Sumatra

• Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park

  InformationSatellite View
  Getting a great reputation for montane and sub-montane specialities, also good for lowland and hill birding…

• Gunung Leuser National Park

  InformationSatellite View
  Vast undisturbed forests stretching from lowlands to montane. Rarely visited and many discoveries still to be made.

• Kerinci-Seblat National Park

  InformationSatellite View
  Famous montane and hill birding. Easily accessible forests with a good chance of almost all montane Sumatran endemics. In this national park live up to 129 species of birds, 36 mammalians with 24 protected, 10 species of reptiles. 6 species of amphibians, and 8 species of primates. There are also 4000 floras dominated by family of Dipterocarpaceae…

• Medan Coastal Environs

  Satellite View
  Some great sites near Medan for coastal birding. Good for waders, big waterbirds and migrants.

• Pantai Cemara

  Satellite View
  Not easy to get there, but perhaps the best wader site in Sumatra. Nordman's Greenshank, Mangrove Pitta; Malaysian Honeyguide and Asian Dowitcher are regularly seen.

• Way Kambas National Park

  InformationSatellite View
  Easily accessible lowland forest. White-winged Ducks, Storm's Storks and some of the best night birding in Asia…

• Nick Brickle

  Nusantara / Birds-Indonesia | info@burung-nusantara.org

  https://www.facebook.com/BurungNusantara/?locale=id_ID

• Number of bird species: 776

  (As at May 2025)

• Number of endemics: 35 (Whole Sumatran Archipelago)

  Roll's Hill Partridge Arborophila rolli
  Sumatran Hill Partridge Arborophila sumatrana
  Red-billed Hill Partridge Arborophila rubrirostris
  Bronze-tailed Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron chalcurum
  Sumatran Ground Cuckoo Carpococcyx viridis
  Enggano Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia cinnamomea
  Enggano Imperial Pigeon Ducula oenothoraxa
  Sumatran Drongo Dicrurus sumatranus
  Mentawai Malkoha Phaenicophaeus oeneicaudus
  Simeulue Scops Owl Otus umbra
  Mentawai Scops Owl Otus mentawi
  Enggano Scops Owl Otus enganensis
  Sumatran Frogmouth Batrachostomus poliolophus
  Sumatran Trogon Apalharpactes mackloti
  Graceful Pitta Pitta venusta
  Schneider's Pitta Pitta schneideri
  Sumatran Treepie Dendrocitta occipitalis
  Sumatran Leafbird Chloropsis media
  Blue-masked Leafbird Chloropsis venusta
  Cream-striped Bulbul Pycnonotus leucogrammicus
  Spot-necked Bulbul Pycnonotus tympanistrigus
  Sumatran Bulbul Ixos sumatranus
  Aceh Bulbul Pycnonotus snouckaerti
  Enggano White-eye Zosterops salvadorii
  Sumatran Babbler Trichastoma buettikoferi
  Rusty-breasted Wren Babbler Turdinus rufipectus
  Sumatra Laughing-thrush Garrulax bicolor
  Sumatran Shortwing Brachypteryx saturatai
  Rück's Blue Flycatcher Cyornis ruckii
  Shiny Whistling Thrush Myophonus melanurus
  Sumatran Whistling Thrush Myophonus castaneus
  Sumatran Cochoa Cochoa beccarii
  Enggano Thrush Geokichla leucolaema
  Sumatran Robin Myiomela sumatrana
  Sumatran Flowerpecker Dicaeum beccarii
  

• Birds of Bali, Sumatra and Java

  | By Tony Tilford | Bloomsbury | 2023 | Paperbacvk | 224 pages, colour photos, 1 colour map | ISBN: 9781472986870 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Birds of Java, Sumatra and Bali

  | By Tony Tilford & Alain Compost | Bloomsbury Publishing | 2017 | Paperback | 136 pages, 250 colour photos, 1 colour map | Out of Print | ISBN: 9781472938183 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali

  | By J MacKinnon | Oxford University Press | 1993 | Paperback | 2007 Reprint | 491 pages, 88 col plates, line illustrations, maps | Out of Print | ISBN: 9780198540342 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• The Birds of Sumatra

  | (An Annotated Checklist) | By JG Van Marle & KH Voous | BOU | 1988 | paperback | 266 pages, b/w plates, 9 tabs, 3 maps | Out of Print | ISBN: 9780907446095 Buy this book from NHBS.com

• Sumatran Wildlife Sanctuary

  Website
  We are a group of like-minded individuals who are passionate about preventing habitat loss in Sumatra, Indonesia. Together and in partnership with local Indonesian-run Orangutan Information Centre (OIC) and Photographers Without Borders (PWB), we're fundraising to protect and conserve more than 50 hectares of rainforest land in Sumatra, which is adjacent to the Gunung Leuser ecosystem. We will also be building a primate rescue centre on-site.

