Cat Tien National Park
Crocodile Lake
Cat Tien National Park, 150 km north-east of Ho Chi Minh City, contains the largest remaining area of lowland tropical forest in southern Vietnam. The forest cover is a mixture of primary and secondary evergreen and semi-evergreen forest. There are also large areas dominated by grassland and bamboo, a result of wartime defoliation and post-war logging.
Nevertheless Cat Tien is still one of the best birding sites in Vietnam and such sought after species as Germain’s Peacock Pheasant, Siamese Fireback, Green Peafowl, Bar-bellied and Blue-rumped Pitta can often be found without too much trouble in a few days of birding.
Forest trail at Cat Tien
Woodpeckers, barbets, hornbills and broadbills are well represented at Cat Tien and may be seen while birding along the main road and park trails.
Cat Tien and the nearby Tan Phu Forest Enterprise are also the only easily accessible sites for the Indochinese endemic Orange-necked Partridge, though it is still a difficult bird to find in its thick bamboo habitat.
Cat Tien’s most wanted
Bar-bellied Pitta
Orange-necked Partridge, Scaly-breasted Partridge, Siamese Fireback, Germain’s Peacock Pheasant, Green Peafowl, White-bellied Woodpecker, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Pale-headed Woodpecker, Black-and-Buff Woodpecker, Heart-spotted Woodpecker, Red-vented Barbet, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Great Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, Orange-breasted Trogon, Blue-bearded Bee-Eater, Banded Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Brown Hawk Owl, Tawny Fish Owl, Javan Frogmouth, Great-eared Nightjar, Green Imperial Pigeon, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Lesser Fish Eagle, Black Baza, Collared Falconet, Woolly-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Blue-rumped Pitta, Bar-bellied Pitta, Blue-winged Pitta, Black-and-Red Broadbill, Banded Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill, Vinous-breasted Starling, Golden-crested Myna, Grey-faced Tit Babbler.