less expensive places available, it was reasonable and comfortable.

One of the places we visited was the Burmese Pool in Taiping.We quickly picked up a Common Flameback, and a number of Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters. A pair of Scarlet Minivet drifted through the trees at the side of the trail, while on the trail itself, a Forest Wagtail worked its way. Later on this wonderful afternoon, we came upon something extraordinary. A number of Asian Paradise Flycatchers flitted through the branches, their long tails flowing behind, and one of them was the rare white morph, a beautiful sight. A couple of Whiskered Treeswifts sat high in a tree, a new family for me.

As we returned to Ipoh, we made a couple of stops. At the first, we were treated to the sight of the tiny Black Thighed Falconet as he hunted and devoured dragonflies. A little further we stopped at a temple cut into the limestone rocks, and in the fading light, saw both the Blue Rock Thrush, and a Blue Whistling Thrush.

I watched hundreds of House Swifts fly past my hotel window, while  I waited for my ride the next day.Before leaving Ipoh we stopped at the golf course where we were treated to the sight of a pair of Oriental Honey Buzzards. Our first stop was an area of lagoons which I think were the remains of a mining operation. The prize of the trip was a Greater Painted Snipe, a species at the top of my wish list. Other great birds were Stork Billed Kingfisher,   Chinese Pond Heron, and a Long Tailed Shrike amongst many Brown Shrike. As we watched Purple Swamphens feeding in a marshy area, a Barred Buttonquail scuttled along the brush at the shoreline and a female Baya Weaver fed on grass stalks.

We headed into some dry lowland forest, after passing through a rubber tree plantation. Again we were fortunate to find some wonderful species including Hill Myna, Green Iora and a Scarlet Backed Flowerpecker. We again ended the day on a high note when a Changeable Hawk Eagle perched on a dead branch and gave us a wonderful view.

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Frasier's Hill

One of the world's most famous birding spots, Frasier's Hill was originally one of the places where the British, in the colonial period, would go on holiday. The high elevation provided relief from the heat (something I could appreciate).

I was fortunate to have the company of Laurence Poh to share his experience. On arrival, we checked into the Gap Resthouse, situated at the bottom of the one way road up to Frasier's Hill. In the Gap restaurant, a Striped Tit Babbler picked insects from the wiring of the hanging lights.

Driving the Telecom route at the top of Frasier's Hill, we picked up a very cooperative Black Browed Barbet, which posed for photos. We encountered a number of bird waves, with Long Tailed Sibia, Chestnut Crowned Laughingthrush, Mountain Fulvetta and Golden Babbler being a few of the many species. Later on the route, we picked up Red headed Trogon,  Large Niltava, Javan (Malayan) Cuckoo Shrike, Streaked Spiderhunter, and Greater Racquet Tailed Drongo.

That night I stayed at the Jelai resort, and the next morning I prepared to drive out of the parking lot when I was I was stopped in my tracks by birds all around me. A Green Magpie showed off its fantastic plumage while Chestnut Capped Laughingthrush mixed with its more common cousin, Chestnut Crowned Laughingthrush. Malayan Cuckoo Thrush again made an appearance, as did Sultan Tit, Black Throated Sunbird, and a placid Asian Brown Flycatcher.

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Tamara Negara

This National Park is a lowland rainforest, with a range of services available, from camping to more luxurious arrangements.

The trip in is 3 hours by boat down the Trembeling River, and a few bird species can be seen from the boat, particularly Kingfishers.

The area around the resort has a number of excellent trails as well as some blinds. The resort area itself was good for Oriental Magpie Robin,  Pink Necked Pigeon,  and Oriental Hornbill.

There is a canopy walkway which gets you up at eye level with many species  and it is well worth a visit. It unfortunetly is not open at ideal times for birders (10 AM to 2PM), and the operaters  seem happier if you don't linger. The best canopy bird was a Wallace's Hawk Eagle which perched on a branch only a dozen meters in front of me.

It rained very heavily every night for 5-6 hours, but only a little during the day. This resulted in very muddy slippery trails, and made birding hard work, but well worth the effort.

