Myanmar birding: looking at Northeast India from behind, pagoda panoramas and more

Chin Hills wren babbler? That little bird tucked away in the northeast corner of India sounded enchantingly exotic. So when a chance came up to go to Myanmar just across the border to see this bird and many, many more, I didn’t hesitate too much.

Myanmar is a country with varied habitats: to the west the north-south hills (the Naga and Chin Hills and the Rakhine range) are an extension from the Himalayas while to the east is the Shan plateau. In the middle, the Ayeryawady (Irrawady) meanders its way to the Indian Ocean. Our destinations were Mount Victoria in the western hills, on whose slopes we hoped to rack up a sizable count of typical East Himalayan species, the Ayeryawady itself, Lake Inle in the eastern plateau and finally the surrounding lower altitude hills at Kalaw. 

We landed in Yangon and headed off straight from the airport to Hlawga Park on the outskirts. A Scarlet-backed flowerpecker showed off its flaming scarlet in bright sunlight followed by the dainty Racket-tailed treepie, more like its namesake drongo than a treepie. A couple of dozen other species we were familiar with from India kept us busy till it was time to catch our flight to the sleepy airport in the historic central town of Bagan.

Scarlet-backed flowerpecker

The bright morning sun gradually lit up the ancient pagodas all around and hot air balloons above. That was the magical backdrop to morning birding in the dry scrub area around Bagan, typical habitat for a number of endemic species: White-throated babbler, Ayeyarwady bulbul and Burmese bushlark were photographed in glee, but the highlight was the relatively rare Jerdon's minivet showing off its orange breast in bright sunlight! With four of the ten birds endemic to Myanmar already ticked off, Burmese shrikes, Burmese collared-doves, Rufescent and Grey-breasted prinias rounded off a list of some 20 odd species, before we drove west across the Irrawady into the mountains.

Birding amidst balloons and pagodas, Bagan

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The Lord offers refuge to all: look closely!

Ayeyarwady bulbul

Grey-breasted prinia

Jerdon's minivet pair

Jerdon's minivet male

White-throated babbler

Vinous-breasted starling

Burmese bushlark by PB Balaji

Burmese shrike by Nikhil Bhopale

We stretched the five hour drive to Mount Victoria out to eight, birding intermittently along the way. A Yellow-vented flowerpecker gave us a “bottoms up" to admire its bold stripes and yellow bottom from below. As the plains gave way to undulating hills, a bunch of noisy Blossom-headed  squabbled for the same branch with two pretty leafbird species, Blue-winged and Golden-fronted. When they finally settled down, they were joined by Grey-headed parakeets leading to transitory chaos and much consulting of the bird guide by the birders below. Red-breasted parakeets finally crossed overhead to complete a trio of the parakeet clan.

Buff-barred warbler

The sun rose slowly above the clouds and turned the Nat Ma Taung National Park into various shades of red and orange: we were close to the top of Mount Victoria at 2500 meters and the 5 am start in the biting cold to get up there at daybreak was well worth the spectacular sunrise and many photos. We of course were after the iconic Mount Victoria babax, a babbler whose loud call belied its shy and  secretive nature, obliging us only a brief sighting and record photos of its distinctive striped face and body. A Chestnut-vented nuthatch showed off its chestnut vent to the photographers below followed by its endemic cousin, the White-browed nuthatch.  Yellow-breasted greenfinches posed in the morning sun and distracted us from our breakfast. It was a moment of pure joy when a Rusty-fronted barwing, which had been playing hide and seek in the undergrowth, suddenly decided to pose in bright sunlight. A rare Brown-capped laughingthrush suddenly popped up close by. One fruiting tree yielded three barbets (Great, Blue-throated and Golden-throated) while Chestnut-flanked white-eyes gorged on a nearby flowering one. A single tree was the evening hangout for several handsome dudes: Red-faced liocichla, Striped laughingthrush, Silver-eared mesia and Crested finchbill. Must be happy hour at the local bar, we surmised.

Sunrise from Mount Victoria

Mount Victoria babax: the best shot we could manage

Chestnut-vented nuthatch

White-browed nuthatch

Brown-capped laughingthrush by PB Balaji

Rusty-fronted barwing

“Burmese bush-tit!” called out our guide Htay Ngwe, triggering a frantic sprint among us to see the last of the endemics of Mount Victoria. We had spent half a day scouring its favoured pine tree habitat to see this tiny “bandit masked” bird: turned out he had only heard, not seen it. We threatened to withhold his lunch! Remember, we were on a strict no call playback birding policy, which makes birding more challenging, but far more ethical and satisfying. Our patience was finally rewarded by one sighting and record photos of this charismatic, endemic bird that rounded off our must see list for Mount Victoria.

