Malaysia Birding Tours (Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia)
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Malaysia is one of several amazing birding destinations in southeast Asia where we offer a range of exciting small-group birdwatching tours targeting many of the outstanding bird species possible. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories across two regions separated by the South China Sea. One of these regions is West Malaysia (known as Peninsular Malaysia) and the other is East Malaysia, which includes Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo. A large part of the island of Borneo is part of Indonesia (called Kalimantan).
West Malaysia sits at the foot of the longer Malay Peninsula and shares a land border with Thailand in the north, and to the south, separated by a narrow piece of water (Johor Strait), is Singapore. To the west of the peninsula, across the Strait of Malacca (18 miles/c.30 kilometers wide), is the Indonesian island of Sumatra (look out for our new Sumatra tour coming soon). This piece of water is also one of the most important shipping channels in the world. East Malaysia shares land borders with Brunei and Indonesia. Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur is located in West Malaysia and is the start point for our tours in the region, and also the best way to get into Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, and East Malaysia for our Bornean birdwatching and wildlife-watching tours. Sabah and Sarawak, along with the other parts of Borneo (Brunei and Kalimantan) are part of the Greater Sunda Islands, these are made up by Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi (the latter three islands all part of the immense Indonesian island chain).
According to the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) Malaysia is home to over 840 bird species, 17 of these are endemic birds and includes gems like Mountain Peacock-Pheasant, Black-crowned Pitta, Dulit Frogmouth, and Malayan Whistling Thrush. A high proportion of the birds of Malaysia are shared with Indonesia and a smaller number with southern Thailand, though the best chance of seeing many of these is in Malaysia itself. BirdLife International recognizes seven Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs) and 55 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the country.