The 125 Best Bird Watching Sites in Southeast Asia

Back in 2016, I bought The 100 Best Birdwatching Sites in Southeast Asia when it was first published, and like this new updated version, it covered sites in Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. So is it worth buying the new version? My answer is yes – this has 404 pages compared to 328.

Initially you might think that little has changed because the introductory sections are visually almost identical – but in fact, there are plenty of new sites in the country section. Mostly these are in Indonesia and relate to islands such as Obi (in the northern Moluccas), Kai (near the Tanimbar islands) Simeulue (off Sumatra), Alor and Pantar (in the Flores chain), Sangihe and Peleng (near Sulawesi) and Rote (near Timor). There are also five areas included for the West Papua region of Indonesia. These are key birding areas for anyone hoping to build their world bird list. There are also additional sites for Laos, which is proving to be a popular destination.

As before, detailed descriptions of each site cover the habitat and terrain that will be found with a fact file listing some of the key species that can be found – and there are recommendations on the best time to visit. There is a small map for each location which is good enough to work out where you are – although a check on the internet may provide a more detailed map of paths in such cases. Remember – a lot of these sites are large!

There is a good selection of images taken by many photographers and the book is edited by Yong Ding Li and Low Bing Wen, both of whom have a great knowledge of the region – however, a selection of locally-based and visiting birders have contributed their expertise on each site. With more than 2500 bird species in Southeast Asia, there is a lot to cover in a book like this and it is necessary to summarise facts - but really that is what I want.