Bali

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Indonesia

Overview

Bali has long been one of the most visited tourist destinations in South-East Asia and despite the recent spate of terrorist attacks it remains popular. Its long history as a centre for tourism has led to severe habitat degradation and the island is ignored by many birders who tend to visit less westernised areas of Indonesia. However, Bali is home to the endemic Bali Mynah plus a good selection of more widespread Indonesian species and has all the tourist facilities one could wish for with abundant accommodation and easy travel, car-hire etc.

Bali provides an ideal introduction to Indonesian birding and even the most developed areas hold a good range of species.

Birds

Notable Species

Bali is the first major island to the west of Wallace's Line. This biogeographical dividing line separates the Asian avifauna, to the west, from that of Wallacea which is the transitional zone between the Asian and Australasian avifaunas. Bali has several species such as Black-backed Fruit-Dove, Rainbow Lorikeet, Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Indonesian Honeycreeper which are more closely linked to forms east of the line. The honeycreeper and fruit-dove can be seen in the montane forest around the crater lakes at Bedugul in central Bali as well as Flame-fronted Barbet, Sunda Whistling-Thrush, Sunda Warbler and Blood-breasted Flowerpecker.

There are many areas on Bali's south coast worth birding and mudflats and mangroves can hold Great-billed Heron and Eastern Reef-Egret, waders such as Far-Eastern Curlew, Grey-tailed Tattler, Asian Dowitcher and both Red-necked Stint and Long-toed Stint. Christmas Island Freigatebird and Lesser Frigatebird also occur as well as Little Pied Cormorant and Black-naped Tern. White-tailed Tropicbird is possible on the southernmost peninsula of Bukit and on the offshore island of Penida where Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo also occurs.

Checklist

Birds you can see here include:

