Doi Lang, located in Chiang Mai province in Northern Thailand, is a series of mountain ridges within the vast Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park. This area is one of Thailand’s most untamed regions accessible by car, offering stunning views of Myanmar. Birders can enjoy miles of exceptional roadside birdwatching through diverse upland habitats with minimal traffic interruptions.
Situated at 2100 metres, Doi Lang is slightly lower in elevation than Doi Pha Hom Pok, Thailand’s second-highest peak. Since this region hosts several beautiful bird species, we organized a 3-day birding expedition in the Doi Lang area, with Fang town as our base.
Doi Lang’s western slope, within the Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, is one of the prime spots in Thailand to see Mrs. Hume’s pheasant. Our guide, Sompong Paan Nuamsawat, explained, ‘The best time to spot Mrs. Hume’s pheasant is early in the morning when the bird is most active. We’ll strategically set up bird hides on both sides of the road where we expect the birds to appear.’
Mrs. Hume’s pheasant (or the bar-tailed pheasant), a rare pheasant, is a
long-tailed terrestrial bird. Named in honour of Mary Ann Grindall Hume, wife of the British naturalist in India Allan Octavian Hume, it is the state bird of Mizoram and Manipur (India). Owing to habitat loss and being hunted for food, the bird is Near Threatened as per the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Day 1
By 5 a.m., we were on the road, leaving Fang town behind as we headed towards the remote wilderness of Doi Lang. After an hour of navigating the winding roads, we arrived at our destination just before sunrise. The silence was profound, broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves as the forest was awakening.
We carefully fixed our viewing hides on both sides of the road, ensuring a clear view of any wildlife that might cross our path. The darkness gradually lifted, giving way to the first light of dawn, which cast a soft, golden hue over the landscape. It was at this moment that I noticed a subtle movement in the dense undergrowth. Slowly, almost hesitantly, a female Mrs. Hume’s pheasant stepped out onto the road. Her sleek brown feathers blended almost perfectly with the earth.
A few minutes later, a magnificent male emerged from the bushes, his dashing plumage glistening in the morning light. The deep blue feathers with iridescent hues of green and purple contrasted beautifully with his reddish-brown body. Soon, three more females joined him.
For over 45 minutes, we watched in awe as the pheasants foraged on the ground. The male began to display his colourful plumage with elaborate courtship rituals. He fanned his tail feathers, strutted confidently, and performed intricate dances, each movement designed to attract the females.
Every minute felt like a gift, as the birds were just a few feet away, giving us the possibility to capture every detail. The thrill of witnessing such a rare and intimate behaviour in the wild is indescribable. After a while, the pheasants, having finished foraging and courtship, retreated into the safety of the thicket. Their departure was as graceful as their arrival, leaving the road once again empty and silent.
As we were packing up the hides, a flash of deep blue caught our attention—an ultramarine flycatcher had perched nearby. Our presence didn’t seem to bother him, giving us ample time to capture his beauty.
After photographing the Mrs. Hume’s pheasant, we continued our journey along a narrow road that loops along the Thai–Myanmar border, heading towards the village of Thatorn. However, our progress was halted at a checkpoint, where the Thai military had closed the access, preventing us from reaching the eastern part of the sanctuary.
The diverse habitats at the national park—including pine forests, rice paddies, orchards, and moist forests—support many bird species. To explore these varied environs thoroughly and fully appreciate the richness of the area would require several days.
Although visiting the mountain ridges is generally safe, it’s important to remember that the road runs along the border for much of its length. And wandering off the road could accidentally land you in Myanmar, where there may be land mines.
We birded until noon, spotting several species: the Burmese shrike, crested finchbill, flavescent bulbul, greenish warbler, black-backed sibia, silver-eared mesia, pygmy flycatcher, hill prinia, and black-throated sunbird.
As we drove towards Fang town for lunch, Paan, sitting in the front, suddenly exclaimed, ‘Hodgson’s frogmouth!’ Then he explained that this bird typically nests in the area each March. We quickly got out of the vehicle, set up our tripods, and photographed the frogmouth family. Unlike in India, where tripods are less commonly used for photography, in this region most birders rely on them. This is because birders prefer to wait for the birds to approach their usual perch rather than chasing after them.
Our next target was the mountain bamboo partridge. After lunch, we set up a hide and waited for two hours, but the bird never appeared. Paan suggested that we should try again the next day at a different location, and so we returned to our hotel at Fang.
Day 2
The best chance to spot the mountain bamboo partridge is while driving slowly through the pine forest or walking quietly and listening for its sound as it forages in the undergrowth. However, we were told that Myanmar’s farmers graze their cattle in the area, which makes sightings of the bird more difficult.
We began the day birding along the roadside and observed several Hume’s pheasants, but there was no sign of the mountain bamboo partridge. We did spot a grey-chinned minivet and a short-billed minivet. Our excitement peaked when we saw a giant nuthatch. We continued birding until lunch and sighted the following birds: stripe-breasted woodpecker, white-browed shrike-babbler, grey treepie, grey-headed canary-flycatcher, white-spectacled warbler, Davison’s leaf warbler, spot-breasted parrotbill, Yunnan fulvetta, black-backed sibia, velvet-fronted nuthatch, pale blue flycatcher, blue whistling-thrush, and little pied flycatcher.
A notable feature of this park is the series of feeding stations along the road set up by photographers. These stations, especially productive from December to March, provide excellent opportunities for bird photography. From one of the hides, we managed to capture a good shot of a rusty-cheeked scimitar-babbler.
After lunch, we attempted to spot the mountain bamboo partridge from a different hide, but the bird eluded us again. On our way back to Fang, however, we noticed the partridges crossing the road at a distance and managed to capture a few record shots. We were still missing one bird in our list: the scarlet-faced liocichla. We decided to try our luck the next morning, before heading back to Chiang Mai airport.
Day 3
Since we had to catch an afternoon flight, our prime target this day was the scarlet-faced liocichla. We drove to the hide near the border security gate and waited patiently. The bird didn’t disappoint us; we managed to capture some excellent shots. Content, we made our way to the airport.
Our birding adventure in Northern Thailand was nothing short of spectacular. The memories of feathered treasures will stay with us, fueling our passion for birding.
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