Songkhla, Thailand, has turned out to be fantastic from the point of birding. I don't need to go anywhere here like in Bangkok, where I often had birding trips to large parks - in Songkhla, non-trivial birds live in the streets. I enjoy watching them on my way to the beach or through the telephoto lens (Nikkor 70-300mm). Sharing images I've taken over the last weeks.
That was in the street, as I said - I heard the koel's call, and then spotted this stylish guy sitting on a tree in someone's yard. A fruitarian and brood-parasite - a red-eyed vegan villain in the black. 😎
Thailand without the calls of this bird doesn't taste like Thailand. For example, you can hear it several times in The White Lotus season 3.
No, this is not a koel, just a misleading angle. Koels are about the size of crows. As for the greater coucal (in the image), they’re larger, with the cinnamon-colored back and the loud (and cozy) call: 'oob-oob-oob'.
The koel's call evokes the mystery of the night, while the coucal’s reminds us of the wonders of the tropical forest.
Some fruits in the street... No idea what but look cute.
Bee-eaters are numerous in Songkhla. I didn't see that many in Bangkok.
Their flight is a mesmerizing spectacle. They resemble kites (the toy kind) in both shape and the way they float on the wind.
Fascinating birds.
I don't have a super large telephoto lens to photograph them well but... honestly, I am not interested in taking top-quality bird photographs - snapshots of my tiny birding adventures are sufficient for me.
A view from my window in Songkhla:
If I had a coat of arms as a birdwatcher, I would have this small funny guy on it... Why? Because a coppersmith barbet was the one who opened the door to birdwatching for me!
The ornate sunbird. They are the tiniest birds among feathered dwellers of Songkhla (one and a half times smaller than sparrows), so you'll recognize them by their high-pitched chirps (the smaller the guitar, the higher the sound of the strings; the same physical law applies here).
A sparrow. They're found all over the world, just like pigeons. But unlike pigeons, they're actually cute, lol.
This is the main mystery of Songkhla - the great myna as the dominant bird in the city.
My theory... I saw an old shopping mall with a broken panel at the top level with dozens of great mynas noisily flying in and out - the great myna's metropolis...
So my theory is that, at some point, they took control of some old attics and reproduced there themselves since then; and they don't allow other species to use these spaces.
A spirit house on the roof of an old multistory building
So other birds have a shortage of nesting sites and have even to breed in hollows (like wild animals 😡, lol) while the great mynas live in human houses like royalty. 😀
Another marvel of Thailand:
Indochinese Roller. They have aaamazing blue shades below wings! I was watching this bird in Bangkok only once. Happy to spot this colorful guy in Songkhla too.
While writing this post, I listened to its call on the internet — I’ll try to remember it: like two pebbles clicking against each other.
Another common city dweller:
Yellow-vented bulbul. I saw so many in Bangkok. But the following bird, I have never seen before - the red-breasted parakeet.
They hang out by the beach
and live in hollows of casuarina trees growing along the sea.
Someone's sticking out of the wood, lol.
Parrots! The red bill is a boy, and that's the lady:
I hope Songkhla still has many more surprises like this for me! There’s not just a beach here, but also a huge lake where cormorants live and kites circle overhead — new birding impressions might come from there... Thank you for reading and stay tuned!
- Find more Songkhla birds in my previous birding post, Urban Birdwatching in Songkhla City, Thailand. A Comparison of Birding in Bangkok and Songkhla
The first image in the post is an entry for the weekly Feathered Friends contest 213
I took these images with a Nikkor 70-300mm on a full-frame DSLR Nikon D750 in March-April 2025 in Songkhla, Thailand.