Little Grebe, Australasian Little Grebe, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, White-tailed Tropicbird, Little Pied Cormorant, Christmas Island Frigatebird, Great Frigatebird, Lesser Frigatebird, Purple Heron, Great-billed Heron, White-faced Heron, Eastern, Intermediate Egret, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Javanese Pond-Heron, Striated Heron, Yellow Little-Bittern, Cinnamon Little-Bittern, Black Bittern, Milky Stork, Woolly-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant Stork, Royal Spoonbill, Wandering Whistling-Duck, Grey, Pacific Black Duck, Osprey, Black-shouldered Kite, Brahminy Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Besra Sparrowhawk, Asian Crested Goshawk, Chinese Goshawk, Common Buzzard, Indian Black Eagle, Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle, Booted Eagle, Changeable, Black-thighed Falconet, Moluccan, Australian Kestrel, Oriental Hobby, Peregrine Falcon, other races in winter), Blue-breasted Quail, Green Junglefowl, Small Buttonquail, Barred Buttonquail, Slaty-breasted, Red-legged Crake, White-browed Crake, Ruddy-breasted Crake, White-breasted Waterhen, Watercock, Common Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Common Coot, Australian Stilt, Beach Thick-knee, Oriental Pratincole, Australian Pratincole, Pacific Golden Plover, Grey, Long-billed Ringed-Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Javan Plover, Malaysian Plover, Lesser, Greater Sand-Plover, Oriental Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Far-Eastern Curlew, Eurasian Whimbrel, Common Redshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Grey-tailed Tattler, Ruddy Turnstone, Asian Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Pintail Snipe, Swinhoe's Snipe, Common Snipe, Great Knot, Red-necked Stint, Long-toed Stint, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Sanderling, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Ruff, Red-necked Phalarope, Arctic Skua, Long-tailed Skua, Whiskered Tern, White-winged Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Black-naped Tern, Bridled Tern, Little Tern, sinensis Nov-Mar), Greater Crested Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Common, Black, Island, Spotted Dove, Barred, Ruddy, Little Cuckoo-Dove, Emerald, Zebra Dove, Grey-cheeked Green-Pigeon, Orange-breasted Green-Pigeon, Pink-necked Green-Pigeon, Pink-necked, Black-naped Fruit-Dove, Black-backed Fruit-Dove, Green Imperial-Pigeon, Pied Imperial-Pigeon, Dark-backed Imperial-Pigeon, Rainbow Lorikeet, Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, escapes elsewhere), Moustached, Yellow-throated Hanging-Parrot, Large Hawk-Cuckoo, Hodgson's, Oriental Cuckoo, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Plaintive Cuckoo, Rusty-breasted, Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo, Drongo Cuckoo, Common Koel, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Greater Coucal, Lesser Coucal, Barn Owl, Oriental Bay Owl, Collared Scops-Owl, Barred, Buffy, Chestnut-winged, Large-tailed, Savanna, Edible-nest Swiftlet, Cave, Asian Palm-Swift, Brown Spinetail, Fork-tailed, Little, Grey-rumped, Common Kingfisher, Blue-eared, Small Blue Kingfisher, Rufous-backed Kingfisher, Javan Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, White-collared Kingfisher, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Chestnut-headed, Rainbow, Eastern Broad-billed Roller, Wreathed Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Lineated Barbet, Black-banded, Blue-crowned, Blue-eared Barbet, Coppersmith, Brown-capped, Fulvous-bellied, Laced Woodpecker, White-bellied Woodpecker, Common Goldenback Woodpecker, Greater Goldenback Woodpecker, Banded, Elegant Pitta, Singing, Barn Swallow, Pacific Swallow, Striated Swallow, Asian House Martin, Grey Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Paddyfield Pipit, Javan Cuckoo-Shrike, Lesser Cuckoo-Shrike, White-winged, Small Minivet, Scarlet Minivet, Black-winged Flycatcher-Shrike, Black-headed Bulbul, Sooty-headed, Orange-spotted Bulbul, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Grey-cheeked Bulbul, Common Iora, Greater Green Leafbird, Tiger Shrike, Brown Shrike, Long-tailed, Lesser Shortwing, Asian Magpie-Robin, Pied Bushchat, White-crowned Forktail, Sunda Whistling-Thrush, Chestnut-capped Ground-Thrush, Orange-headed Ground-Thrush, Sunda Ground-Thrush, Siberian Ground-Thrush, Scaly, Eye-browed Thrush, Horsfield's Jungle Babbler, Chestnut-backed, Crescent-chested, Sunda, Russet Bush-Warbler, Striated Grassbird, Pallas's Grasshopper-Warbler, Styan's, Oriental Great Reed-Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Golden-headed Cisticola, Bar-winged Prinia, Mountain Tailorbird, Olive-backed Tailorbird, Mountain Leaf-Warbler, Sunda Warbler, Fulvous-chested, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Snowy-browed, Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, Mugimaki Flycatcher, Little Pied Flycatcher, Mangrove Niltava, Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Golden-bellied Gerygone, Pied Fantail, Mangrove Whistler, Golden Whistler, Great Tit, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Blood-breasted Flowerpecker, Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker, Blue-cheeked, Plain Flowerpecker, Plain-throated, Olive-backed Sunbird, Little Spiderhunter, Grey-breasted Spiderhunter, Oriental White-eye, Mangrove, Mountain White-eye, Javan Grey-throated White-eye, Indonesian, Red Avadavat, Javan Munia, Scaly-breasted, Chestnut Munia, White-headed Munia, Black-faced, Java Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Streaked Weaver, Short-tailed, Asian Glossy-Starling, Asian Pied Starling, Black-winged Starling, Bali, White-vented, Hill Mynah, Black-naped Oriole, Black Drongo, Ashy Drongo, Hair-crested Drongo, Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo, White-breasted Woodswallow, Black Racquet-tailed Treepie, Slender-billed Crow, Large-billed

Other Wildlife

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Site Information

History and Use

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Areas of Interest

The endemic mynah is now very rare and is found only in the Bali Barat National Park in the north-west of the island. This small population survives under strict protection and the areas of the park in which it is found are generally closed to visitors. However, the birds can sometimes be seen in the accessible areas and there is a pre-release training centre with captive-bred birds. There are plenty of other species to be found including Great-billed Heron, Green Junglefowl, Javan Plover and Yellow-throated Hanging-Parrot, Javan Kingfisher and Small Blue Kingfisher, Javan Cuckoo-Shrike and Black-winged Starling. Raptors include Grey-headed Fishing-Eagle, Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle and Black-thighed Falconet and Collared Scops-Owl, Barred Eagle-Owl and Buffy Fish-Owl are present. The park now covers more than 760sqkm of forest and open savanna-type woodland, mangroves and offshore islets and can be reached by road from Bali's capital Denpasar, or by ferry from Java via Gilimanuk. Accommodation is available at Labuan Lalang and Gilimanuk and there is a campsite at Cekik. The Prapat Agung Peninsula and the open plain of Tigal Bunder provide the best birding and boat-trips to Menjangan Island can be arranged at Labuan Lalang. This island has Beach Thick-knee, Javan Plover and Yellow-bellied White-eye as well as a thriving population of Barking Deer and some excellent snorkelling.

Access and Facilities

Accommodation is plentiful and ranges from simple rooms and huts to luxury hotels and there is an excellent public transport system.

Contact Details

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External Links

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Content and images originally posted by Steve