Mangrove Kingfisher — Sabah Borneo Malaysia
The collared kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) and the stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis) of the Kinabatangan River's mangrove and riverine forest — accessible from the Sukau Rainforest Lodge's boat surveys — create one of Borneo's finest accessible kingfisher encounters alongside the river's proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, and estuarine crocodiles. The stork-billed kingfisher's extraordinary bill (the largest of any Asian kingfisher, at 7 centimetres, used for catching fish and crabs larger than any other kingfisher can manage) and the collared kingfisher's vivid turquoise-and-white colouration on every riverside branch create a visual abundance of the kingfisher family that Borneo's riverine forest produces in quantities unavailable in any other Southeast Asian river system. The dawn boat survey's combination of the kingfishers, the morning proboscis monkey chorus, and the pygmy elephant family groups on the river bank creates one of Asia's finest single river wildlife mornings.
About this spectacle
Standing on the bow of a slow wooden boat at first light, the Kinabatangan River reveals its kingfishers in extravagant numbers. Collared kingfishers blaze turquoise-and-white from almost every overhanging branch, their sharp calls cutting through the morning mist. Stork-billed kingfishers, massive and unhurried, perch low over the water displaying that remarkable 7-centimetre bill — the largest of any Asian kingfisher — before plunging for fish and crabs. The dawn boat survey from Sukau Rainforest Lodge layers these sightings with proboscis monkeys whooping from the canopy, pygmy elephant families grazing the muddy banks, and estuarine crocodiles sliding silently through dark water. The jungle closes in on both sides, the air thick with humidity and birdsong. Light arrives gradually, gilding the river surface and making every turquoise feather glow. This is riverine birding at its most effortless — species come to you, perched at eye level from the boat, in a density of wildlife encounters that makes the Kinabatangan one of Southeast Asia's most celebrated river corridors.
When to go
Jan — Dec, peak Mar — Oct
Getting there
Nearest airport: SAN. Nearest city: Sandakan.
Booking options
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