Mt. Kinabalu National Park 13-16 August 2025
I arrived in Kundasang by private taxi from Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu (65 km) at 11 am on 12 August, 2025. Reservations had been made at a homestay with an attractive name, “Dreamcatcher” yet without much else to glorify it. A heavy downpour coincided with my arrival.
My room had a cold, musty ambience, a floppy mattress and a tiny bathroom with leaky plumbing. There were no nearby dining options, no public transportation services and no information available for newly arrived guests. The owner and her family kept to themselves and were rarely seen outside their room, attached on the end of the dilapidated, wood-framed row of rental units. Despite this being a transitional period between the tourist high seasons in Sabah, Dreamcatcher was the only available booking I could find near the national park. It was a nightmarish hovel, or what the travel industry euphemistically categorized as, “basic lodging.”
Kundasang, at an elevation of 1,900 m, was one of the end points for a POW death march during World War II. A walk into town provided a vague sense of that horrific event. From the Dreamcatcher homestay, it was an suffocating ascent alongside diesel trucks and raspy motorbikes. The town centerpiece was a mini-mall farmer’s market, including a jumbled series of wood framed, metal roofed food stalls – a kind of vegetarian to carnivore run on sentence with an abandoned bus stop next to a busy highway connecting with Mt. Kinabalu National Park 4.5 km to the north. Kundasang looked like a town that expected almost everyone to soon be leaving.
The following morning I was on my way to the national park after making several inquiries about transportation at the Kundasang market. There were no scheduled busses or taxis available in either Kundasang or Kinabalu National Park. That explained the empty bus stop next to the market. I was advised to ask around to see if anyone could be hired to take me to the park entrance.
A friendly man leaning on a compact Japanese sedan readily agreed to drive me to the park. His name was Kassaree. He said he could pick me up and bring me back in the evening for a total round-trip cost of $35 MYR. His car appeared to have survived a few major battles and had a statue of Jesus on the dash. Other than hoofing it, this was apparently my only option for commuting to Kinabalu National Park.
At the park entrance, a uniformed Malaysian official in a toll booth requested $35 MYR payment for the day visit. I asked her about a senior discount and was sternly informed that it applied only to Malaysians. As I reached in my pocket for the money, she hesitated in a moment of reflection and waved me through without payment. It was my fleeting cross-cultural opportunity for an authentic gesture of gratitude, given in her native language, “Terima Kasih.” She nodded with a smile. If this stroke of good fortune continued, I reasoned, there should be a few interesting new birds to be found.
Several decades had passed since I had birded Kinabalu National Park and it took me a few minutes of studying the trail maps to get my bearings. Clusters of office buildings, parking lots and improved roadways were unfamiliar to me, though the surrounding montane forest was dripping wet with a lushness that immediately brought back fond memories. Birds, mostly unseen, were vocalizing and beckoning me onward along the main thoroughfare leading to the central trail complex of the park.
There were indeed some delightful surprises awaiting me in the park. At one of the turns in the roadway, I met the group of Chinese university students whom I had chatted with in Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu on August 3 . They greeted me excitedly, reporting numerous birds observed further along the road. They were anxious to show me the area.
In a few more minutes we arrived at the chalets and main lodge grounds. The young ladies began pointing out several birds in and around the gardens. My head was spinning. All of those species, including endemics in mixed species flocks, were new for my Sabah trip list, e.g. Bornean Whistler, Indigo Flycatcher, Eye-browed Jungle-Flycatcher, Bornean Treepie, Gray-throated Babbler, Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush, Bornean Fantail and Black-sided Flowerpecker.
These energetic students not only had keen eyesight but an impressive knowledge of the identification and distributional criteria for each species. They carefully observed each bird and checked among themselves for agreement. Homework had obviously been an essential academic exercise for them. One of the girls, Yinlin, spoke English and served as our translator.
Among the birding hotspots we visited in the park was the internationally acclaimed Botanical Garden. In addition to a varied assemblage of orchids and other botanical rarities, several interesting bird species were known to occur there, including the much sought after, Bornean Forktail. Once, when alone, I had glimpsed the aptly named forktail – a boldly patterned black & white bird that can be a bit of a ghost. It appeared briefly on the mossy stones in a small stream coursing through the gardens.
Moments earlier, the Chinese students had returned to the lodge for their mid-day meal. I texted Yinlin with specific directions to the site. The group showed up out of breath a few minutes later. Unfortunately, the forktail had vanished upstream and was not found again. A frustrating dip for those who had been hoping to add it to their life list. Bornean Forktail may have been one of the only specialty bird the students missed. Their bird list for the park was quite impressive and included several species I had completely overlooked.
