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BIRDING GUIDE
IN VIETNAM
Located 150km by road from HCMC, Cat Tien is the largest remaining lowland rainforest in Vietnam, and one of the best birding destinations in the country. Birders have recorded over 400 species in the park, including many specialties that are easier to find in Cat Tien than in any other park in the region. This site also boasts a great deal of non-bird biodiversity, including numerous primate species. A large portion of the park itself is an IBA, and a lake within the park (named "Crocodile Lake" for the impressive siamese crocodiles that live there) has been designated a Ramsar site.
Birding Highlights: Good chances for specialties such as the Bar-bellied and Blue-rumped Pitta, as well as Germain’s Peacock-pheasant, Siamese Fireback, Green Peafowl. Also Orange-necked Partridge, Scaly-breasted Partridge; numerous woodpeckers (White-bellied, Great Slaty, Pale-headed, Black-and-buff, Heart-spotted); Great Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Orange-breasted Trogon, Blue-bearded Bee-eater, Banded Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Blyth’s Frogmouth, Great-eared Nightjar, Grey-headed Fish-eagle, Lesser Fish-eagle, Black Baza, Collared Falconet, Woolly-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Black-and-red Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill, Golden-crested Myna, Grey-faced Tit-babbler.
The Germain's Peacock-pheasant, endemic to southern Indochina, and a highlight in Cat Tien.
Cat Tien National Park
Set upon the south-central highlands and easily accessible via the airport in Da Lat, this is among the best places to find endemic birds in Vietnam. The plateau reaches elevations of over 2,000 meters, making it much cooler than the surrounding countryside (this climate also helps explain the evergreen forests on the plateau, uncommon for Vietnam). The Bi-Dup Nui-Ba Nature Reserve is located here, and has been designated an IBA.
Birding Highlights: Silver Pheasant, Red-vented Barbet, Indochinese Barbet, Red-headed Trogon, Long-tailed Broadbill, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Black Eagle, Rufous-bellied Eagle, Rusty-naped Pitta, Blue Pitta, Burmese Shrike, Indochinese Green Magpie, Eurasian Jay, Slender-billed Oriole, Little Pied Flycatcher, Large Niltava, White-tailed Robin, Spotted Forktail, Yellow-billed Nuthatch, Grey-crowned Tit, White-spectacled Warbler, Grey-cheeked Warbler, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Black-hooded Laughingthrush, White-cheeked Laughingthrush, Orange-breasted Laughingthrush, Collared Laughingthrush, White-browed Scimitar Babbler, Rufous-capped Babbler, Vietnamese Cutia, Chestnut-fronted Shrike-Babbler, Vietnamese Shrike-Babbler, Blue-winged Minla, Black-crowned Fulvetta, Indochinese Fulvetta, Grey-crowned Crocias, Rufous-backed Sibia, Black-headed Sibia, Black-crowned Parrotbill, Mrs Gould’s Sunbird, Vietnamese Greenfinch, Red Crossbill.
An endemic Black-headed Parrotbill, one of many specialties in Da Lat.
Da Lat Plateau
Accessible by car from HCMC, Tram Chim is a unique ecosystem located to the east of the Mekong River. The wetland landscape is a combination of seasonally inundated grasses and reeds, as well as Melaleuca forest. In the winter this IBA is also an excellent spot for numerous species of waterfowl, as well as the best spot in Vietnam to see the magnificent Saurus Crane.
Birding Highlights: Sarus Crane, Oriental Darter, Painted Stork and Asian Golden Weaver. Bengal Florican has been recorded, but is very rare. In the winter, numerous ducks and other waterfowl.
Three Blue-tailed Bee-eaters over open grassland.
Tram Chim National Park
Sitting in the southern portion of Vietnam's central highlands, Yok Don is relatively unique in the country. The park borders Cambodia, and is home to numerouns species that can be found nowhere else in the country, including the critically endangered giant ibis. While only the eastern portion of the park is accessible to tourists, Yok Don makes an excellent addition to any birding itinerary, particularly when combined with the nearby Da Lat Plateau.
Birding Highlights: Green Peafowl, Lesser Adjutant, Woolly-necked Stork, woodpeckers and Mekong Wagtail, White-winged Duck, Masked Finfoot, Lesser and Grey-headed Fish Eagles. Yok Don is the only known site for the critically endangered Giant Ibis in Vietnam and supports the last known breeding Sarus Cranes in the country. It is also one of a handful of sites in Vietnam with recent records of White-rumped and Red-headed Vultures.
Yok Don National Park is home to a globally significant population of Green Peafowl, with an estimated 400 individuals.