Raptors photographed from the Belalong Canopy Walkway, Brunei

Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle – the least common of the 4 Hawk-Eagles that can be seen from the Belalong Canopy Walkway. The  legs which are fully feathered to the base of the toes are a distinctive feature of all hawk-eagles (Arlene Walshe). The throat and head plumage indicate an immature bird probably a second or third year bird i.e. not ready to breed. Photographed by Martin Lating a guide at the  Ulu Ulu Resort.

An immature female migrant Oriental Honey Buzzard  from Japan which spends the northern winter months October to April  each year in Borneo hunting for bee and wasp larvae. Adult Oriental Honey Buzzards  return to Japan each year to breed during the northern summer. However, first year immature birds usually spend 2 years in Borneo returning to Japan to breed in their third year. Photo by Hans Hazebroek.

A male migrant Oriental Honey Buzzard from Japan. Honey Buzzards are one of the most common raptors in forested areas of Borneo but in the past were under recorded due to confusion over the very variable plumage.

A rare male Sunda Honey Buzzard  Tweedale Morph photographed by Arlene Walshe. Sunda Honey Buzzards are  permanent residents in Borneo and normally mimic one of the more common, more fierce, resident hawk-eagles. The Tweedale Morph is a mimic of Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle. 

Male Sunda Honey Buzzard  Tweedale Morph photographed by Arlene Walshe from the Belalong Canopy Walkway.  ID as a male from the tail pattern, Tweedale morphs have blackish plumage streaked and barred with white on the belly.

Immature Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle.  This relatively small,  “bird hunting” eagle, is rare in Sabah but in Brunei is one of the most common hawks in forested areas. Photographed by Martin Lating a guide at the  Ulu Ulu Resort, Temburong, Brunei.

An apparent Kinabalu Serpent Eagle, a Borneo endemic confined to the central mountain chain of Borneo photographed by Martin Lating a guide at the  Ulu Ulu Resort.

These two photos are both of the same Serpent Eagle  Spilornis cheela richmondi photographed at Kiudang (Tutong District, Central Brunei).

Notice that the Serpent Eagle on the left looks almost exactly like the Kinabalu Serpent Eagle photographed from the Belalong Canopy Walkway whilst the Serpent Eagle on the right  (with better lighting) looks more like a typical lowland Serpent Eagle. The Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela occurs in two endemic races  races in Borneo. S.c. pallidus (pale belly) confined to Sabah and S. c. richmondi  (darker underneath)  which occurs throughout lowland Borneo south of the Sabah border.