Does a morning walk through Bangkok’s new and widely praised Benjakitti Park, learning about the birds that frequent the city, sound interesting? Have you wondered what the names and habits are of the birds that we see around us every day in Bangkok? If so, the Natural History Section of The Siam Society is starting a series of birding programmes to provide opportunities for members and non-members to learn about and see the exceptional richness of birdlife in Thailand.

The Siam Society is collaborating with the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand to offer a 3-hour urban birding programme on Saturday, 13 December 2025, at Benjakitti Park, Bangkok. Both beginners and experienced birders alike are welcome to join. The walking tour of the park will be conducted by the Bird Conservation Society, the Thailand Partner of Bird Life International, under the guidance of a skilled leader provided by the Bird Conservation Society, who will identify the birds we see by both their English and Thai names. The tour will also be accompanied by Mr Jim Stent, Council Member of The Siam Society.

One of Asia’s megacities, Bangkok is not the first place that comes to mind as a place to watch birds and or enjoy nature. Public green spaces occupy a relatively small proportion of the city, amid its present-day glass and steel “forest” of multi-storey constructions. Even so, the remaining urban green spaces hold a surprising diversity of birds and other wildlife. Benjakitti Park is one such green area, established on 72 hectares of land reclaimed for public use from the Tobacco Authority of Thailand, and one of the two or three best birding locations in the city. Resident species, present year-round, include the exotic-looking Coppersmith Barbet, the feisty Malaysian Pied Fantail, and the jaunty Oriental Magpie Robin. Most grass lawns will support a pair of the latter species, which often nests in crevices in sheltered man-made structures. Two species of nectar-feeding sunbirds, the ubiquitous Ornate Sunbird (formerly known as the Olive-backed Sunbird) and the scarcer Brown-throated Sunbird, are often found in flowering trees. Another diminutive fruit and nectar feeder is the Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, with its vividly plumaged males. Yet even the brownish drab females still sport a patch of scarlet red in their plumage. Whistling calls may announce the arrival of the smartly patterned and insectivorous Common Iora, with its bright yellow underparts and black-and-white striped wings, or even a Black-naped Oriole.

Some of us may already know such species from our house gardens. But how about the Indochinese Roller, which explodes into colour, displaying bright blue flashes as it takes wing? Or the Blue-tailed Bee-eaters that wheel overhead? Additionally, in this, the boreal winter season, the tropical resident birds in Bangkok’s parks and gardens are joined by a diverse array of migratory species that have seasonally fled their frigid northern Asian breeding areas for warmer climes. These include the Yellow-browed Warbler, Asian Brown Flycatchers and Taiga Flycatchers, Blue Rockthrush, with perhaps a Brown Shrike or another scarce landbird migrant thrush, chat or flycatcher.