Vietnam January 2011, Di Linh

On my first visit to Vietnam I did a short tour with Bao from http://www.birdwatchingvietnam.net/ to Dalat. On the way there we stopped in Di Linh to do some afternoon birding. The area is apparently good for Green Cochoa and Hodgson´s Frogmouth amongst other critters, but we saw none of these. I however saw my first endemic of the country here: Annam Barbet. I also heard Black-hooded Laughingthrush here, but I had to wait until 2013 to get to see this stunning bird. Other birds of interest recorded in Di Linh included Red-vented Barbet, Black Baza, Vernal Hanging Parrot, Long-tailed Broadbill, Asian Fairy Bluebird, Collared Owlet and Black-throated Sunbird (ssp. ochra).

I would have no idea how to reach this site by public transpor (I don´t even know where the exact site is we visited)t, nor would I know how good the site still is. I guess the forest is still here and probably deserves more time than one short afternoon. Like I said, Green Cochoas can be found...

Annam Barbat (Megalaima annamensis), picture taken by Nguyen Hoai Bao