Indonesian Borneo

Whitehead's Trogon Harpactes whiteheadi ©Jason Bugay Reyes Website
Birding Kalimantan

The Indonesian portion of Borneo, covers 73% of the island and is know as Kalimantan consisting of four provinces. Kalimantan’s total area is 544,150 square kilometres (210,097 square miles).The Indonesian part of the island of Borneo is much more rural than the Malaysian part with a larger area but similar sized population of c.19 million. The Schwaner Mountains stretch across the central province, 80% of which is covered in dense forest, peatland swamps, mangroves, rivers, and traditional agriculture land. Highland areas in the north-east are remote and not easily accessible. <p

Top Sites
  • Kayan Mentarang National Park

    InformationSatellite View
    Montane birding near the Sarawak border. Difficult access but maybe the best site for Bornean montane endemics in Kalimantan.
  • Kutai National Park

    InformationSatellite View
    Vast lowland forest area near Samarinda, with a great range of birds including many of Kalimantan's lowland specialities.
  • Mahakam River

    Information
    Boat trips on the Mahakam River for rare waterbirds including Storm's Stork and White-shouldered Ibis.
  • Menyapa Mountains

    InformationSatellite View
    Hill and montane birding in the seldom visited Menyapa hills is not for the unadventurous, but new discoveries undoubtedly await those who try it.
  • Sunagai Wain Protected Forest

    InformationSatellite View
    Easily accessible lowland forest near Balikpapan, with a great range of species including Bornean Peacock-pheasant and Bornean Ground-cuckoo.
  • Tanjung Putting National Park

    InformationSatellite View
    Lowland forest in Kalimantan's south. Great for many of the lowland specialities.
Contributors
Endemics
  • Number of endemics: 42

    For Borneo as a whole
Useful Reading

  • A Naturalist's Guide to the Birds of Borneo

    (Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan) | By Wong Tsu Shi | John Beaufoy Books | 2018 | Edition 3 | Paperback | 176 pages, 250 colour photos, 2 colour maps | ISBN: 9781912081912 Buy this book from NHBS.com
  • Birds of Borneo

    By Susan Myers | Christopher Helm | 2016 | Edition 2 | Paperback | 336 Pages | Colour Plates & BW Illustrations & Distribution Maps | ISBN: 9781472924445 Buy this book from NHBS.com
  • Birds of the Philippines, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sundas and the Moluccas

    By Norman Arlott | William Collins (Harper Collins imprint) | 2018 | Hardback | 416 pages, 179 plates with colour illustrations; colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9780008102395 Buy this book from NHBS.com
  • Phillipps' Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo

    (Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan) | By Quentin Phillipps & Karen Phillipps | John Beaufoy Books | 2014 | Edition 3 | 372 pages, 141 plates with colour illustrations, 600 colour distribution maps, 12 colour maps | ISBN: 9781909612150 Buy this book from NHBS.com
  • Pocket Photo Guide to the Birds of Borneo

    (Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan) | By GWH Davison & Chew Yen Fook | Bloomsbury Publishing | 2016 | Paperback | 144 pages, colour photos, 1 colour map | ISBN: 9781472932877 Buy this book from NHBS.com
  • The Birds of Borneo

    By Bertram E Smythies | Edited by Geoffrey WH Davison | Natural History Publications Borneo | 1999 | Edition 4 | Hardback | 853 pages, 57 colour plates, b/w plates, map | ISBN: 9789838120289 Buy this book from NHBS.com
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • NF Wehea Forest

    InformationSatellite View
    Wehea Forest is a 38,000 ha rainforest located in East Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan, Borneo. Wehea was declared a 'protected forest' in 2004 by the Wehea Dayak. Biodiversity studies in Wehea by Integrated Conservation and The Nature Conservancy found it is home to endangered species such as the Bornean orangutan, Sunda clouded leopard and sun bear. In 2011, a team of scientists re-discovered the endangered Miller's Grizzled Langur in Wehea Forest.
  • NP Betung Kerihun

