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Over 200 species of birds have been spotted at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, from resident birds to rare visitors.
View the checklist of bird species recorded at the Reserve (PDF, 111KB).
Throughout the year, look out for resident birds such as herons, kingfishers, bitterns, sunbirds, tailorbirds, fruit pigeons and more.
Find out more about some of the resident birds you might spot during your visit:
Name of bird | Description |
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The male has distinctive purple neck and breast and orange lower breast whereas the female is uniformly green. | |
The call made by this bird sounds like shrill laughter. | |
Crimson Sunbird (male) | This bird was declared the National Bird of Singapore by the Nature Society (Singapore) in 2015 as it is small, active and red, befitting Singapore's nickname of “Little Red Dot”. |
This bird is very common in mangroves, and is often energetically foraging for insects in the lower understorey, moving and calling constantly. | |
This small bird can be seen flying around in an open area near waterbodies hunting and catching airborne insects as it flies. | |
The male has a red crest, while the female has a black crest with white spotting. This bird can be seen clinging on tree trunks. | |
Often seen soaring or hunting for food, this bird is the largest raptor in Singapore with a wingspan of 2m and body length of 70cm. | |
This bird is commonly seen soaring in the sky. Don’t be alarmed by its call, which sounds like a baby’s cry. | |
The Grey Heron is among the largest bird you can find in Singapore. It adopts a "stalk and stab" technique to hunt fish and crustaceans. | |
This tall bird, standing at 1.15m tall, has a unique rumbling call that led to its nickname, “Alligator bird”. The male bird can be seen doing a courtship dance in an attempt to impress females during breeding season. | |
One of the largest birds in Singapore, this bird uses a "stalk and stab" technique to hunt for fish and crustaceans. | |
This bird is commonly seen near the water's edge in flocks during dawn and dusk. | |
This bird uses small items such as leaves as bait to catch fish for food. Once the fish takes the bait, the heron quickly dives into the water to catch its prey. |
The Reserve is an internationally important site for migratory bird conservation. It is part of the East Asian Australasian Flyway, one of the world's largest flyway for migratory birds. The Reserve's mudflats function as a "refuelling point" for migratory birds to feed and roost.
Visit between August to April for a chance to see migratory shorebirds such as the Whimbrel, Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Pacific Golden Plover and the Lesser Sand Plover.
Find out more about some of the migratory birds you might spot during your visit:
Name of bird | Description |
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This bird has a long down-curved sensitive bill, which is about twice the length of its head. With its long bill, it can pick up worms that hide deep in the mud. | |
This bird has a long, yellowish-green legs. To catch food such as small fishes and prawns, it uses its slightly upturned long bill to sieve through water in a side-to-side motion. | |
This bird has a long, straight bill and distinctive red legs. It usually washes its food such as worms, molluscs and small crabs in the water before swallowing them whole. | |
This bird has a short bill and legs. Its golden brown feathers make it stand out from the other birds. It picks at the surface of the mudflat for food such as small molluscs and crabs. | |
This small wader has a short bill and dark grey legs. It migrates in a flock. | |
Often seen near the water edge, this bird bobs its tail up and down as it moves slowly from one location to another. |
Refer to this guide to the top 5 common migratory shorebirds(PDF, 7.75MB) for more information.
Watch this video to find out more about shorebird migration, including how to identify these special visitors:
Also known as waders, migratory shorebirds:
Join our Singapore Engraved Flag Sightings Facebook group to keep up with community sightings of shorebirds at the Reserve.
You can also submit your sightings to help us monitor the birds' movement.
Although birds can be spotted all around the reserve, the Migratory Bird Trail circling the Buloh Tidal Ponds is the best place to spot migratory birds.