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  • Where to watch BIRDS and

  • other wildlife in the world

    • Photograph of Javan Trogon

    Javan Trogon in Gunung Gede-Pangrango National Park by Lars Petersson.

  • Where to watch birds and wildlife in
    • JAVA

    Best Birds and other wildlife on Java

    Birds

    Endemics 40
    White-faced (Grey-breasted) Partridge (east), Chestnut-bellied Partridge, Javan Frogmouth, Volcano Swiftlet, Javan Coucal, Javan Scops-owl, Javan Hawk-eagle, Javan Trogon, Javan Blue-banded Kingfisher, Brown-throated Barbet, Red-crested (Grey-and-buff) Woodpecker, White-rumped (Pygmy) Woodpecker, Javan Yellownape, Javan (Banded) Broadbill, Javan (Black-and-crimson) Oriole, Pied (White-browed) Shrike-babbler, Trilling (Chestnut-fronted) Shrike-babbler, White-bellied Fantail, Rufous-tailed Fantail, Javan Green Magpie, Javan (Sunda) Bulbul, Javan (Sunda) Warbler, Javan Tesia, Pygmy Tit, White-breasted Babbler, White-bibbed Babbler, Grey-cheeked Tit-babbler, Rufous-browed Babbler, Javan Fulvetta, Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush, Spotted Crocias, Javan Pied Starling (central), Black-winged Myna, Grey-backed (Black-winged) Myna, Javan Cochoa, Indigo Flycatcher, Javan Shortwing, Javan Leafbird, Javan Sunbird and White-flanked Sunbird.

    Near-endemics

    Java and Sumatra 6
    Sumatran (Green-spectacled) Green-pigeon, Salvadori’s Nightjar, Javan Woodcock, Sunda Minivet, Sunda Blue Robin and Sunda Forktail.

    Java, Sumatra and Bali 5
    Pink-headed Fruit-dove, Bar-winged Prinia, Ruby-throated Bulbul, Orange-spotted Bulbul and Sangkar White-eye.

    Java, Sumatra, Bali and Lombok (Lesser Sundas) 2
    Cave Swiftlet and Javan Munia.

    Java, Sumatra and Lesser Sundas (including Timor) 2
    Javan Plover and Cerulean (Small Blue) Kingfisher.

    Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi 1
    Mountain Serin.

    Java, Sumatra and Malay Peninsula 1
    Waterfall Swift.

    Java, Sumatra and Borneo 1
    Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker.

    Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi 1
    Black-backed Swamphen.

    Java and Bali 17
    Javan Owlet, Javan Kingfisher, Yellow-eared (Little) Barbet, Black-banded Barbet, Flame-fronted Barbet, Javan Flameback (east Java, also Kangean Island north of Bali), Yellow-throated Hanging-parrot, Javan Banded Pitta, Javan Grasshopper-warbler (east Java), Brown-cheeked Bulbul, Javan Grey-throated White-eye, Crescent-chested Babbler, Javan Myna, Javan Whistling-thrush, Streaky-breasted Spiderhunter, White-capped Munia and Java Sparrow.

    Java, Bali and Lesser Sundas 7
    Green Junglefowl, Sunda (Island) Collared-dove, Ruddy Cuckoo-dove, Dark-backed Imperial-pigeon, Rusty-breasted Whistler (east Java), Olive-backed Tailorbird and Blood-breasted Flowerpecker.

    Java, Lesser Sundas and Sulawesi 1
    White-shouldered Triller.

    Java and Sulawesi (and satellites) 1
    Grey-cheeked Green-pigeon.

    Java and Borneo 3
    Javan White-eye, Temminck’s Babbler and Javan (Hill) Blue-flycatcher.

    Kangean, off northeast Java 1
    Kangean Tit-babbler.

    Other Specialities
    Green Peafowl, Christmas Frigatebird, Great-billed Heron, Spotted Kestrel and Blue Nuthatch. Also a chance of Milky Stork, Rhinoceros Hornbill and Sunda Thrush.

