Brunei revisited: seeking the Bornean Bristlehead

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When: January 2026 Weather: Warm 25-28C

OM1 mk2 150-400mm Zuiko Pro

I’d last visited Brunei about a year and a half ago and hadn’t seen any special birds as I couldn’t get a guide then…my last words of the post I did then was that I’d have to return to Brunei to try for the difficult to find Bornean Bristlehead (BB) ….and so this time, I managed to engage the guiding services of ‘Jungle Dave’ who had been recommended by a well known bird guide from Sabah, Yeo Siew Teck. I challenged Dave with the specific objective of finding and shooting the BB as the priority and then seeking out other things like hornbills, pittas and trogons….we considered Ulu Temburong but in the end Dave suggested we drive to the western end of Brunei aiming for the Sungai Liang and Kuala Belait areas where the peat swamps were the preferred habitat of the BB. We were only able to set off about 11am for the one hour drive and the first port of call was to the water pipeline running along the Sungai Liang in the Badass area of south west Brunei.

This is the road we travelled on following the water pipeline…note the black water from the peat swamps. By the time we got there it was noon and the sun was beginning to warm the earth….we sat down on some makeshift stools and started listening out for the BB…..
nothing much happened for the first hour or so, only this wood swallow appeared.

We then drove down the whole length of the pipeline towards the water pumping station at the end stopping here and there to listen out for the BB but still nothing….we turned around and after another 30 min we decided that perhaps we were not destined to see the BB. But just as we were about to leave this area for the main road, Dave said he heard the BB! He stopped the car and jumped out and then excitedly said BB! There! Look for the movement of the leaves 20-30m above ground…..eventually I saw it! My grail bird for 20 years…the Bornean Bristlehead! Unfortunately, as I lifted my camera he flew over our heads across the road and I missed the shot…and a few moments later another 5 or 6 more BBs flew right over our heads and I just didn’t have time to get my BB in flights shots. It was a magnificent sighting though of so many BBs but I was upset at missing my shot. Then Dave whispered…there’s another one calling here…..

the rustling leaves showed a glimpse of red
and then a golden red head appeared…
At long last, I had not only seen but managed to photograph the elusive Bornean Bristlehead with its lunch of a locust
we can see here that the thighs are also red
the magnificent and stunning Bornean Bristlehead.. Pityriasis gymnocephala with its prickly bristle like yellow head. It is on the ‘Near Threatened’ List due to habitat loss…
no apologies for yet another picture of this beauty…a long awaited lifer

By this time it was 2pm and we found a nearby Jollibee for a late lunch after which we headed further south west along the road to try and look for hornbills in Kuala Belait…we got to a 15 km long and rutted road and drove all the way to the end…..

a black winged flycatcher shrike
black winged flycatcher shrike sitting on her eggs
at the end of the 15km road was this lovely Belait River….sadly along the way there were 5 or 6 cars stopped along the roadside with poachers setting traps for birds high up in the trees using two ropes to hoist a caged bird up to the canopy to attract other birds to a glued stick……absolutely terrible!

And finally just as we were about to leave the road….I saw two birds flying and perching in the distance….

a pair of beautiful wrinkled hornbills, the male below with the red casque and brown proximal lower beak …another lifer!

We left at 5pm and got back to the Empire Hotel in Jerudong by 6.30pm, a long day yielding two wonderful lifers. Having an excellent guide along made such a difference. Dave worked very hard and took great pains to make sure I got the BB. You can find Dave who runs his birding guide outfit at http://www.borneotwitchers.com

Highly recommended

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