Abbreviations Key

• NP Batang Gadis

  InformationSatellite View
  It is named after the Batang Gadis river that flows thorough the park. There are 47 species of mammals, 247 of birds, 240 of vascular plants and 1,500 of microorganisms in the park. There were 13 endemic species of bird recorded in the park, including Salvadori's pheasant and Schneider's pitta.

• NP Berbak WII

  InformationSatellite View
  The Berbak National Park in Sumatra island, Jambi province, forms part of the largest undisturbed swamp forest in southeastern Asia, and the peat swamp forest with the greatest number of palm species. The more than 250 bird species include the Chinese egret, lesser adjutant stork, many species of kingfisher, and the white-winged wood duck.

• NP Bukit Barisan Selatan

  InformationSatellite View
  The park located along the Bukit Barisan mountain range, has a total area of 3,568 km2, and spans three provinces: Lampung, Bengkulu, and South Sumatra. Together with Gunung Leuser and Kerinci Seblat national parks it forms a World Heritage Site, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra. There are over 300 species of bird in the park, like the critically endangered Sumatran ground-cuckoo.

• NP Bukit Duabelas

  InformationSatellite View
  It is representative of lowland tropical rain forests in the province of Jambi. Only the northern part of the park consists of primary rainforest, while the rest is secondary forest, as result of previous logging. Among the endangered animals protected in the park are the siamang, clouded leopard, Java mouse-deer, sun bear, Sumatran muntjac, leopard cat, hairy-nosed otter, dhole, Sumatran striped rabbit and the crested serpent eagle.

• NP Bukit Tigapuluh

  InformationSatellite View
  It is famous as one of the last refuges of endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephant, and Asian tapir, as well as many endangered bird species. Bird species include: great argus, little green-pigeon, white-rumped shama, white-bellied woodpecker, crested serpent-eagle, Hill myna, helmeted hornbill, wrinkled hornbill, white-winged wood duck, Storm's stork, garnet pitta and grey-breasted babbler.

• NP Kerinci Seblat

  InformationSatellite View
  Kerinci-Seblat National Park includes around 1.6 million hectares of forest, but from a bird watching perspective has only three well known sites: The Gunung Kerinci summit trail, Danau Gunung Tujuh and the Tapan Road. Details are given on each of these below, but for those interested there are many more places could be explored in the region.The fauna include Sumatran tigers, and the park is recognised under the Global Tiger Initiative as one of the 12 most important protected areas in the world for tiger conservation. The Kerinci area is home to more than 300 bird species, including 17 of Sumatra's 20 endemic birds, making it of particular importance to ornithologists and bird-watching enthusiasts.

• NP Mount Leuser

  InformationSatellite View
  The national park, settled in the Barisan mountain range, is named after Mount Leuser (3,119 m), and protects a wide range of ecosystems. An orangutan sanctuary at Bukit Lawang is located within the park. Together with Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat National Parks, it forms a World Heritage Site, the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.

• NP Sembilang WII

  InformationSatellite View
  The park is dominated by swamps as peat forests, like the neighbouring Berbak National Park, and both parks are Ramsar wetlands of international importance. About half of the park is covered by mangrove forests, while the rest is covered by peat swamp forest, lowland tropical forests, mud flats, freshwater swamp forests and riparian forests. Within the park is the largest breeding colony of milky storks in the world, and one of the largest colonies of lesser adjutant. Other threatened birds in the park include the Storm's stork, white-winged duck, Nordmann's greenshank and Far Eastern curlew. The total bird population of the park has been estimated to be up to one million, while during winter up to 100,000 migratory birds stop over for rest.

• NP Siberut

  InformationSatellite View
  The park protects four endangered endemic primate species: Kloss's gibbon (Hylobates klossii), Siberut macaque (Macaca siberu), Siberut langur (Presbytis potenziani ssp. siberu) and pig-tailed langur (Simias concolor ssp. siberu). Among the 31 species of mammals in the park[1] there are four endemic species of squirrel. The park also protects 134 species of bird of which 19 are endemic, including the Mentawai scops owl.

• NP Tesso Nilo

  InformationSatellite View
  Tesso Nilo National Park houses some of the largest coherent lowland rainforests remaining on Sumatra. Critically endangered Sumatran elephants and Sumatran tigers live here.

