Birds.com: Online Birds Guide with Facts, Articles, Videos, and Photos » Thailand

Chainat “Hoon Fang” Straw-Bird Festival 2010

Editor — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:56:45 +0000

With hay being a by-product cultivated by farmers, forming bird shaped stacks with hay, has become an art form in the Chainat Province. It has led to the annual Chainat “Hoon Fang” Straw-Bird Festival, where villagers transform hay into colorful and detailed bird designs, each trying to win top honors at the festival. Massive birds of all shapes, color and specie are displayed on the lawns of the festival, and the best designers compete in different categories such as village handicraft and young talent. The festival is also accompanied by light shows and lively performances. Another nearby attraction, also visited by festival goers, is the large Chainat Bird Park, where a variety of over 200 bird species can be seen.

To find out more about this festival, filled with birds of a different kind of feather, contact the Thailand Tourism Authority on +66 (0) 3553 6030 or by email at tatsuphan@tat.or.th.

Date: 16 – 22 February 2010
Venue: Various
City: Chainat
Country: Thailand

Bird watching in Thailand

Editor — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:05:56 +0000

Many bird watching enthusiasts have already discovered the magnificent opportunities that wait in Thailand. With almost a thousand bird species, Thailand is a treasure trove of birding experiences that can be enjoyed in various provinces around the country. Tourist operators also specialize in bird watching excursions, offering daily hikes and even week long hiking packages, through some of the most breathtaking landscapes in Thailand. Bird watching here, is a unique and unforgettable experience.

Some of the more popular bird watching sites include Khok Kham, the Khao Kieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Kaeng Krachan National Park, Doi Chiangdao Wildlife Sanctuary, Khao Pra-Bang Kam Wildlife Sanctuary, Chiangsaen and the Koh Similan National Park. Although there are various bird species that overlap in all the provinces, some bird species prefer specific provinces according to landscape and food supply.

In the Samutsakhon Province for instance, the habitat is blanketed in fish ponds, swamps, mangroves and mudflats, luring species such as the Nordmann’s Greenshank, Streaked Weaver, Malaysian Plover, Ruddy-Breasted Crake, Pheasant-Tailed Jacana and the Asian Dowitcher to this region. Birds such as the Large Hawk Cuckoo, Asian Golden-Weaver, Forest Wagtail and Black Blaza prefer the woodlands and rice fields of the Nakhonpratom Province, while Grey Peacock Pheasants, Blue-bearded Bee-eaters, Violet Cuckoo, Green Magpie and White-hooded Babbler feel at home in the forests, by water streams and waterfalls located in the Petchburi Province.

Some of the larger national parks have a variety of habitats within their borders, having a larger variety of birds in one area. The Khao Yai National Park, in North-Eastern Thailand, gives visitors the opportunity to see birds such as the Siamese Fireback, Mountain Hawk Eagle, Scaly-breasted Partridge, Coral Billed Ground Cuckoo and many more. Other breathtaking species to be seen in Thailand include the Black-backed Forktail, Chestnut-flanked White-eye, Long-tailed Minivet, Collered Owlet, Hume’s Pheasant, White-bellied Redstart, Stripe-breasted Woodpecker, Sapphired Flycather and the Crested Tree Swift. In general, many national parks have more than two hundred different species of bird living and breeding within the park, giving visitors the experience of a lifetime. To see truly amazing bird life, Thailand is the perfect bird watching destination.

The Large-Billed-Reed-Warbler Rediscovered

Editor — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 13:08:12 +0000

Our amazing planet is always filled with surprises and scientists are kept busy with many new, intriguing discoveries. One such discovery was made by Professor Philip Round of Mahidol University on 27 March 2006. Whilst collecting and banding birds in Thailand the ornithologist discovered a species thought to be extinct, the Large Billed Reed Warbler.

The first recorded discovery of the Large-billed Reed-warbler was back in 1867. A single bird of the species was found in the Sutlej Valley of India. This only living specimen was the last of the species to be seen for some 140 years and many believed it to be extinct. Thus this find by Professor Round is truly remarkable, sending a ripple of excitement through the world of ornithology. As it was such a rare species very little was known about it. With the new find, however, scientists were able to study the DNA and morphology of the bird and thus it received is own classification as a unique species, Acrocepalus orinus. Whilst it shares the drab coloring of other reed-warblers, its wings are notably shorter and rounded and the beak is long. It is thought that the bird is a resident species or may be a short-distance migrant. There is still much to learn about this bird species, hence it has been classed as Data Deficient on the endangered species Red List of the World Conservation Union.

Some months following the March 2006 find of the Large-billed Reed-warbler another bird belonging to this species was discovered in Tring, England. Interestingly, this bird was found in Tring’s Natural History Museum. The specimen had, in fact, been collected way back in 1869. All this time it had been right there in a museum drawer, without anyone realizing it. With these fine discoveries, ornithologists are hoping to find more of this rare species in Bangladesh and Thailand. Researchers have set the goal of investigating were the chief population of Large-billed Reed-Warbler’s reside and if they face any particular threats.

The wonderful rediscovery of the Large-billed Reed-Warbler has certainly done much in revealing the importance of biodiversity in vital wetland habitats and how important it is that these areas be protected. It has also showed the benefits of regular monitoring and bird ringing in conservation efforts.