Wildlife of S. E. Asia and S. America. A Photo Journal by Francis Burlingham.: Brunei Garden Wildlife

Introduction

Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to live in Thailand, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia and now Brunei. In my spare time I have had the opportunity to travel fairly widely, camera in hand, in search of wildlife. In these posts I aim to share some of these experiences and show you some of the extraordinary wildlife that can be found in these regions. All of the photographs you see within the posts and pages here are my own unless otherwise stated. Copyright © Francis Burlingham 2015

Friday, 25 April 2025

Brunei Garden Wildlife

Brunei still has lots of tree cover and even amongst the built up residential areas there are still stands of trees and fallow land that enables a range of wildlife to survive. My house is at the top of a small hill and there are stands of trees on the steepest slopes that have not been built on. These back on to orchards and semi cultivated areas. I have purposefully planted my garden with attracting wildlife in mind and as a result many animals pass through. All of the photographs below were taken in my garden.

Ahaetulla mycterizans (Malayan GreenWhip Snake) Brunei Borneo

I have planted a range of climbing shrups and vines along my fences and large stand of heliconia under an avocado tree where a beautiful bright green whip snake has made its home.

Ahaetulla mycterizans (Malayan GreenWhip Snake) Brunei Borneo

The whip snake likes to hang out in the heliconias hunting for lizards. It is a very long skinny snake.

Ahaetulla mycterizans (Malayan GreenWhip Snake) Brunei Borneo

I have a good population of garden fence lizards that patrol the plants I have planted to attract insects.

Calotes versicolor (Garden Fence Lizard) Brunei Borneo

There are also plenty of skinks living in the leaf litter and geckos around the fence and buildings. Building a pond has also attracted a range of wildlife and I have three frog species that are regulars; toads, tree frogs and ox frogs.

Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Asian Toad) Brunei Borneo

Polypedates leucomystax (Four Lined Tree Frog) Brunei Borneo

Kaloula pulchra (Ox Frog) Brunei Borneo

Four mammal species regularly visit the garden. Both species of monkey like to strip the leaves and flowers from my Hibiscus bushes.

Macaca fascicularis (Long tailed Macaque) Brunei Borneo

Trachypithecus cristatus (Silver Langur) Brunei Borneo

The tree shrews and squirrels that visit at first glance look similar but are unrelated.

Tupaia minor (Lessor Tree shrew) Brunei Borneo

Callosciurus notatus (Plantain Squirrel) brunei Borneo

A large number of different birds visit the garden. These are some of the most common visitors.

Amaurornis phoenicurus (White-breasted waterhen) Brunei Borneo

Padda oryzivora (Java Sparrow) Brunei Borneo

Centropus sinensis (Greater coucal) Brunei Borneo

Aethopyga siparaja (Crimson Sunbird) Brunei Borneo

I have so far seen three species of snake in the garden. There have been a couple of spitting cobras, the whip snake and a striped bronzeback. Only the cobra gives a potentially fatal bite.