BIRDS of SABAH
Raffles's Malkoha "The Beautiful and Shy Bird"
Malkohas belong to the Cuculidae family are commonly found in the forest including the forest edge areas. Did you know that there are about 14 species of Malkohas in the world and five of them can be found in the Borneo Island. All of these five species preferred the lowland areas and their species distribution is from 900m to 1200m according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) redlist. Malkohas is one the colourful birds in Sabah. These species have different colour of their wings such as green, dull brown and grey that allow them to camouflage themselves among the leaves of the trees as their protection system. Another attraction of the bird from this species is that their beaks can even in mixed colours. Interesting isn’t?
How to recognise a Raffles's Malkoha?
​
The Raffles’s Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus chlorophaeus) is the only species with a blue coloured beak of which, is different from the other four Malkoha species (as shown in Photo 1). This species has a long black coloured tail with a broad white tip end. Raffles’s Malkoha is also known as an insectivore as it feeds on caterpillars and insects by gleaning through the dense foliage. This species can be commonly found in both primary and secondary lowland forest in Sabah. It is often spotted in pairs or group in the forest. An interesting fact about Raffles’s Malkoha is that it is different in colour for both male and female. Male Raffles’s malkoha has a brown or rufous coloured head while the female has a grey colour head. Female Raffles’s malkoha have a grey breast and throat but not all female will be like that. This probably related to the age of malkohas. But how does the calling of this bird sounds like? Raffles’s malkoha produces a soft and cat-like whisper “whiow whiow whiow whiow” in the wild.
Photo 1: Raffles's Malkoha spotted perching on a tree's branch
(Credits to : Mr. Paul van Giersbergen)
When is the breeding season of Raffles's Malkoha?
According to research, it was found that in the Peninsular Malaysia, the breeding season of Raffles’s Malkoha begins differently in between January until May. This bird starts to build its’ stick nest (a simple patch of twigs and leaves) in the tree in month of March and August. This bird is a very caring being as both the male and female of Raffles’s Malkoha will take care for their young.
Taking part in the conservation of birds
The Raffles’s Malkoha can be found in Southeast Asia countries such as Brunei, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. However, like any other wildlife, this species also faces the risk of extinction as it was already found to be regionally extinct in Singapore. Hence, this incident tells us that there is a need for conservation work to be done in protecting these birds. Yet, this does not necessarily mean that you need take up the conservation works and neglecting your current job. You can still play your role in helping on the conservation of birds by supporting NGO’s that are active in conservation works for wildlife including birds by donating and also sharing the information from this website so that it can reach out to more people worldwide.
Article prepared by:
Ms. Lee Woon Jah
