The Bornean frogmouth is a bird species in the family Podargidae. Some taxonomists consider it to be a subspecies of the short-tailed frogmouth, but others consider it to be a distinct species. It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia and is endemic to the island of Borneo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Region
Borneo
Typical Environment
Occurs across the island of Borneo in Brunei, Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and Indonesian Kalimantan. It inhabits primary and good secondary lowland dipterocarp forest, hill forest, and lower montane forest. Birds are most often found in dense understory and along quiet forest tracks or stream margins. They roost on horizontal branches, relying on bark-like plumage for concealment.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1700 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This cryptic nocturnal bird has a wide, frog-like gape fringed with bristles that helps it snatch flying insects. By day it perches motionless along a branch, mimicking a broken stump for camouflage. It has often been treated as a subspecies of the Short-tailed Frogmouth but is recognized by many authorities as a distinct Bornean endemic. Habitat loss from logging and forest conversion is its chief threat.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short silent flights with rapid wingbeats and brief glides
Social Behavior
Primarily solitary outside the breeding season. Pairs form in the breeding period and build a small, flimsy nest platform on a horizontal branch. Typically lays a single egg; both adults share incubation and chick care, with the male often incubating by day.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A soft, low, mournful series of hoots or moaning whistles given at night, often spaced and repeated from a concealed perch. Calls can form simple duets between mates and may carry surprisingly far in still forest air.
Plumage
Heavily mottled and vermiculated brown, rufous, and grey with fine pale speckling; short tail and shaggy feathering around the bill.
Diet
Feeds mainly on nocturnal insects such as moths, beetles, katydids, and cicadas. It hunts by sallying from a perch to snatch prey in flight or by gleaning from foliage. Occasionally takes small vertebrates like tiny lizards when available. The wide gape and sensory bristles aid in detecting and capturing prey in low light.
Preferred Environment
Forages along quiet forest trails, edges of clearings, and over streams within intact or semi-intact forest. Usually hunts from low to mid-level perches beneath the canopy, moving short distances between ambush points.
