The lodge is named after a bird for a reason. Around 300 species have been recorded along the lower Kinabatangan, and our own 30 acres at Bilit — riverbank forest, elephant grassland, salt licks and ponds — has produced a checklist of 175 or more species, compiled by visiting birdwatchers Jules Greff and Céline Soulier of permafaune.com and last updated in November 2024.

The full list is below. First, how birding actually works here.

How birding works at Hornbill Lodge

Almost all of it is done from a boat. The dawn cruise is the productive one: hornbills commuting between roost and feeding trees, kingfishers on low perches over the water, oriental darters drying their wings, and raptors — crested serpent-eagles, Brahminy kites, both fish-eagles — working the river. The afternoon cruise adds herons and egrets moving to roost and, at dusk, the large-tailed nightjar and buffy fish-owl.

The trails and the three-storey observation tower give you the forest-interior species the boat cannot: pittas, trogons, broadbills, babblers and woodpeckers. Night walks turn up sleeping kingfishers and roosting owls at close range.

Bring your own binoculars. Guides carry a scope, but a scope shared by twelve is not the same as glass in your own hands. 8×42 is right for the river.
Book three nights if birds are the point. Six cruises and several walks cover far more of the list than four.
Tell us you are birding when you book. Where the group allows, guides will run a slower, quieter boat and hold longer on a fruiting fig.
Specialities to ask about: Storm’s stork, Bornean ground-cuckoo, white-fronted falconet, Wallace’s hawk-eagle, black-crowned pitta, wrinkled and white-crowned hornbill.

Recording your sightings

If you add a species to the list, tell reception. We would like the checklist to keep growing, and it belongs to the guests who built it.

Bird checklist — Hornbill Lodge, Bilit

51 families · 175+ species · nomenclature broadly follows Clements/eBird. Compiled by Jules Greff & Céline Soulier, permafaune.com. Updated November 2024.

Ioras Aegithinidae

Common iora Aegithina tiphia
Green iora Aegithina viridissima

Hawks, eagles and kites Accipitridae

Crested serpent-eagle Spilornis cheela
Brahminy kite Haliastur indus
White-bellied sea-eagle Icthyophaga leucogaster
Changeable hawk-eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus
Bat hawk Macheiramphus alcinus
Wallace's hawk-eagle Nisaetus nanus
Jerdon's baza Aviceda jerdoni
Oriental honey-buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus
Rufous-bellied eagle Lophotriorchis kienerii
Crested goshawk Lophospiza trivirgata
Grey-headed fish-eagle Icthyophaga ichthyaetus
Lesser fish-eagle Icthyophaga humilis
Japanese sparrowhawk Tachyspiza gularis

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Blue-eared kingfisher Alcedo meninting
Stork-billed kingfisher Pelargopsis capensis
Common kingfisher Alcedo atthis
Ruddy kingfisher Halcyon coromanda
Collared kingfisher Todiramphus chloris
Rufous-backed dwarf-kingfisher Ceyx rufidorsa
Black-capped kingfisher Halcyon pileata

Darters Anhingidae

Oriental darter Anhinga melanogaster

Swifts and swiftlets Apodidae

Plume-toed swiftlet Collocalia affinis
White-nest swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus
Asian palm swift Cypsiurus balasiensis
Mossy-nest swiftlet Aerodramus salangana
Black-nest swiftlet Aerodramus maximus

Herons, egrets and bitterns Ardeidae

Striated heron Butorides striata
Great egret Ardea alba
Purple heron Ardea purpurea
Little egret Egretta garzetta
Yellow bittern Botaurus sinensis
Black-crowned night heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Nankeen night heron Nycticorax caledonicus
Chinese egret Egretta eulophotes
Eastern cattle-egret Ardea coromanda
Medium egret Ardea intermedia
Great-billed heron Ardea sumatrana
Grey heron Ardea cinerea

Woodswallows Artamidae

White-breasted woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus

Hornbills Bucerotidae

Black hornbill Anthracoceros malayanus
Oriental pied-hornbill Anthracoceros albirostris
Wrinkled hornbill Rhabdotorrhinus corrugatus
White-crowned hornbill Berenicornis comatus
Bushy-crested hornbill Anorrhinus galeritus
Rhinoceros hornbill Buceros rhinoceros
Wreathed hornbill Rhyticeros undulatus