Another remarkable turn of events occurred while birding late the following afternoon – my last full day in the park. A solo birder was searching the visitor center gardens at the same time I was birding there. We met and compared notes.
His name was Zweign Wong – a Chinese expat living in Serbia. After an awkward attempt to pronounce his name, I asked for the spelling and scribbled it sideways in my notebook. Diplomatically, he suggested I call him “Z.” This was his first day in the park.
Z had seen pretty much the same birds that I had seen and seemed quite pleased with the results. His plan was to bird the park once more the following morning then drive to the Trusmadi photography hide in the Crocker Range. Along the way he would make a birding stop at Poring Hot Springs. Coincidentally, I had made a similar plan but had not heard back from the car rental company regarding availability of a suitable vehicle. Z kindly offered to take me in his rental car; I said that I would be happy to cover the fuel cost. He agreed and would pick me up at the bus stop in Kundasang the next morning – another lucky day for me.
Poring Hot Springs – August 16, 2025: 0930-1130 hrs.
The 30 km drive from Kundasang to Poring Hot Springs (PHS) took about an hour in moderately heavy weekend traffic. The hot springs parking lot was almost at maximum capacity. Most of the visitors were in the commercialized section with a large swimming pool and multiple bath houses. After paying an entry fee of US $10 (PHS is now part of Mt. Kinabalu National Park) we wandered amongst the crowds on paved pathways, keeping an eye out for birds in the surrounding rainforest. Bird vocalizations were often obscured by the sounds of children playing in the pool area. Soon, we found a path leading to a bridge over the main stream and into the adjacent forest. Our brief visit for birding was largely spent in the relatively quiet sections of the park, e.g. the waterfall trail.
Perhaps because avian predators tend to avoid human presence, birdlife was most apparent in the forest edge facing the developed portion of the park. Interior forest birds were scarce. Somewhat disappointingly, our final tally for PHS was only ten bird species. However, two of those were new for my Sabah trip list – notably, an endemic form of Golden Whiskered Barbet, considered by some authorities as a distinct species, Golden-faced Barbet (Psilopogon chrysopis). Best of all, in full view on a topped-off tree next to the swimming pool, I photographed a pair of White-fronted Falconet – an IUCN Near Threatened species and a life bird for both of us.
After a basic nasi ayam dish (rice and chicken) in a busy cafe across from the parking lot, we began a 3.5 hr. drive to Tambunan in the Crocker Range. Days earlier, Z had made his reservations at a local lodge. The following morning before dawn, we would continue to the Trusmadi photography hide, spending the day enjoying close-up encounters with a surprising variety of birds and small mammals.
Annotated Bird List for Mt. Kinabalu National Park, Kundasang and Poring Hot Springs, Sabah(August 13-16, 2025 (39 Species) Callyn Yorke
KEY
Abundance: Numbers following each species entry are the highest count for a single survey, when multiple surveys were made. The location (see below) with the highest numerical abundance is listed first in the species accounts.
Age, sex and molt (when known): ad = adult; imm = immature; m = male; f = female; bsc plmg = basic (non-breeding plumage; alt plmg = alternate (breeding) plumage; trans = transitional plumage, i.e. alternate into basic plumage.
Survey Location Abbreviations: KU = Kundasang (elev. 1,900 m); MK = Mount Kinabalu (elev. 1,400-1,600 m), including park headquarters, visitor center, main thoroughfare, trails and botanical garden; PHS = Poring Hot Springs (elev. 500 m).
Ecology and Behavior: Aerial insect hawking (ah); taking fruit, berries or parts of flowers (fr); gleaning insects from foliage (ig); probing into surface (pr); estimated height (m) above ground (agl); gregarious (greg); mixed-species flock (msf).
Systematics and Nomenclature used herein, is an amalgam of Avibase, International Ornithological Congress (IOC) and current (2025) online resources, i.e. Birds of the World, Cornell University, USA.
Species acronyms (banding codes)are derived from the first letters of the single or hyphenated common name, e.g. BOWH = Bornean Whistler; EBJF = Eye-browed Jungle Flycatcher, etc.
Borneo endemics and near-endemics are listed in Bold Face lettering.
BIRDS NOTED
- Feral Rock Pigeon Columba livia 12 greg. on ground and in flight, KU
- Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis 1 in flight, KU.
- Zebra Dove Geopelia striata 2 greg. on ground, roadside, KU.
- Plume-toed Swiftlet Callocalia affinis 5 greg. flying 3-20m agl back and forth around the park entrance, MK.
