Species profile
Bornean Bristlehead
Canopy specialist
It is the sole member of its family, deeply sociable and completely unmistakable.
The bird
The Bornean bristlehead
The Bornean bristlehead measures about 25 centimetres long and weighs between 115 and 150 grams. It has a chunky, top-heavy profile dominated by a massive black hooked bill. The plumage is jet-black, relieved by slate-grey ear-coverts, bright red thighs and a bright red throat and neck.
They are highly gregarious birds that travel in nomadic flocks of 6 to 10 individuals. These tight-knit family groups often act as the nucleus for massive mixed-species feeding flocks. Finding them relies heavily on hearing their loud whistling contact calls before you scan the trees.
Rainforest walkways and rivers
Look for bristleheads and other Danum Valley canopy birds from towers and open viewpoints, listening for their calls before scanning the high canopy.
Timing and viewpoints
The bristlehead is a year-round resident with no migratory season. The peak window for canopy activity occurs between 6:30am and 8:30am. Mornings immediately following overnight rain are particularly good. You have to look up.
Viewing sites
Keep planning
The alternative Sabah reserves
Danum Valley
2.5 hours by road from Lahad Datu, Danum Valley is 438 square kilometres of lowland rainforest that was never logged with three very different places to stay inside it.
Kinabatangan River
The Kinabatangan floodplain holds the highest concentration of wildlife in Borneo. This is where you go to track orangutans and proboscis monkeys from a boat.
The Journal
Field notes and travel craft from the forest: the dawn chorus, mast fruiting, the figs, and what became of the rhino.
Species profile
Ask about the Bornean bristlehead
Provide your dates and the team will build a birding itinerary around Sepilok and Danum Valley to target the Bornean bristlehead.