Minivets Campephagidae

Fiery minivet Pericrocotus igneus
Scarlet minivet Pericrocotus speciosus

Nightjars Caprimulgidae

Large-tailed nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus

Leafbirds Chloropseidae

Lesser green leafbird Chloropsis cyanopogon

Storks Ciconiidae

Lesser adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus
Storm's stork Ciconia stormi

Tailorbirds and prinias Cisticolidae

Rufous-tailed tailorbird Orthotomus sericeus
Yellow-bellied prinia Prinia flaviventris
Ashy tailorbird Orthotomus ruficeps
Dark-necked tailorbird Orthotomus atrogularis

Pigeons and doves Columbidae

Green imperial-pigeon Ducula aenea
Pink-necked green pigeon Treron vernans
Thick-billed green-pigeon Treron curvirostra
Asian emerald dove Chalcophaps indica
Little green-pigeon Treron olax
Jambu fruit-dove Ptilinopus jambu
Spotted dove Spilopelia chinensis
Zebra dove Geopelia striata
Cinnamon-headed green-pigeon Treron fulvicollis
Large green-pigeon Treron capellei

Rollers Coraciidae

Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis

Crows Corvidae

Sunda crow Corvus enca

Cuckoos, malkohas and coucals Cuculidae

Greater coucal Centropus sinensis
Black-bellied malkoha Phaenicophaeus diardi
Bornean ground-cuckoo Carpococcyx radiceus
Violet cuckoo Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus
Banded bay cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii
Chestnut-breasted malkoha Phaenicophaeus curvirostris
Plaintive cuckoo Cacomantis merulinus
Indian cuckoo Cuculus micropterus
Lesser coucal Centropus bengalensis
Square-tailed drongo-cuckoo Surniculus lugubris

Flowerpeckers Dicaeidae

Orange-bellied flowerpecker Dicaeum trigonostigma
Thick-billed flowerpecker Pachyglossa agilis
Scarlet-backed flowerpecker Dicaeum cruentatum
Yellow-rumped flowerpecker Prionochilus xanthopygius
Yellow-vented flowerpecker Pachyglossa chrysorrhea

Drongos Dicruridae

Greater racket-tailed drongo Dicrurus paradiseus
Bronzed drongo Dicrurus aeneus

Munias Estrildidae

Dusky munia Lonchura fuscans
White-bellied munia Lonchura leucogastra
Chestnut munia Lonchura atricapilla

Broadbills Eurylaimidae

Black-and-red broadbill Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos
Black-and-yellow broadbill Eurylaimus ochromalus
Dusky broadbill Corydon sumatranus

Falcons Falconidae

White-fronted falconet Microhierax latifrons

Swallows Hirundinidae

Pacific swallow Hirundo javanica
Barn swallow Hirundo rustica

Shrikes Laniidae

Long-tailed shrike Lanius schach

Terns Laridae

Whiskered tern Chlidonias hybrida

Grassbirds Locustellidae

Striated grassbird Megalurus palustris

Barbets Megalaimidae

Brown barbet Caloramphus fuliginosus
Black-eared barbet Psilopogon duvaucelii
Red-throated barbet Psilopogon mystacophanos

Bee-eaters Meropidae

Blue-throated bee-eater Merops viridis
Red-bearded bee-eater Nyctyornis amictus

Monarchs Monarchidae

Black-naped monarch Hypothymis azurea

Flycatchers and forktails Muscicapidae

Malaysian blue flycatcher Cyornis turcosus
Rufous-chested flycatcher Ficedula dumetoria
White-crowned forktail Enicurus leschenaulti
Grey-streaked flycatcher Muscicapa griseisticta
Asian brown flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica

Sunbirds and spiderhunters Nectariniidae

Crimson sunbird Aethopyga siparaja
Ornate sunbird Cinnyris ornatus
Ruby-cheeked sunbird Chalcoparia singalensis
Little spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra
Plain sunbird Anthreptes simplex
Brown-throated sunbird Anthreptes malacensis
Van Hasselt's sunbird Leptocoma brasiliana
Spectacled spiderhunter Arachnothera flavigaster

Orioles Oriolidae

Ventriloquial oriole Oriolus consobrinus

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey Pandion haliaetus

Sparrows Passeridae

Eurasian tree sparrow Passer montanus

Ground babblers Pellorneidae

Sooty-capped babbler Malacopteron affine
Bornean black-capped babbler Pellorneum capistratoides
Ferruginous babbler Pellorneum bicolor
White-chested babbler Pellorneum rostratum
Rufous-crowned babbler Malacopteron magnum

Partridges Phasianidae

Sabah partridge Tropicoperdix graydoni

Woodpeckers Picidae

Grey-and-buff woodpecker Hemicircus concretus
Banded woodpecker Chrysophlegma miniaceum
Orange-backed woodpecker Chrysocolaptes validus
Rufous woodpecker Micropternus brachyurus
Maroon woodpecker Blythipicus rubiginosus
White-bellied woodpecker Dryocopus javensis
Buff-rumped woodpecker Meiglyptes grammithorax
Common flameback Dinopium javanense
Great slaty woodpecker Mulleripicus pulverulentus

Pittas Pittidae

Western hooded pitta Pitta sordida
Black-crowned pitta Erythropitta ussheri
Blue-winged pitta Pitta moluccensis

Parrots Psittaculidae

Blue-crowned hanging-parrot Loriculus galgulus
Long-tailed parakeet Psittacula longicauda

Bulbuls Pycnonotidae

Red-eyed bulbul Pycnonotus brunneus
Yellow-vented bulbul Pycnonotus goiavier
Olive-winged bulbul Pycnonotus plumosus
Charlotte's bulbul Iole charlottae
Puff-backed bulbul Microtarsus eutilotus
Black-headed bulbul Microtarsus melanocephalos
Cream-vented bulbul Pycnonotus simplex
Yellow-bellied bulbul Alophoixus phaeocephalus
Hairy-backed bulbul Tricholestes criniger

Rails Rallidae

White-breasted waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus

Stilts Recurvirostridae

Black-winged stilt Himantopus himantopus

Fantails Rhipiduridae

Malaysian pied-fantail Rhipidura javanica

Sandpipers Scolopacidae

Common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Wood sandpiper Tringa glareola

Nuthatches Sittidae

Velvet-fronted nuthatch Sitta frontalis

Canary-flycatchers Stenostiridae

Grey-headed canary-flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis

Owls Strigidae

Buffy fish-owl Ketupa ketupu
Barred eagle-owl Ketupa sumatrana
Brown wood-owl Strix leptogrammica

Starlings and mynas Sturnidae

Asian glossy starling Aplonis panayensis
Javan myna Acridotheres javanicus
Crested myna Acridotheres cristatellus

Tree babblers Timaliidae

Bold-striped tit-babbler Mixornis bornensis
Black-throated babbler Stachyris nigricollis
Chestnut-rumped babbler Stachyris maculata
Rufous-fronted babbler Cyanoderma rufifrons

Trogons Trogonidae

Diard's trogon Harpactes diardii
Scarlet-rumped trogon Harpactes duvaucelii
Red-naped trogon Harpactes kasumba

Woodshrikes and philentomas Vangidae

Maroon-breasted philentoma Philentoma velata
Black-winged flycatcher-shrike Hemipus hirundinaceus
Large woodshrike Tephrodornis virgatus
Rufous-winged philentoma Philentoma pyrhoptera

Notes on the list

Wreathed hornbill is on this list; helmeted hornbill is not yet, though it occurs on the lower river and has been heard from the lodge. Storm’s stork and Bornean ground-cuckoo are the two records most birders travel here for. Migrants — Japanese sparrowhawk, grey-streaked and Asian brown flycatchers, the sandpipers and Chinese egret — are seasonal, roughly October to March.

Corrections and additions are welcome: contact us with the species, date and observer, and we will pass them to the compilers.

Birdwatching