Nature Photography in Langkawi
Introduction
I have visited Langkawi, located in the north of peninsular Malaysia near Thailand, at least 8 times in the last 12 years. Langkawi nature is characterized by its diverse landscapes, including mountains, beaches, rainforests and mangroves. The island is known for its rich biodiversity, including various spectacular plant and animal species, and is a popular destination for nature lovers and a haven for wildlife photographers. Langkawi retains the look of rural Malaysia as well as offering 5 star accommodation in rainforest settings. Langkawi's name is believed to have originated from the Malay words 'helang' (eagle) and 'kawi' (reddish brown, or a type of red stone). A large statue of an eagle greets visitors to Langkawi in Eagle Square. In current nomenclature the eagle depicted is the Brahminy Kite, a common raptor in Langkawi. The species is known in Australia, and sometimes locally, as the Red-backed eagle.
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| Eagle statue at Eagle Square |
This leads to the first section of nature photography targets. In this blog I show examples of photographic studies and suggest the examples are good nature photography subjects. I give a brief background of some of the species but there is no attempt to make this a comprehensive study of species or groups of species.
Birds of Prey
The major species encountered on the island and along the coast are Brahminy kites and White-bellied Sea eagles.
The Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus) are a medium-sized bird of prey that feeds on dead fish, lizards and other prey. They are not the best hunters of live prey but pairs can be seen in dazzling aerial displays as a prelude to mating.
White-bellied sea eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) on the other hand are excellent hunters and can often be seen carrying live fish (including puffer fish) back to their nests high in trees. They also perform mating flights, aerial battles and can be seen in the nest-building season carrying large branches to add to an existing nest.
Other birds of prey encountered are; Crested Goshawks, Crested serpent eagles, Changeable Hawk eagles and Jerdon's Bazas, to name a few.
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| Crested Goshawk |
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| Crested Serpent Eagle |
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| Changeable Hawk-eagle (pale morph) Hornbills |
Worldwide there are 62 species of hornbills. In Malaysia 10 of these species can be found. Penang Island has no resident hornbill species but they are numerous in Langkawi. There are three species present on the island; Oriental Pied Hornbills, Great Hornbills and Wreathed Hornbills.
Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthrcoceros albirodtris) are numerous on Langkawi. There is no official census but I have seen over 50 in one coastal tree. Like other hornbill species they nest in tree cavities.
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| Female and male Asian Pied Hornbills (male has a larger casque) |
Great Hornbills (Buceros bicornis) are the largest birds on the island. I have photographed nests near the Berjaya resort and on Gunung Raya. At these nests the male provided fruit, lizards and even a snake.
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| Great Hornbill in flight |
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| The male feeding his family on Gunung Raya |
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| Great Hornbill male with a snake |
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| The snake being offered at the nest entrance |
Wreathed Hornbills (Rhyticeros undulatus). I have photographed the species on Langkawi but have not seen a nest.
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| Wreathed Hornbill |
There are three primate species on Langkawi; the Long-tailed Macaque (Crab-eating Macaque), the Dusky Langur (Spectacled Langur) and the Slow Loris.
Long-tailed Macaques (Macaca facicularis), a South-east Asian species appear to be plentiful but are in fact are listed as 'endangered' on the IUCN list. The species has adapted from a coastal crab-eating species to feeding on human left-overs and making a nuisance of themselves, which is more a problem of human bad habits rather than monkey dietary tastes.
Dusky Langurs (Trachypithecus obscurus) are a vegetarian species with genteel habits that live in well-organized troops governed by an alpha male.They have cute orange babies and are also on the IUCN endangered list.They are essentially a Malaysian species with a spill-over into Thailand and Myanmar. I generally stay at the Berjaya resort and this species can easily be seen in the surrounding forest.
The Sunda Slow Loris (Nyctiebus coucang) is one of eight species of slow loris. Its diet includes; insects, nectar, gum and fruit. It is solely a rainforest dweller. Slow lorises have a toxic bite, a rare trait among mammals and unique among primates. The toxin is obtained by licking a sweat gland on their arm and the toxin is activated by mixing with saliva. Their toxic bite, once thought to be primarily a deterrent to predators, has been discovered to be mainly used in disputes within the species. The species suffers greatly from the pet trade because of their cute appearance, much like Dusky langur babies.
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| Sunda Slow Loris |
There has been 9 species of Kingfishers identified on Langkawi, they are: Common Kingfisher, Black-capped Kingfisher, Ruddy Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Banded Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher and the Brown-winged Kingfisher.
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| Common Kingfisher |
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| Black-capped Kingfisher |
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| Black-capped Kingfisher in flight sequence |
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| Ruddy Kingfisher |
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| White-throated Kingfisher |
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| Banded Kingfisher (male) |
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| Stork-billed Kingfisher |
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| Collared Kingfisher |
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| Blue-eared Kingfisher |
Langkawi is the only place in Malaysia that the Brown-winged Kingfisher (Pelargopsis amauroptera) can be found. Langkawi is the very southern limits of the species that can be found between the Sundarbans of Bengal and Southern Thailand. It looks very similar to the Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis) except for the brown wings.
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| Brown-winged Kingfisher |
Bee-eaters are a welcome sight wherever they show-up with their colourful plumage and their expert aerial skills. There are essentially four species of Bee-eaters that can be seen on Langkawi. They are; Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Blue-tailed Bee-eater and the Red-bearded Bee-eater. As with Penang island, the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is endemic to the island. Both the Blue-throated and Blue-tailed are parallel migrants (from Indonesia). The latter arrives in late December and the former in the middle of March. The Red-bearded Bee-eater is most likely an endemic species but is hard to find and track, although it can be spotted from time to time around the Datai resort.
