Komodo Dragon by Lars Petersson.
- Komodo Dragons, the largest lizards in the world
- Which can grow up to three metres long, although most are actually less than two metres
- Green Turtle, Manta Ray and over another thousand fish species on the surrounding coral reefs
- A few of the world's most spectacular birds including Lesser Frigatebird, Great-billed Heron, White-bellied Sea-eagle, Beach Thick-knee, Yellow-crested Cockatoo and Flame-breasted Sunbird
- As well as confiding Orange-footed Scrubfowl and Green Junglefowl
- From the pleasant lodges in and around the town of Labuan Bajo on the large island of Flores it is a three hour boat ride to this desolate island of sun-scorched savanna where giant prehistoric-looking lizards roam. The largest lizards surviving on Earth can grow up to three metres long and the first Europeans to see these massive, powerful reptiles were so horrified they called them dragons. Most are actually less than two metres long and of no danger to the many human visitors but big ones are best avoided because they are strong enough to bring down buffalo, although if they do attack animals they are usually much smaller, and they mostly eat carrion. They appear to be able to smell a carcass from up to ten kilometres away and it does not take long for several to converge on the dead animal. The scene is not a pleasant one – a mass of huge, salivating, blood-soaked lizards fighting to rip the rotting flesh apart.
- Birding tour companies who run tours to Komodo also usually include at least three other islands in the Lesser Sundas in their itineraries; Flores, Sumba and Timor, and together with Komodo, it is possible to see many birds endemic to these and other islands in the Lesser Sundas, including six endemic to Flores, 13 endemic to Sumba and nine endemic to Timor, involving birds such as Sumba Buttonquail, White-rumped Kingfisher, Elegant Pitta and Black-banded Flycatcher. The best time to look for birds in the Lesser Sundas is mid-August to October.
- The numerous top wildlife destinations in the rest of Indonesia include the richest coral reefs on Earth, east of Sulawesi and west of West Papua where the spectacular endemic birds include Wilson's Bird-of-paradise; Sulawesi and Halmahera where the many endemic birds include Maleo, Purple-bearded Bee-eater, Knobbed Hornbill, Ivory-breasted Pitta and Wallace's Standardwing; Bali, where the beautiful Bali Myna is being reintroduced (not very successfully), and Grey-rumped Myna, Great-billed Heron, Javan Plover and Javan Banded Pitta also occur; Java, which is mostly a swarming mass of people but also supports the endemic Javan Gibbon, as well as Ebony and Grizzled Leaf Monkeys, and 40 endemic birds (57 with the adjacent island of Bali) including a trogon, a cochoa, a tesia and two sunbirds. However, there is virtually no chance of seeing one of the 50 or so Javan Rhinoceroses left in the world, all of which live in Ujung Kulon National Park; and Sumatra where Orang-utan, Siamang, White-handed Gibbon and endemic birds such as Graceful and Schneider's Pittas occur.
Best Birds and other wildlife on Komodo
Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish
Komodo Dragon, Green Turtle and over a thousand fish
species including Manta Ray (especially at Karang Makassar).
Birds
Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Green Junglefowl, Great and Lesser Frigatebirds, Pacific Reef-egret, Great-billed Heron, White-bellied Sea-eagle, Brahminy Kite,
Lesser Sundas (Variable) Goshawk, Beach Thick-knee, Greater and Lesser Crested Terns, Green Imperial-pigeon, Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Western (Asian) Koel,
Moluccan Scops-owl, Collared and Sacred Kingfishers, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Helmeted Friarbird, Black-naped Oriole,
Wallacean Drongo, Lemon-bellied and Yellow-spectacled White-eyes, Flame-breasted Sunbird and Black-fronted Flowerpecker. Also a chance of Bulwer's Petrel,
Brown and Red-footed Boobies, and Black-naped, Bridled and Sooty Terns.
Mammals
Long-tailed (Crab-eating) Macaque and Rusa (Timor) Deer (introduced).
Also a chance of (Indo-Pacific) Bottlenose Dolphin.
Best Sites for Birds and other wildlife on Komodo
- Komodo NP (including boat crossing from Labuan Bajo on Flores) See 'Best Wildlife on Komodo' above.(Komodo Dragons also occur on the islands of Rinca, Gili Dasami and Gili Motang, as well as parts of Flores.)
Best Times for Birds and other wildlife on Komodo, and other Indonesian islands
Apart from a short wet and windy season which usually occurs in January-February it is mostly very dry and very hot on Komodo, although temperatures are usually a little lower from mid-August to October and this is the best time to go to Komodo as well as the rest of the Lesser Sundas.
Recommended Bird Books etc. for Komodo and other Indonesian islands
Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago by J Eaton et al. Lynx Edicions, 2021 (Second Edition).
A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea by B Coates and K Bishop. Dove Publications, 1997.
A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali by J Mackinnon. OUP, 1993.
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 Komodo and other Indonesian islands
Many trip reports, some for Komodo and other Indonesian islands, 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 Komodo and other Indonesian islands. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Komodo' below.
- The best website for trip reports is CloudBirders
- but these are also worth a look
- Birdtours
- Fatbirder
- Jon Hornbuckle
- Mammal Watching
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 Komodo and nearby Indonesian islands
Some Organized Tours for Komodo Dragons, birds and other wildlife to Komodo
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 Indonesia including Komodo include the following.
- Birdtour Asia
- Birdquest
- Sultan Birding Tours
- Sultan Birding Tours based in Manado, North Sulawesi of Indonesia, specialized in operating bird photography, bird watching and wildlife trips within the island of Sulawesi, covering Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Gunung Mahawu Tomohon, Dumoga Bone National Park, Lore Lindu National Park, Halmahera and other birding destinations in Indonesia.