    InformationSatellite View
    It is located inland, along the Malaysian border. The park was established in 1995, and has a total area of 8,000 km2 (3,100 sq mi) or about 5.5 percent of West Kalimantan Province area. Together with the 2,000 km2 (800 sq mi) Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary in Malaysia, it has been proposed to form a World Heritage Site named the "Transborder Rainforest Heritage of Borneo" The fauna of the park is rich, with 300 species of bird (25 endemic to Borneo).
  • NP Bukit Baka Bukit Raya

    InformationSatellite View
    It is named after the mountains of Bukit Baka (1,620 metres) and Bukit Raya (2,278 metres), part of the Schwaner mountain range at the border of Central and West Kalimantan. The national park forms part of the Heart of Borneo conservation project. Bird species in the park include the black hornbill, helmeted hornbill, common emerald dove, little cuckoo-dove and Bornean peacock-pheasant.
  • NP Kayan Mentarang

    InformationSatellite View
    Kayan Mentarang National Park is a densely forested national park in East Kalimantan province, Borneo Island, Indonesia. The national park is named after a great dispersed Mentarang mountain trails plateau of Apau Kayan which covers the entire park from Datadian area in south region to Apau Ping area in mid region until Long Bawan in north region.
  • NP Kutai

    InformationSatellite View
    Kutai National Park is a lowland national park located on the east coast of Borneo Island, in the East Kalimantan province of Indonesia, few minutes south of the equator.
  • NP Lake Sentarum

    InformationSatellite View
    The Danau Sentarum National Park is a national park protecting one of the world's most biodiverse lake systems, located in the heart of Borneo Island, Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan Province. The National Park is located in the western part of this basin, where three-quarters of the seasonal lakes occur. Approximately half of the park consists of lakes, while the other half consists of freshwater swamp forest. There have been 237 bird species recorded including the Storm's stork and great argus. Of the 143 mammal species 23 are endemic to Borneo including the proboscis monkey. There is a relatively large population of the endangered orangutans present in the park.
  • NP Mount Palung

    InformationSatellite View
    Mount Palung National Park lies on the island of Borneo, in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, north of Ketapang and east of Sukadana. The park is notable for its diversity of habitat types, ranging from mangrove and freshwater swamp forest, to lowland alluvial (empran bench) forest, to montane forest, and for its diversity of wildlife. It is one of only a handful of parks in the world where orangutans can be seen in the wild.
  • NP Sabangau

    InformationSatellite View
    Sabangau National Park (sometimes spelled Sebangau) is a national park in Central Kalimantan, a province of Indonesia in Kalimantan. he national park is centered on Sabangau River, a blackwater river. It flows through the Kelompok Hutan Kahayan or Sabangau peat swamp forest (5,300 km2), between the Katingan and Kahayan rivers. The peat swamp forest is a dual ecosystem, with diverse tropical trees standing on a 10m - 12m layer of peat - partly decayed and waterlogged plant material - which in turn covers relatively infertile soil. Vulnerable bird species include the large green pigeon (Treron capellei) and possibly Storm's stork (Ciconia stormi) and lesser adjutant (Leptoptilus javanicus).
  • NP Tanjung Putting

    InformationSatellite View
    The park is composed of 415,040 hectares of dryland dipterocarp forest, peat swampforest, heath forest, mangrove and costal beach forest, and secondary forest…
  • NR Baning Nature Tourist Park

    InformationSatellite View
    Baning Nature Tourist Park is a Nature Park located at Sintang Regency of West Kalimantan province of Indonesia in the island of Borneo. It is spread over an area of about 315 hectares. The park is covered by thousands of large trees and rich with various flora and rare fauna.
Guides & Tour Operators
  • Vacation Indonesia Tours

    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
Other Links
  • Birding in Kalimantan

    Website
    Information about birding sites in Kalimantan, including key species, maps, access, local guides and resources. Kalimantan is massive, making up by far the biggest proportion of the island of Borneo. It is rarely visited by birders, however, many of whom prefer the easier birding of Sabah and Sarawak. For those interested to give Kalimantan a go you

Fatbirder - linking birders worldwide... Wildlife Travellers see our sister site: WAND

Skip to content