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Species Seen

GREBES	TROGONS AND QUETZALS	OLD WORLD FLYCATCHERS
Little Grebe	Red-naped Trogon	Asian Brown Flycatcher
HERONS, EGRETS	Diard's Trogon	Ferruginous Flycatcher
Gray Heron	Red-headed Trogon	Verditer Flycatcher
Purple Heron	KINGFISHERS	Large Niltava
Great Egret	Common Kingfisher	Gray-headed Canary-flycatcher
Little Egret	Stork-billed Kingfisher	Oriental Magpie-Robin
Chinese Pond-Heron	White-throated Kingfisher	White-rumped Shama
Striated Heron	Black-capped Kingfisher	Chestnut-naped Forktail
Black-crowned Night-Heron	Collared Kingfisher	Slaty-backed Forktail
HAWKS, EAGLES	BEE-EATERS	FANTAILS
Oriental Honey-buzzard	Blue-throated Bee-eater	White-throated Fantail
Black-shouldered Kite	Blue-tailed Bee-eater	Pied Fantail
Brahminy Kite	Chestnut-headed Bee-eater	Spotted Fantail
Crested Serpent-Eagle	ROLLERS	MONARCH FLYCATCHERS
Crested Goshawk	Dollarbird	Asian Paradise-Flycatcher
Japanese Sparrowhawk	HORNBILLS	BABBLERS
Black Eagle	Oriental Pied-Hornbill	Black Laughingthrush
Changeable Hawk-Eagle	Great Hornbill	Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush
Blyth's Hawk-Eagle	Helmeted Hornbill	Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush
Wallace's Hawk-Eagle	White-crowned Hornbill	Ferruginous Babbler
FALCONS	Wreathed Hornbill	Abbott's Babbler
Black-thighed Falconet	BARBETS	Moustached Babbler
PHEASANTS AND PARTRIDGES	Fire-tufted Barbet	Sooty-capped Babbler
Red Junglefowl	Lineated Barbet	Rufous-crowned Babbler
Crested Fireback	Gold-whiskered Barbet	Pygmy Wren-Babbler
Malayan Peacock-Pheasant	Black-browed Barbet	Rufous-fronted Babbler
Great Argus	Blue-eared Barbet	Golden Babbler
BUTTONQUAIL	WOODPECKERS	White-necked Babbler
Barred Buttonquail	Rufous Piculet	Striped Tit-Babbler
RAILS, GALLINULES AND COOTS	Rufous Woodpecker	Silver-eared Mesia
White-breasted Waterhen	Banded Woodpecker	White-browed Shrike-Babbler
White-browed Crake	Lesser Yellownape	White-hooded Babbler
Purple Swamphen	Crimson-winged Woodpecker	Blue-winged Minla
Common Moorhen	Common Flameback	Brown Fulvetta
PAINTED-SNIPES	BROADBILLS	Mountain Fulvetta
Greater Painted-snipe	Black-and-red Broadbill	Long-tailed Sibia
AVOCETS AND STILTS	SWALLOWS	THORNBILLS AND ALLIES
Black-winged Stilt	Barn Swallow	Golden-bellied Gerygone
PRATINCOLES AND COURSERS	Pacific Swallow	CHICKADEES AND TITS
Oriental Pratincole	Striated Swallow	Great Tit
PLOVERS AND LAPWINGS	WAGTAILS AND PIPITS	Sultan Tit
Red-wattled Lapwing	Forest Wagtail	NUTHATCHES
SANDPIPERS	Yellow Wagtail	Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
Common Snipe	Gray Wagtail	SUNBIRDS AND SPIDERHUNTERS
Marsh Sandpiper	Richard's Pipit	Plain Sunbird
Common Greenshank	CUCKOO-SHRIKES	Red-throated Sunbird
TERNS	Javan Cuckoo-shrike	Purple-naped Sunbird
White-winged Tern	Bar-bellied Cuckoo-shrike	Black-throated Sunbird
PIGEONS AND DOVES	Lesser Cuckoo-shrike	Streaked Spiderhunter
Rock Dove	Fiery Minivet	FLOWERPECKERS
Spotted Dove	Scarlet Minivet	Orange-bellied Flowerpecker
Little Cuckoo-Dove	Gray-chinned Minivet	Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
Zebra Dove	Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike	WHITE-EYES
Little Green-Pigeon	BULBULS	Everett's White-eye
Pink-necked Pigeon	Straw-headed Bulbul	ORIOLES
Thick-billed Pigeon	Black-headed Bulbul	Black-naped Oriole
Mountain Imperial-Pigeon	Black-crested Bulbul	FAIRY-BLUEBIRDS
PARROTS	Yellow-vented Bulbul	Asian Fairy-bluebird
Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot	Red-eyed Bulbul	SHRIKES
CUCKOOS	Ochraceous Bulbul	Tiger Shrike
Oriental Cuckoo	Gray-cheeked Bulbul	Brown Shrike
Banded Bay Cuckoo	Yellow-bellied Bulbul	Long-tailed Shrike
Plaintive Cuckoo	Mountain Bulbul	HELMETSHRIKES AND ALLIES
Black-bellied Malkoha	LEAFBIRDS	Large Woodshrike
Chestnut-bellied Malkoha	Greater Green Leafbird	DRONGOS
Green-billed Malkoha	Lesser Green Leafbird	Bronzed Drongo
Red-billed Malkoha	Blue-winged Leafbird	Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha	IORAS	Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
Greater Coucal	Common Iora	CROWS AND JAYS
OWLS	Green Iora	Green Magpie
Barred Eagle-Owl	Great Iora	House Crow
NIGHTJARS	THRUSHES	Slender-billed Crow
Large-tailed Nightjar	Blue Rock-Thrush	Large-billed Crow
SWIFTS	Blue Whistling-Thrush	STARLINGS
Glossy Swiftlet	CISTICOLAS AND ALLIES	Asian Glossy Starling
Edible-nest Swiftlet	Rufescent Prinia	White-vented Myna
Silver-rumped Needletail	Yellow-bellied Prinia	Hill Myna
Brown-backed Needletail	OLD WORLD WARBLERS	Common Myna
Asian Palm-Swift	Mountain Tailorbird	WEAVERS AND ALLIES
Fork-tailed Swift	Common Tailorbird	Baya Weaver
House Swift	Dark-necked Tailorbird	WAXBILLS AND ALLIES
CRESTED TREESWIFTS	Arctic Warbler	Chestnut Munia
Gray-rumped Treeswift		White-headed Munia
Whiskered Treeswift		OLD WORLD SPARROWS
		Eurasian Tree Sparrow

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I found the following books very useful:

"Where to watch birds in Asia" by Nigel Wheatley

"Field Guide to the Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore" by Jeyarajasingam and Pearson

"A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Malaysia and Singapore" by Morten Strange

©Harold Stiver

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