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| Chestnut-headed Bee-eater |
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| Blue-throated Bee-eater |
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| Blue-throated Bee-eater (considered the most beautiful bird in China) |
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| Blue-tailed Bee-eater |
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| Red-bearded Bee-eater |
The three main squirrel species seen in Langkawi are; Plantain squirrel, Black Giant squirrel and the Red Giant Flying squirrel. I have seen all species in the forest surrounding the Berjaya resort. Other species include the Slender squirrel and the Grey-bellied squirrel.
Black Giant squirrel A Black Giant squirrel leaping from tree to tree Red Giant Flying squirrel
Plantain squirrel Slender squirrel
The Black Giant squirrels build a number of nests in its domain. The reason for the multiple nests in not known. It has been suggested that it shifts its base or that the other nests are dummy nests to deter predators. It is rare to see young squirrels, so it appears the young are well protected.
In addition to being good climbers, giant flying squirrels are excellent gliders, made possible by the membrane between their limbs; some were observed gliding for up to 75 metres. While in flight the squirrels are able to control the direction of the glide by tensing and relaxing membrane muscles.
Colugos
This somewhat strange-looking species was, and still is in some publications, called a Flying lemur. It is not related to lemurs and it does not fly, it glides. I wish Wikipedia and the World Wildlife fund would not persist in calling them Flying Lemurs. There are two species of Colugos; the Sunda Colugo and the Philippine Colugo and both are native to Southeast Asia. Their closest evolutionary relatives are primates and Tree Shrews. The spaces between the colugo's fingers and toes are webbed. This is a feature of some bats and the species was once considered wrongly to be related to bats. Colugos can glide for incredible distances, I once saw one glide for around 150 metres.
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| Colugo mother and infant |
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| Colugo gliding |
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| Tree Shrew |
Tree shrews are one of the closest relatives to Colugos along with primates, There are 17 Southeast Asian species of these small mammals resembling squirrels and 'true' shrews.Tree shrews. are however, neither rodents or insectivores and differ from them to the extent that they constitute their own mammalian order (Scandentia).
The Gliding five
Known variously by local guides as the 'flying five', but more precisely as the 'gliding five', since none of them actually fly. These 5 are; 1. Twin spotted flying frogs, 2. Colugos, 3. Red Giant flying squirrels, 4, Paradise tree snakes and 5. Draco lizards
Their method of gliding is via webbing on their feet and with splayed digits as demonstrated below by a related species.Twin-spotted flying frog
Wallace's Flying Frog , demonstrating frog gliding protocol Colugo gliding Red Giant flying squirrel
I have not been able to obtain a satisfactory photo of this species gliding but we recorded a similar species gliding in a joint project with the Nature Photographic Society of Singapore and the Singapore Zoo's Night Safari.
Red and white Giant flying squirrel, a related species (Wee Han Yeo)
Paradise Tree Snake
My family and I have seen these snakes gliding around our home in Singapore and on Pearl Hill in Penang when one landed on my head. There are some excellent videos of this snake species gliding on YouTube.
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| Flying dragon lizard, a gliding lizard. |
There are some excellent gliding shots of Draco lizards if you look up 'Draco' on Wikipedia. Nick Baker's EcologyAsia also has a lot of detail on Asian lizards; https://www.ecologyasia.com.
Bats
Bats are not gliders...they are fliers. There have been 26 species recorded on the island. The largest bats in the world the Island Flying Fox can be found roosting on trees on two rocky island outcrops on Dangli Island in the north and Lalang Island to the south
Island Flying Fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) Island Flying Fox in flight
Asian Palm Civet
The Asian Palm Civet, also called Common Palm Civet, toddy cat and musang is a native of South and Southeast Asia. Civets are not related to cats despite their similar appearances and being referred to as 'civet cats'. Civets are more closely related to mongooses, hyenas and weasels. It is thought to lead a solitary life style, except for mating. It is both terrestrial and arboreal showing peaks of nocturnal activity, They are not great photographic subjects because of their nocturnal habits. They are not endangered but are traded as pets and kept captive for the kopi luwak trade.
Asian Palm Civet
Smooth Coated Otters
Smooth-coated Otters are known to frequent the mangrove river near the Datai Bay area. A family of these otters is regularly seen on the beach of the Datai Langkawi resort. They are very skilful hunters and will come onto the beach to display even when humans are present
Smooth-coated Otters
Sundry Birds
These are mostly our feathered friends that pass or pause when I am pursuing something else (apologies that they are mostly males).Pink-Necked Green pigeon (male)
Asian Fairy Bluebird (male)
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| Greater flameback woodpecker (male) |
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| Olive-backed Sunbird (male) |
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| Ruby-cheeked sunbird |
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| Baya weaver (male) |
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| Barn Owl |
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| Brown Boobook Owl |
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| Crimson-backed Flowerpecker (male) |
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| Crimson Sunbird (male) |
Black-naped Oriole
Red-wattled Lapwing
Oriental Pratincole (pretending to be injured)
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank 2 friends who have a sound knowledge of Langkawi and various lizards, rodents and snakes; Tom Reynolds and Nick Baker respectively Nick hosts the excellent EcologyAsia website, a resource used by many.
Thanks also to Irshad Mobarak who was helpful in my early days in this region. I have stayed mostly at the Berjaya resort and I think this is in a great location. Keep up the good work there. NB. I am not paid to advertise.
Site of the Berjaya resort
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