• NP Way Kambas

  InformationSatellite View
  It consists of swamp forest and lowland rain forest, mostly of secondary growth as result of extensive logging in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite decreasing populations, the park still has a few critically endangered Sumatran tigers, Sumatran elephants and Sumatran rhinoceroses. It also provides excellent birdwatching, with the rare white-winged wood duck among the over 400 species present in the park.

• eBird

  Sightings
  eBirding This Month

• Aceh Birder

  Local Tour Operator
  Aceh Birder are an independent tour organiser and ground agent for birdwatching trips to almost all birding areas in Aceh and some areas in North Sumatra.

• Bird Photo Tours ASIA

  Tour Operator
  Bird-Photo-Tours Asia’ 23-day bird photography workshop takes in three of the Greater Sunda Islands, namely Bali, Java and Sumatra, offering the chance for close photographic encounters with some fabulous families of birds including Pheasants, Partridges, Pittas, Trogons, Kingfishers, Babblers, Wren Babblers, Flycatchers, Tailorbirds, Shortwings, Bulbuls, Flowerpeckers, Bush Warblers, Thrushes, Mynas, Frogmouths and Owls.

• Bird Tour Asia

  Tour Operator
  The huge islands of Java and Sumatra (+Bali) share around 60 endemics, and we can hope to see the majority of these...

• BirdQuest

  Tour Operator
  CLASSIC SUMATRA, INDONESIA – a feast of endemics in the island’s best birding areas

• Birding Ecotours

  Tour Operator
  We offer a range of Indonesia birding tours which target many of Indonesia’s bird endemics...

• Calidris Birding Tours

  Tour Operator
  25-day bird watching tour for Javan, Sumatran and Bali endemic species with Calidris Birding Tours.

• Ecolodges Indonesia

  Local Tour Operator
  We offer trained local bird guides in Bali, Flores, Borneo, and Sumatra who will help you discover well over 150 of Indonesia's bird species

• Krakatau Tours

  Local Tour Operator
  Kerinci Seblat is a haven for birdlife, with over 370 species, including the Sumatran ground-cuckoo (rediscovered in 2002) and 17 of Sumatra's 20 endemic birds...

• Let's Birding

  Local Tour Operator
  Let’s Birding is one of the tour operators who can organize your trips in groups and individuals. We offer the best trips by seeing many birds and exciting in Sumatra, including all the wildlife, fabulous surroundings, and interesting local culture along the way

• Ornis Birding Expeditions

  Tour Operator
  Short tour with a maximum of five participants, focused on the currently-reliable Sumatran Ground Cuckoos, along with staked-out Schneider's Pitta...

• Rockjumper Birding Tours

  Tour Operator
  Indonesia - Sumatra & Java

• Tangkoko Birding Ecotour

  Local Tour Operator
  Embark on a 16-day avian adventure across the diverse landscapes of East Java and Sumatra.

• Vacation Indonesia Tours

  Local Tour Operator
  Vacation Indonesia Tours, owned by Nurlin Djuni & Darwin Sumang, is your gateway to Indonesia. We can immerse you in our culture, heritage and our extraordinarily diverse natural history. The Islands of Indonesia are justly famous for birdwatching. Over 372 species have been recorded and many are found nowhere else. Nurlin Djuni specialises in Birdwatching/Holidays Tours in Sulawesi, Halmahera, Papua, Java, Bali, Kalimantan, Lesser Sundas and Sumatera

• WINGS

  Tour Operator
  Indonesia: Java and Sumatra

• Wild Sumatra

  Local Tour Operator
  The Kerinci Seblat National Park has some of the best birdwatching in Sumatra, and all of Indonesia.

• Zoothera Birding

  Tour Operator
  Java and Sumatra are two of the most populated islands in the Indonesian archipelago but at the same time they are both endowed with a high level of species endemism.

• 2017 [10 October] - Carlos Bocos

  Information
  Entering the wet season in the Greater Sundas can be a risky strategy with the weather but can be excellent for birding, and so this tour proved, with a very high rate of endemics bagged in both islands. Java, hosting an incredible number of endangered species, gave us excellent birding with highlights like Javan Hawk-eagle, Chestnut-bellied Partridge, Javan Cochoa, Sunda and Horsfield´s thrushes, Javan Trogon, Javan Banded Pitta, Javan Owlet, Javan Frogmouth, White-breasted Babbler, Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon, Pink-headed Fruit-dove, Javan Laughingthrush, Volcano Swiftlet or both Tawny-breasted and Pin-tailed Parrotfinches. Way Kambas treated us well with excellent night birding as expected, including Oriental Bay Owl, Bonaparte's Nightjar, Reddish Scops-owl and Sunda, Large and Gould's Frogmouths. Daytime birding was also excellent with the endangered White-winged Duck, Cinnamon-headed Green-pigeon, Malayan Banded Pitta, Olive-backed Flameback, Rufous-tailed Shama and many more. Both Gunung Kerinci and Bukit Tapan were also great and the number of highlights, countless. Schneider's Pitta, Salvadori's Pheasant, Sumatran Cochoa, Rimator, Sumatran Peacock Pheasant, Red-billed Partridge, Sumatran Frogmouth, Sumatran and Blue-faced Leafbirds, Ruby-throated Bulbul, Graceful Pitta and Marbled Wren Babbler.

