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Together with insects, birds are the most visible animal inhabitants of the
Park, though often they are more easily heard than seen. The most recent
compilation of birds for Kinabalu, carried out by Sabah Parks staff in 1999,
records 326 species, including migrants. These can be roughly divided into two
loose groups – lowland birds rarely recorded about 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) and
montane birds rarely recorded below 1,000 metres (3,300 feet). Obviously a
considerable amount of overlap does occur and species such as the Mountain
Serpent-eagle (Spilornis kinabaluensis) and the Wreathed Hornbill (Aceros
undulates) have been seen flying across the forested slopes as high as 3,300
metres (11,000 feet), though they are not resident at these elevations. The
rather rare Mountain Serpent-eagle, distinguished from its more common cousin,
the Crested Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela) by its darker plumage is confined
to Borneo, where there are records from Gunung Murud and Gunung Mulu in northern
Sarawak, in addition to Kinabalu.
Periods of severe drought on Kinabalu also affect the bird life, and in 1983
normally upper montane species such as the dark olive-green Mountain Blackeye (Chlorocharis
emiliae) and re and black Mountain Blackbird ( or Island Thrush) (Turdus
poliocephalus) were frequently observed in small groups around Park HQ, though
they are only rarely seen at this elevation at others times.
 Diversity of birds on Kinabalu decreases with altitude, but this is made up of
in numbers. Thus the Mountain Blackeye, though seen all the way up the Summit
Trail about 2,00 metres (6,500 feet), is one of the two commonest birds around
Panar Laban and made up 80% of the catch during mistnetting studies carried out
by the Sabah Parks staff at the Paka Cave in 1999!. The other really common
species up here is the Mountain Blackbird which has been recorde as nesting just
below the summit. Found only on Mt.Kinabalu, Mt.Tamboyukon and Mt.Trus madi in
Borneo, the Mountain Blackbird also occurs in montane forests from the
Philippines to Sumatra and New Guinea, in contrast to the Mountain Blackeye, not
found outside Borneo, but present on most of the island’s higher mountains.
 Other species of the sub-alpine forests include the little brown Sunda
Bush-warbler (Cettia vulcaniai), with its distinctive narrow buff eyebrow, that
is also found in Java and Sumatra, and the tiny Short-tailed Bush-warbler or
Bornean Stubtail (Cettia whiteheadi), distinguished by its white eyebrow and
almost complete lack of any tail, which is confined to Borneo’s higher
mountains. Both these birds are most often seen above 2,000 metres (6,540 feet),
where they tend to skulk about in undergrowth near the ground like small mice.
The Blue or White-browed Shortwing (Brachypteys Montana), identified by its blue
plumage with a eyebrow and longer legs, prefers more open clearing and patches
of bare rock near the tree-line. Widespread in South-east Asia, in Borneo it has
so fasr been found only both Trus Nadi and Mulu in addition to Kinabalu. The
female is reddish-brown below, while the male is dark blue all over.
 Most notable of all the sub-alpine birds, however, is the Kinabalu Friendly
Warbler (Bradypterus accentor), another skulker in the undergrowth. The bird has
a streaked brown breast and is named for its confiding habit of hopping around
between the feet of early climbers. Some years after the park was first
established, one of the wardens noted sadly that the little birds were not seen
so often as in the past and that the disturbance caused by a greater number of
people walking the Summit Trail had probably driven them to quieter areas.
Nevertheless, this bird can probably be said to be one of Kinabalu’s most
exclusive attractions – the only other records for it cming from Mt.Tamboyukon
and the more distant Mr.Trus Madi, both far less accessible than Kinabalu. |
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