    Others
    Sunda Teal, Little Black Cormorant, Oriental Darter, Javan Pond-heron, Glossy Ibis, White-bellied Sea-eagle, Crested Serpent-eagle, Black Eagle, Black-thighed Falconet, Great Crested and Lesser Crested Terns, Orange-breasted and Pink-necked Green-pigeons, Green and Pied Imperial-pigeons, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Rusty-breasted Cuckoo, Sunda Scops-owl, Grey-rumped Treeswift, Crimson-winged and Sunda Pygmy Woodpeckers, Oriental Pied and Wreathed Hornbills, White-breasted Woodswallow, Scarlet and Small Minivets, Long-tailed Shrike, Racquet-tailed Treepie, flycatchers, White-crowned Forktail, Scaly (Horsfield's) Thrush, Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babbler, Eyebrowed Wren-babbler, Pygmy Cupwing, flowerpeckers and Little Spiderhunter.

    Also a chance of Red Junglefowl, Black Bittern, Black-naped Fruit-dove, Orange-breasted Trogon, Banded Kingfisher and Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch.

    Mammals
    Javan Gibbon, Ebony (Javan Langur) and Grizzled (Sunda) Leaf Monkeys, Long-tailed (Crab-eating) Macaque, Banteng, Rusa (Timor Deer), Javanese Ferret Badger, Sunda Stink Badger, Lesser Giant and Red Giant Flying Squirrels, Black Giant Squirrel, Common and Javan Palm Civets, Horsfield’s Tree Shrew and Large Fruit Bat.

    Reptiles and Amphibians
    Green Turtle, Water Monitor and Malaysian Horned Frog (Gunung Gede-Pangrango NP).

    Other Natural Wonders

    Anak Krakatau (‘Child of Krakatau’)
    This volcanic island emerged from the sea in the early 1930s but it is its predecessor which is more famous – the volcano which erupted in 1883, producing one of the most powerful explosions in recorded history, heard 3540 km (2200 miles) away in central Australia!

    Best Sites for Birds and other wildlife on Java

    Photograph of Javan Gibbon

    Javan Gibbon by Coke & Som Smith.

    Best Times for Birds and other wildlife on Java

    The best time to be on Java to look for birds and other wildlife is April to October, which is usually the dry season, especially October when resident breeding birds are beginning to set up territories. The rainy season usually lasts from November to April and it usually rains a lot, especially in January-February.

    Recommended Bird Books etc. for Java

    Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago by J Eaton et al. Lynx Edicions, 2021 (Second Edition).

    A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali by J MacKinnon. OUP, 1993.

    A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by A Jeyarajasingam. OUP, 2012. (Second Edition).

    Birds of South-East Asia by C Robson. Helm, 2018. (Second Edition)

    Birds of South-East Asia Concise Edition by C Robson. Helm, 2015.

    A Field Guide to the Mammals of South-East Asia by C M Francis. New Holland Publishers, 2008.

    A Field Guide to the Reptiles of South-East Asia by I Das. Bloomsbury, 2015.

    Birding Indonesia edited by P Jepson and R Ounsted. Periplus Editions, 1997.

    Where to watch birds in Asia by N Wheatley. Helm, 1996.

    Don’t know which country/countries/regions to visit in Asia? Then it may be worth considering taking a look at this book, written by this website’s author. It is many years old of course but it still provides a starting point, an overview and a guiding light to the best birds and the best places to look for them in the region, and could save hours of searching for similar information on the internet. However, it is important to check more up-to-date sources for sites which have been opened up, sites and species which have been discovered, lodges that have been built etc. since the book was published.

    Birding and Wildlife Trip Reports for Java

    Many trip reports, some for Java, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Java. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Java' below.

    Local bird and wildlife guides in Indonesia

    The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.

    Accommodation for birders on Java

    Some Organized Tours for birds and other wildlife to Java

    There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.

    While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.

    Tour companies who run organized tours or can arrange custom tours to Java include the following.