Running Time:

80 min

Release Date:

September 2013

Recording Location:

Bukit Fraser, Malaysia

Cloudforest - Malaysia

A chain of rainforested hills run the length of peninsular Malaysia. Mists drift through these mountain forests, condensing and nourishing an abundance of epiphytes, mosses and ferns.

In the pre-dawn, a chorus of piping frogs and nocturnal insects gently fills the humid air. With first light, the wonderful diversity of birdlife found here begins to awake. Babblers chatter animatedly, and the whooping of Cuckoo Doves echo through the trees. One of the standout species of the forest is heard, the unusual buzzing call of a Fire-tufted Barbet.

A flock of Silver-eared Mesias pass by with much scolding and sweet singing, and the electric cries of a pair of Yellownapes carry through the treetops.

For all the tropical diversity, this recording is actually very easy on the ear. There is an organic pace to the changing soundscape; sounds ebbing and flowing gradually as the morning progresses.

Andrew comments:

Bukit Fraser, the location for this recording, is one of the birding hotspots of South East Asia. People come from all over the world for a chance to see and hear the nearly 300 species to be found here.

No single recording could hope to capture this variety. However, when we arrived, rather than a riot of sound, we found the forests surprisingly quiet. Sounds were often sparse, and muffled by thick vegetation and heavy mists.

We hoped to make a single, continuous recording that would capture some of the rich biodiversity, but finding a suitable location where life was concentrated, took much scouting around. On our final morning, in a shallow valley in the midst of primary rainforest, the cloudforest came alive. And for once, it didn't rain.

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