- Swiftlet sp. c.f. Aerodramus maximus 1 ID: comparatively small, compact, uniformly dark with a squarish tail; flying 5-15m agl around park entrance, MK.
- House Swift Apus nipalensis 1 flying over park entrance at about 20m agl. MK.
- Wreathed Hornbill Rhyticeros undulatus 3 greg. in flight over forest and clearing at about 50m agl, PHS.
- Golden-faced Barbet Psilopogon chrysopis 1 repeatedly vocal in foliage about 10m agl in forest edge, PHS.
- Maroon Woodpecker Blythipicus rubiginosus 1 (m) foraging on forest edge understory shrub and tree stems at the roadside, MK.
- White-fronted Falconet Microhierax latifrons 2 greg. a pair on adjacent terminal, broken limbs of a tree near the swimming pool; one bird with an unidentified item (food or nest material ?) in its talons, PHS (photos).
- Sunda Cuckooshrike Coracina larvata 1 in msf with several other insectivorous passerines, e.g. INFL, WTFA, YBWA; forest edge and gardens, MK.
- Bornean Whistler Pachycephala hypoxantha 1 in msf with several other passerines at mid-level in forest-botanical garden, e,g, GTBA, CHLT, GTBA, MK (photo).
- Black and Crimson Oriole Oriolus cruentis vulneratus 2 in msf with several other passerines, e.g., INFL, BOTR, SUCU; forest edge and gardens,MK.
- Bronzed Drongo Dicrurus aeneus 2 in msf with several other insectivorous passerines, e.g. WTFA, GTBA, BOWH, CHLT, in second-growth across the street from the park entrance, MK.
- White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis 3 active in roadside second-growth; a frequent participant in msf with multiple species, MK, KU.
- Bornean Green Magpie Cissa jeffreyi 2 a highly vocal pair in roadside forest canopy, MK (photo).
- Bornean Treepie Dendrocitta cinerascens 2 msf with BCOR and other spp. in garden trees and forest edge, MK.
- Bornean Bulbul Rubigula montis 2 forest edge and gardens, MK.
- Penan Bulbul Alophoixus ruficrissus 2 taking berries from large garden shrub, MK.
- Asian Red-eyed Bulbul Pycnonotus brunneus 1 forest edge, PHS.
- Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica 2 flying low, back and forth over open fields and developed areas, KU.
- Yellow-breasted Warbler Phylloscopus montis 1 msf, gardens and forest edge, MK.
- Gray-throated Babbler Stachyris nigriceps borneensis 2 low in forest understory, msf with BOWH and EBJF, MK.
- Short-tailed Babbler Malacocincla malaccensis ? 1 seen only briefly in the streamside forest understory in Botanical Garden, MK.
- Sunda Laughingthrush Garrulax palliatus 6 greg. vocal, foraging in leaf litter and in understory at forest edge, roadside, MK (photo).
- Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush Garrulax treacheri 6 greg. vocal, foraging at variable foliage heights, ground to subcanopy, msf, MK (photo).
- Chestnut-crested Yuhina Yuhina everetti 6 greg. in fruiting shrub and second-growth at edge of hillside across from the park entrance, MK.
- Black-capped White-eye Zosterops atricapilla 2 greg. in msf, canopy of garden trees, MK.
- Rufous-tailed Jungle Flycatcher Cyornis ruficauda 1 lower mid-level interior forest, PHS.
- Eye-browed Jungle Flycatcher Vauriella gularis 1 lower mid level, msf with BOWH, forest interior of Botanical Garden, MK (photo).
- Indigo Flycatcher Eumyias indigo 2 sallying, aerial-hawking from canopy of tall garden trees, msf, MK (photo).
- Bornean Forktail Enicurus borneensis 1 Seen briefly but clearly; flew to moss covered stone in Botanical Garden forest stream, near wooden footbridge, then flew upstream and out of view, MK.
- Bornean Whistling Thrush Myophonus borneensis 1 on rocks in stream below Botanical Garden, MK.
- Little Pied Flycatcher Ficedula westermanni 1 in tall garden trees, msf, MK.
- Bornean Leafbird Chloropsis kinabaluensis 2 (m,f) a pair in garden and roadside edge forest trees, msf, MK.
- Black-sided Flowerpecker Dicaeum monticolum 1 in garden tree canopy, msf, MK.
- Brown-throated Sunbird Anthreptes malacensis 1 (m) lower-mid-level of forest edge, trailside, PHS (photo).
- Temminck’s Sunbird Aethopyga temminckii 1 in forest edge at park entrance, MK.
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus 8 (m,f) greg. on and around buildings and roadways with adjacent trees, KU, PHS.
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