Birding the canopy at Danum

The bird

Birdlife in the sunlit canopy

The Danum Valley rainforest reaches 70 metres high, holding a different set of birds from the dark trails below. Borneo Rainforest Lodge's suspended walkway sits 26 metres above the forest floor, while the Study Centre maintains rigid observation towers. The platforms offer clear sightlines for photography and a chance to spot foraging flocks in soft light.

The forest floor is dark and relies on fallen fruit and leaf litter. The canopy gets the sun. That sunlight drives the flowering and fruiting cycles of the massive emergent trees. It supports the flying insects. The birds up there have evolved to exploit those specific foods. The raptors need clear air to hunt on the wing. The hornbills need vast open sightlines to track fruiting events across the valley. The broadbills hunt in the sunlit leaves.

The physical challenge changes when you move from the ground to the walkway. On the trails you look for deep shadows and listen for scratching in the litter. Up high you scan the open branches and the sky. You deal with bright backlighting instead of deep shade. The subjects are active and highly vocal. You need different equipment and a different approach to find them.

Resident valley hornbills

Borneo is home to 8 species of hornbill. All 8 maintain resident populations within the Danum Valley Conservation Area. They are apex frugivores and critical seed dispersers. Encountering them requires an understanding of their canopy preferences.

The rhinoceros hornbill is vulnerable. It is the unofficial flagship bird of the region. You will hear its resonant echoing calls across the valley. They are omnivores and supplement their fruit diet with insects and small reptiles. That broad diet helps sustain their local numbers.

The wreathed hornbill is highly nomadic. These vulnerable birds traverse massive tracts of forest to locate fruiting events. You usually see them in direct high-altitude flight across the valley. The black hornbill is vulnerable and prefers the mid-to-lower canopy. They show a higher tolerance for disturbed edges. You frequently encounter them foraging along the riverine corridors.

The oriental pied hornbill is the most adaptable. It is common on the fringes of the reserve. The white-crowned hornbill is an endangered cooperative breeder. It behaves more like a giant malkoha than a standard hornbill. It moves stealthily through dense mid-canopy vines to hunt insects and small reptiles. Finding one requires dedicated tracking.

The critically endangered helmeted hornbill demands the tallest emergent trees for nesting and observation. The endangered wrinkled hornbill is less vocal but you can hear the loud whoosh of its wingbeats overhead. Bushy-crested hornbills move in noisy flocks of 5 to 15 birds.

Other canopy targets

The Bornean bristlehead is the absolute prize. This near-threatened monotypic endemic is the sole member of its family. It travels in fast-moving noisy family flocks. You find them by listening for their strange repertoire of grunts and harsh croaks. They stay high in the leaves. The 50-to-70-metre height of the Danum dipterocarps presents a severe photographic challenge. Ground-based encounters usually result in extreme neck-strain and heavily backlit photographs. The walkway gives you a realistic chance to intercept a flock at eye level.

The great slaty woodpecker is the largest extant woodpecker in the Old World. They are assessed globally as vulnerable due to the loss of mature primary forests. Danum Valley provides the massive rotting emergent trees they require. They are highly social and move through the unlogged trees in chaotic flocks of up to 10. Their call is a loud whining puik-puik-puik that carries up to a kilometre through the forest. You can watch them foraging communally from the lodge walkway and capture dramatic wing-lifting displays.

The white-fronted falconet is the world's smallest raptor. It is endemic to Sabah and near-threatened. It sits on the bare uppermost dead twigs of the massive emergent trees. Families of 3 to 5 sit together and fly out to catch moths and dragonflies on the wing. They return repeatedly to the exact same snag.

Wallace's hawk-eagle is the smallest regional hawk-eagle. You can see it soaring on mid-morning thermals over the Danum River. The black-and-yellow broadbill provides the acoustic background to the whole valley. Its high-pitched cicada-like trill starts slowly and accelerates into a frantic buzzing crescendo. Guides use this call to instantly locate the birds. They blend surprisingly well into the dappled canopy light despite their black, yellow and pink colouring. They are relatively unwary and will continue feeding even when you observe them from directly below.

Mixed foraging flocks

Canopy birds rarely travel alone. They form mixed foraging flocks. A wave of different species will move through the branches together. One group flushes the insects and the others catch them. You might stand on the walkway in complete silence for 20 minutes. Then the leaves start moving and you have birds on all sides.

The key is to stay exactly where you are. The flock moves quickly. If you try to follow them on foot you lose them. Let the birds cross your sightline. The broadbills usually lead the lower edges. The woodpeckers stick to the main trunks. The bristleheads stay near the very top. Once the wave passes the forest goes quiet again.

Mature fig trees

A mature Ficus tree in fruit is the most productive birding site in the forest. Hornbills travel massive distances to find them. Wreathed hornbills will congregate in significant numbers at a single tree. Green pigeons and barbets arrive in the morning.

Guides know where the active fruiting trees are. If one is fruiting near the walkway or the access road you set up and wait. The birds will come to the food. The activity peaks early and slows down by mid-morning when the sun hits the top branches.

Canopy light and timing

Astronomical twilight in Lahad Datu begins around 4:51am. Dawn breaks consistently between 5:40am and 6:10am all year round. The canopy lights up long before the forest floor. You want to be on the walkway or the tower as the sun clears the ridge. The first 2 hours give you soft light and peak activity.

By 8:30am the equatorial sun creates harsh contrast. The sky turns bright white behind the leaves. Exposing a dark bird against a bright sky becomes very difficult. The activity drops as the heat rises. Most birders retreat to the lower trails or the lodge during the middle of the day. The canopy comes alive again in the late afternoon.

Walkways and observation towers

The platforms dictate your equipment. The walkway at Borneo Rainforest Lodge is suspended on cables. It bounces when anyone walks on it. That vibration makes low-shutter-speed photography nearly impossible. You cannot use a heavy tripod effectively on a moving bridge. You need fast shutter speeds and image stabilisation.

The Danum Valley Study Centre has rigid observation towers but its Bukit Atur platform is undergoing maintenance. You can lock a tripod down and shoot at slow speeds. You still face the challenge of focal length. Even from a 26-metre walkway a falconet at the very top of a 70-metre tree is a small subject. You need a long lens. Capturing the intricate red and yellow feathers on the crown of a bristlehead requires a massive lens and clear weather. Clear days often mean severe silhouetting against the sky. Overcast mornings actually provide the best soft lighting for plumage details.

Planning your canopy birding

If the bristlehead and the hornbills are your main targets tell the team when you enquire. They will match you with an itinerary that balances the Danum walkways with the rigid towers at Sepilok. Send your dates and the species you want to see most. The team comes back with what can be arranged. Everyone entering Danum Valley does so on a conservation-area permit arranged with their stay. Travel and health insurance is advised for any visit to Danum Valley and cover that includes emergency evacuation is sensible in a place this remote. A construction and expansion project runs 1 January 2025 to 22 January 2027 at Borneo Rainforest Lodge. It will add 9 chalets.

--- Sources referenced on this page: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Facts verified 8 September 2026.