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Dedicated to Charles B. Currin (1944-2022)

There are an estimated 11,000 living species of bird; around a fifth of these occur in Southeast Asia with the greatest diversity found in primary rainforest and coastal mangrove.  Broadly, birds can be divided into passerines and non-passerines. Passerines, or perching birds (order : Passeriformes) comprise around one half of all bird species.  They are also known as 'songbirds' and are grouped together in a single order on the basis of the arrangement of their toe and leg musculature.  Non-passerines comprise birds from 30-35 other orders in existence today.

Birds have undergone remarkable adaptive radiation, with many examples of convergent evolution i.e. unrelated bird groups have evolved similar body form in response to the demands of adapting to specific ecological niches. For example, swifts and swallows are of similar body shape, but are quite unrelated.

The casual observer need understand nothing of the complex evolutionary history of birds. Its simply enough to appreciate the stunning beauty and diversity of these creatures, particularly the brightly coloured kingfishers, barbets, trogons, woodpeckers, broadbills and majestic hornbills which inhabit the region's forests.

Waterfowl  (Anseriformes)
  

Finfoots, swamphens, waterhens, coots, crakes, rails
(Gruiformes)
   

Darters, cormorants
(Suliformes)
  

Ibises, pelicans, bitterns, herons and egrets
(Pelecaniformes)
   

Storks
(Ciconiiformes)
 

Raptors
(Accipitriformes)
 

Swifts, swiftlets and treeswifts
(Apodiformes)
  

Pigeons and doves
(Columbiformes)
  

Cuckoos, drongo-cuckoos, koels, coucals and malkohas
(Cuculiformes)
  

Owls
(Strigiformes)
 

Kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers
(Coraciiformes)
  

Woodpeckers and barbets
(Piciformes)
  

Broadbills and pittas
(Eurylaimoidea)
  

Minivets, cuckooshrikes, trillers etc.
(Corvoidea: Campephagidae)
  

True crows, magpies, treepies etc.
(Corvoidea: Corvidae)
  

Woodshrikes, flycatcher-shrikes, philentomas etc.
(Corvoidea: Vangidae)
  

Drongos
(Corvoidea: Dicruridae)
  

Fantails
(Corvoidea: Rhipiduridae)
  

Woodswallow, peltops, ioras etc. 
(Malaconotoidea: Artamidae, Ageithinidae)
  

Orioles, vireos, whistlers and their allies 
(Orioloidea: Oriolidae, Vireonidae, Pachycephalidae)
  

Bulbuls 
(Sylvioidea: Pycnonotidae)
  

Babblers, fulvettas etc. 
(Sylvioidea: Timaliidae, Pellorneidae)
  

Tailorbirds, prinias, cisticolas 
(Sylvioidea: Cisticolidae)
  

Laughingthrushes, minlas, sibias, mesias etc. 
(Sylvioidea: Leiothrichidae)
  

Marsh & reed warblers, leaf warblers, bush warblers
(Sylvioidea: Acrocephalidae, Phylloscopidae, Cettiidae)
  

Swallows, martins etc. 
(Sylvioidea: Hirundinidae)
  

Canary flycatchers
(Sylvioidea: Stenostiridae)
 

Old world flycatchers
(Muscicapoidea: Muscicapidae)
  

Shamas, forktails, wheatears, stonechats etc.
(Muscicapoidea: Muscicapidae)
  

Thrushes
(Muscicapoidea: Turdidae)
  

Mynas, starlings etc.
(Muscicapoidea: Sturnidae)
  

Nuthatches etc.
(Certhioidea: Sittidae)
  

Wagtails, pipits etc. 
(Passeroidea: Motacillidae)
  

Munias, mannikins, finches etc.  
(Passeroidea; Estrildidae)
  

Sparrows, weavers, tits, leafbirds, fairy bluebirds etc. 
(Passeroidea; other families)
  

Spiderhunters, sunbirds, flowerpeckers etc.
(Dicaeoidea)