The next morning was heralded by a Crimson-breasted woodpecker in the morning sunlight, while a group of 25-30 Eyebrowed thrushes took off from a nearby tree. Our attempt to differentiate it from the Gray-sided thrush, also on the same tree, was interrupted by a Black eagle swooping directly overhead. Streak-breasted scimitar babblers and Red-faced liocichlas waved us goodbye before it was time for the drive back to Bagan. On the way down, we had the privilege of an unscheduled appointment with the princess herself: the exquisite White-rumped falcon with her gorgeous rufous head that rendered her far prettier than the male (a rare exception among birds!). Her Majesty allowed us to take her autograph at will before curtsying off from the admiring commoners below. We did not neglect to photograph the Neglected nuthatch, now the Burmese nuthatch (Sitta neglecta).

Want to know the guaranteed cure for all types of stress and anxiety: go birding offline without mobile or internet connectivity for four days, as we did!

White-rumped falcon female

Red-faced liocichla by PB Balaji

Burmese (neglected) nuthatch by PB Balaji

Back in Bagan, the morning sunlight turned the red bricks of the ancient pagodas (there are 12,000 of them in Bagan alone) into deep ochre: we were of course interested in the dry scrub land in between them, given a lifeline from developers on account of the intervening ancient ruins and heritage status. A metallic cackle left us scrambling in its direction to see three shy, endemic Hooded treepies: all handsome black head and gray body. A pair of Laggar falcons, typical for this dry habitat, were the master of all they surveyed from their nest atop the crest of a pagoda. When we saw the Brown prinia, the last remaining endemic bird of Bagan on our list, we were ready to head off for a lazy lunch overlooking the sun-drenched banks of the Irrawady.

Hooded treepie by PB Balaji

We sipped a cup of tea to ward off the soporific effect of the diesel motor and the soothing sound of the Irrawady as it lapped at our boat in the afternoon sun, and marvelled at the ancient temples from the 12^th century that dotted the shores. We would have loved to see one, but apparently the freshwater Irrawady dolphin is seen only in its northern reaches. We stepped out periodically on to the river bank to record sandy shore and grass specialists like the Yellow-bellied prinia, White-tailed stonechat, Sand lark and Striated babbler. Reminded us how nature has beautifully adapted each bird to its unique habitat.

White-tailed stonechat male

White-tailed stonechat female

The Irrawady, lifeline of Myanmar

Birding from the Irrawady

Sand lark

Yellow-bellied prinia

The wind chill made us hurriedly reach for our pullovers despite the bright sun and cloudless sky above: having flown from Bagan to Lake Inle, we were on a motor boat on the picturesque lake, flanked on either side by a row of hills. Walking on a mound among the marshes was like watching a play unfold: the star actors were the Jerdon's bushchat and Chinese grassbird with the obligatory Yellow bitterns, Pond herons, Intermediate egrets and Common snipes forming the supporting cast. The vast expanse of the lake was dotted with the audience: Common coots, Brown-headed gulls and Little cormorants. Three myna species (Crested, Great, Collared) were the props and Eastern marsh harriers directed the play from above with an iron hand, tolerating no indiscipline. A show much enjoyed by us!

Jerdon's bushchat

Our final day was at Kalaw (1300 m) a former British hill station replete with quaint cottages and the obligatory golf course: sounds familiar? Once we left the boring pine plantations (again familiar?) with just a Japanese tit sighting, true broadleaved evergreen forest birding started. We thought the White-browed scimitar babbler had overdone her eyebrows, but the rare White-browed laughingthrush outdid her easily. The Black-backed sibia was the local soup of the day here, keeping up a day long metallic call quite indistinguishable from other sibias. A Crested goshawk in flight showed was identified by its white mini-skirt like feathers at tail base.Seeing the Burmese yuhina,  one of the last of Myanmar's remaining  endemics on our to-see list, deserved a special celebration.
 The rare Spectacled barwing drew our attention in spectacular fashion away from some Scarlet minivets. Warblers are mostly frustratingly unidentifiable but Bianchi's warbler was an exception with yellow eye-ring, gray head and typical call (and unusual name!). A Silver-breasted broadbill perched stationary for long, fulfilling a decade long desire to see and photograph one. A flock of Black-collared starlings on a field rounded off a near perfect day, with a close-up of the Spectacled barwing literally providing us "one for the road" before we boarded our flight back to Yangon.

Japanese tit

Burmese yuhina

White-browed laughingthrush by PB Balaji

Silver-breasted broadbill

Black-backed sibia by PB Balaji

Spectacled barwing by Rajesh Dubey

With a count of almost 250 species including nine endemics without using bird call playback even once, Myanmar was a fantastic birding experience. Book your tickets!