• 2018 [03 March] - Rob Hutchinson - Java & Sumatra

  PDF Report
  An ever increasing number of recognised endemics make these two Indonesian islands even more attractive, and this custom tour targeted those, following a traditional birding circuit but with the exciting addition of the Mentawai islands. We began on Java where Gunung Gede-Pangrango was pleasantly free of the hoards of hikers that descend later in the year, and we racked up a great list of endemic; Javan Scops Owl at touching distance, Javan Frogmouth, Javan Owlet, Chestnut-bellied Partridge, Javan Trogon, Javan Crocias, Javan Cochoa, Crescent-chested and Whitebibbed Babblers, Flame-fronted and Brown-headed Barbets, Pygmy Bushtit and the spectacular Javan Kingfisher.

• 2018 [06 June] - Rob Gordijn & Helen Rijkes - Western Sumatra

  PDF Report
  Sumatra was our second stop in our year of travelling, we wanted a destination in Indonesia in June and the weather in Sumatra seemed favourable. With two new pitta’s and lots of other endemics this was an easy choice. Since we only allotted 10 days we chose to do western Sumatra with the best site for most endemics (Kerinci) and since we were travelling via Padang we added one of the offshore islands (Mentawai).

• 2018 [09 September] - Mike Nelson - Sumatra & Java

  PDF Report
  With a tasty list of endemics, it’s no wonder our West Java and Sumatra tour is very popular and our third tour this year didn’t disappoint, notching up a total of 341 species, including a fantastic crop of endemics and local specialties.

• 2019 [05 May] - Carlos Bocos - Sumatra and West Java

  PDF Report
  Sumatra and West Java, one of the classic birding tours in Asia, was again an amazing journey through some of the best spots in the whole continent.

• 2019 [07 July] - Ross & Melissa Gallardy - West Java, Banyaks, Simeulue, & Aceh

  PDF Report
  With only a little over two weeks, I had to be pretty selective on where to visit in Indonesia. The decision was made to concentrate on a number of species that are unfortunately critically endangered.

• 2019 [08 August] - Mike Nelson - Sumatra & West Java

  PDF Report
  The two huge islands of Sumatra and Java comprise half of the Greater Sundas. From steamy lowlands to high volcanic peaks these two islands boast over 80 endemic bird species, a number that makes them a priority for many avid birders.

• 2022 [08 August] - Craig Robson

  PDF Report
  Sumatra is one of the most endemic-rich islands in Asia and the World as a whole – a destination high on the priority list of many birders. This was the rst Birdquest tour there since the pandemic, and also one of our most successful ever, a remarkable achievement when considering what we have all just been through over the last few years. Although Sumatra has a reputation for being a ‘dicult’ birding destination, we recorded almost all of the endemics and near-endemics, with just a handful of misses, thanks to our network of excellent local guides and remarkably smooth-running logistics.

• 2024 [02 February] - Rob Arnold

  Report
  ...Sumatra is the world’s fifth largest island, after Borneo, and it possesses an interesting range of endemic bird species. My Singaporean friend KC and I are here to try to winkle some of these out, including the usual trogon and pittas, but especially the Sumatran Ground-Cuckoo, cousin of the Bornean and the mainland Coral-Billed Cuckoos...

• 2024 [08 August] - Pete Morris

  PDF Report
  Our 2024 tour to Sumatra was a brilliant success! A great and enthusiastic group, largely good weather, and, other than the odd re-arranged flight, good logistics, all helped, allowing us to find nearly all of our target birds. Enggano and Nias were not part of our itinerary, and of the remaining endemics, we saw all but two, one of which we heard!

• 2024 [09 September] - Carlos Bocos

  PDF Report
  Our second Java and Sumatra tour was an absolute and resounded success. We harvested a mass total of 312 bird species, with 15 heard only, plus 27 species of mammals. We did well with the endemics, recorded 22 species of nightbirds and saw some endangered birds throughout like White-winged Duck and Milky Stork. A tour all about quality birds...