There’s a variety of oddball birds in South-East Asia, and the Oriental Darter in Malaysia certainly stands out. This wonderful waterbird is certainly odd-looking, resembling a cross between a duck and a heron! Despite looking rather ungainly, the Oriental Darter certainly has a certain appeal to it. Known as ‘Burung Kosa-Ular’ in Malay, this unique aquatic avian is the only one of its kind found in Malaysia.

Oriental Darter in Malaysia

When I first encountered the Oriental Darter in Malaysia, I was immediately fascinated by it. It’s hard not to, seeing that the Oriental Darter looks sleek and ungainly at the same time. It took me quite a while to first see this bird, as it’s rather scarce in Peninsular Malaysia. Finally, in 2019, I ticked it off my life list when I spotted a pair at Likas, Kota Kinabalu. Subsequently, I’ve managed to see it somewhat regularly, albeit mostly in Selangor and Sabah. Nevertheless, every encounter with this species is memorable, and it remains one of my favourite bird species in Malaysia.

Identifying the Oriental Darter in Malaysia

The Oriental Darter is a very distinctive bird that’s straightforward to identify. Look for the following features:

• Large sized waterbird, with short legs and webbed feet.
• Black body, wings and tail, with white streaking on the upper wings.
• Neck is brown, with a white stripe along the side of the face. The neck is sometimes quite pale.
• The neck is long and snake-like; additionally, the neck is often held kinked.
• Small head with a long, dagger-like bill.
• Relatively long-tailed.
• In-flight, the neck is often kinked and the bird appears like an almost symmetrical cross.

Confusion Species

The only possible confusion species for the Oriental Darter in Malaysia are cormorants:

• The Little Cormorant is also all dark, but is much smaller, shorter necked, and lacks the white markings of the darter. The Little Cormorant and Oriental Darter often roost together (e.g. at Bestari Jaya, Loagan Bunut).
• The Great Cormorant is similarly black, but once again, has a much shorter neck. It has white markings on the throat; however, it lacks the white streaking of the darter. Note that the Great Cormorant is rare/vagrant in Malaysia. 

Habitat of the Oriental Darter in Malaysia

The Oriental Darter  prefers various freshwater wetlands as its habitat:

• Lakes, ponds, reservoirs, dams.
• Large rivers, and estuaries.
• Freshwater swamps/marshes.

Behaviour

The Oriental Darter is an aquatic bird, and is an excellent swimmer due to several interesting adaptations:

• The feathers are not waterproof (unlike many waterbirds), allowing the bird to submerge easily. However, this requires them to dry off their feathers after their hunts. Indeed, they’re often seen perched with their wings stretched out, in order to dry them. They share this behaviour with the cormorants, their closest relatives.
• Powerful webbed feet to propel itself underwater.
• Sleek and streamlined body shape.

At the water’s surface, the darter swims with only the neck and head sticking out. However, it submerges underwater to hunt. The darter feeds on fish, spearing them using its dagger-like bill, subsequently swallowing the prey head first at the surface. I’ve been lucky enough to see a darter with an unfortunate fish speared on the bill!

Despite being an aquatic bird, the Oriental Darter is a powerful flyer. Occasionally, they’re seen flying high and soaring with the thermals, resembling a raptor or stork.

Range and Distribution

The Oriental Darter has a large distribution. It ranges from the Indian subcontinent to Indochina, and the Malay Peninsula to the Greater Sunda Islands.

Where to see the Oriental Darter in Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia

The Oriental Darter is a scarce non-breeding visitor in Peninsular Malaysia. Nevertheless, they’re reliably seen at certain locations. These locations include (but not limited to):

• Putrajaya Wetlands and surrounding areas.
• Paya Indah Wetlands, Selangor.
• Abandoned mining lakes around Bestari Jaya, Selangor.
• Ponds and lakes around UPM Serdang, Selangor.
• Kinta Nature Park, near Ipoh.

Additionally, they’re found sporadically at various lakes, ponds, reservoirs and dams throughout the peninsula (especially in the north). Curiously, older field guides classify the Oriental Darter as Vagrant in Peninsular Malaysia. 

Malaysian Borneo

The darter is resident in Borneo and relatively easily seen in Sabah. Look for them at:

• The Kinabatangan river (and surrounding areas). The Oriental Darter is quite common here.
• Likas wetlands and Kota Kinabalu Wetland Ramsar Site,  conveniently located within Kota Kinabalu city.
• Rasa Ria reserve, near Tuaran, Sabah. Sizeable numbers roost on small islands near the golf course.
• It’s occasionally seen fishing in the lake at the Rainforest Discovery Centre, Sepilok.
• Loagan Bunut National Park, Sarawak.
• Kuala Baram Wetlands, Miri, Sarawak.

They also frequent various freshwater wetlands throughout Borneo.

Conservation Status

According to BirdLife International, the Oriental Darter is classified as Near Threatened (NT). In Malaysia, this species is afforded ‘Totally Protected’ status in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, and ‘Protected’ status in Sabah.

Similar to many birds, this species is primarily threatened with habitat loss. Large areas of natural freshwater wetlands are being  converted to plantations, urban areas, etc. Additionally, the Oriental Darter is also threatened with hunting and egg collecting.

Additional Information

More information on the Oriental Darter can be found at the following links:

• eBird has more photos and a distribution map, as well as some recordings.
• The Wikipedia page has additional info on its taxonomy, behaviour, and breeding ecology.

The Oriental Darter is part of the darter family, with four species found throughout the world. All look similar, differing slightly in plumage patterns. They don’t overlap in range, however. The other three species are:

• The Anhinga (or American Darter) from North, Central and South America.
• African Darter. This species is widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
• The Australasian Darter ranges throughout Australia and New Guinea

Conclusion

The Oriental Darter in Malaysia stands out as a unique, oddball species that’s simultaneously both awkward-looking and appealing. This atypical aquatic avian appears elegant and ungainly in equal measure, and most certainly worth paying extra attention to. Thankfully, this species is reliably seen in certain locations within Malaysia, such as Sabah and Selangor. 

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References:

Phillipps, Q. & Phillipps, K. (2014). Phillips’ Field Guide To The Birds of Borneo. Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan (Third edition). John Beaufoy Publishing, Oxford, England.

Puan, C.L., Davison, G. & Lim, K.C. (2020). Birds of Malaysia. Covering Peninsular Malaysia, Malaysian Borneo and Singapore. Lynx and BirdLife International Field Guides. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Robson, C. (2005). New Holland Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia (Concise Edition). New Holland Publishers, London, England.

MNS Bird Conservation Council. (2021). A Checklist of the Birds of Malaysia. 2020 Edition. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society. (MNS Conservation Publication No. 22)

BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Anhinga melanogaster. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/oriental-darter-anhinga-melanogaster on 01/12/2023