BIRDING IN CAMBODIA AND LAOS DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019
Friday 28th December 2018
Mount Aural Forest, Cardamom Mountains
Today we spent the whole day birding around Mount Aural. First thing to do was to try for the endemic Cambodian Laughingthrush. We walked down to the old camp. No joy for the first hour or so, but we soon heard a flock calling in the distance. They never came that close, but we got some decent views. Then we tried for Blue Pitta nearby. We heard one calling fairly close, but only one of us got a brief view. We heard Blue Pitta on a few more occasions throughout the next two days on the mountain, but none were seen.
Went back up for lunch when another flock of Cambodian Laughingthrushes were heard. This time they came close to the camp, giving much better views. Our second endemic in three days, and almost worth the climb! In the afternoon we birded other trails throughout the forest.
Birds seen throughout the day were Long-tailed Broadbill, Mountain Bulbul, Moustached Barbet, Wreathed Hornbill, Orange-headed Thrush, White-throated Rock Thrush, Blyth’s Shrike-babbler, Streaked Wren-babbler and a skulking White-tailed Robin in the undergrowth (the latter will likely be split as ‘Cambodian Blue Robin’ Myiomela cambodiana). Around the camp at night we heard Collared Owlet, Mountain Scops Owl and Great-eared Nightjar.
Cambodian Laughingthrush (Garrulax ferrarius)
Mount Aural, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. December 28th, 2018.
Cambodian Laughingthrush (Garrulax ferrarius)
Mount Aural, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. December 28th, 2018.
Long-tailed Broadbill (Psarisomus dalhousiae)
Mount Aural, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. December 28th, 2018.
Mountain Bulbul (Ixos mcclellandii)
Mount Aural, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. December 28th, 2018.
Moustached Barbet (Megalaima incognita)
Mount Aural, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. December 28th, 2018.
White-tailed Robin (Myiomela leucura)
Mount Aural, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. December 28th, 2018.
Base camp at 1172 metres
Mount Aural, Cambodia. December 28th, 2018.
Typical forest and trail
Mount Aural, Cambodia. December 28th, 2018.