House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Image: David Vinot
Last Observed: 2014 – Koh Chang
Last Observed By: David Vinot
The house sparrow is almost a victim of its own success. They are so common that you hardly notice them. This is because they are the world’s most widely distrubuted wild bird.
That’s because they are extremely at home in human habitations, both urban and rural so as Homa Sapiens spreads so does the house sparrow.
They are a small bird with a maximum length of 16cm and weigh around 30 grammes.They feed aminly on seeds of grains and weeds, but also eat all kinds of insects, berries and pretty much whatever is around. One of nature’s true survivors.
House Sparrow Wikipedia
Other Koh Chang Birds
Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Globicephala macrorhynchus)
Image Copyright Cyril Boudon
Observed: Koh Chang, 2010
Observed By: Cyril Boudon
The common bottlenose dolphin is one of the most common worldwide species of dolphin with a habitat covering temperate and tropical oceans worldwide.
Thankfully they aren’t considered a threatened species globally – but they certainly are here in teh gulf of Thailand. Sightings around Koh Chang are very rare (you’ll notice these images date back to 2010).
However dead dolphins often wash up on local beaches. The principal cause of death is drowning when they are caught up in fishing nets and are unable to surface to breathe. there are supposed to be strict fishing restrictions within the waters of the Koh Chang Marine National Park. And outside these waters Thailand faces significant challenges to tackle illegal and unsustainable fishing. Sadly these dolphins are often the victims of these fishing practises.
Which is a shame because they are marvellous creatures; highly intelligent group-dwelling mammals with language and extremely complex social interaction. Their brains are bigger than ours, which explains a lot.
Common Bottlenose Dolphin Wikipedia
Image Copyright Cyril Boudon
Image Copyright Cyril Boudon
Image Copyright Cyril Boudon
Image Copyright Cyril Boudon
Other Koh Chang Mammals
Thanks everyone – the animals just keep on coming. There’s 165 individual animal pages on the site now and maybe another 50-70 waiting for me to get around to putting on. It’ll happen but please bear with me if your beast hasn’t appeared yet – it will! Doing this whole exercise just reinforces what a […]
Right, we’re making good progress! Most of our animal backlog has now been cleared and we now have 82 different Koh Chang animal species on the site. Also, importantly, we’ve added a page with lots of animal identification sites and resources. We particularly need some undersea assistance so all you divers please get snapping and […]
Merten’s Sea Anemone (Stychodactyla mertensii)
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Observed: Koh Chang Reefs, December 2015
Observed By: Jonathan Milnes
Merten’s Sea Anemone is the largest of all the sea anemones – another Koh Chang species that’s the biggest of its kind. It has a diameter of over 1 metre and attaches itself to the sea bed with special wart-like protuberances called verrucae.
Like most anemone species it has symbiotic relationships with anemonefish – which protect the anemones from predation in return for the protective environment of the anemone’s stinging tentacles. This species hosts plays host to around half of all the different species of anemone fish.
Merten’s sea Anemone Wikipedia
Other Koh Chang Corals and Anemones
Dark Flanked Stream Frog (Hylarana nigrovittata)
Last Observed: March 2016, Koh Chang
Observed By: Jean-Pierre Odet
The dark-flanked stream frog is a native amphibian of Southeast Asia. It lives in moist lowland forests – just like the ones that cover Koh Chang.
Dark Flanked Stream Frog Wikipedia
More Koh Chang Amphibians
Kuhls Flying Gecko (Ptychozoon kuhli)
Image Copyright Natpha Kotkangplu
Last Observed: January 2016, Koh Chang
Observed By: Natpha Kotkangplu
Kuhl’s flying gecko is a member of the gecko family that has special adaptations that enable it glide through the air for short distances. These include webbed feet, flaps of skin on either side of its body and a flattened tail.
This gliding ability is obviously an excellent defensive tool as well as being pretty handy when you want to get to the next tree.
They have a greeny brown and tan patterned body that offers superb camouflage in their native arboreal environment.
Kuhls Flying Gecko Wikipedia
Other Koh Chang Reptiles
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)
Image: David Vinot
Last Observed: February 2016 – Koh Chang
Last Observed By: David Vinot
The common redshank, sometimes just called the redshank is a Eurasian wading bird that is a relativelt common visitor to Koh Chang.
Common Redshank Wikipedia
Southeast Asian Box Turtle (Cuora amboinensis)
Image Copyright Colin Harris
Last Observed: February 2016, Koh Chang
Observed By: Colin Harris
The Southeast Asian Box Turtle has a shell that ranges in colour from blackish-brown to olive green. the shell has high concave dome shape.
Their conservation status is rated as vulnerable.
Southeast Asian Box Turtle Wikipedia
Brown Throated Sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis)
Image Copyright Tijl Adriaen
Last Observed: February 2016 – Koh Chang
Last Observed By: Tijl Adriaen
The brown-throated sunbird is a species of Nectariniidae bird found in Southeast Asia. Like their South American counterparts the hummingbirds these small birds feed primarily on nectar and they have adapted an extremely versatile flying style that allows them to almost hover as they feed on a plant’s nectar.
They are a small bird with a maximum length of 14cm and have a yellow breast and underside and an iridescent blue/black head, body and wings.
They have a loud and harsh call and feed on crabs, insects, worms, snails and that kind of stuff.
Brown-Throated Sunbird Wikipedia
Greater Short-Nosed Fruit Bat (Cynopterus sphinx)
Image Copyright Nicj Bonnedahl
Image Copyright Volker Kopetsky
Observed: Koh Chang, January 2016
Observed By: Nick Bonnedahl, Volker Kopetsky
The greater short-nosed fruit bat is a megabat (that’s a fruit bat to you and I) in the family Pteropodidae that is native to South and Southeast Asia.
The aduly wingspan extends up to 48cm and they have very fine and silky fur.
They are common in tropical forests but are also found in grasslands and mangrove forests.
They feed on fruit and differ from many bat species in that they locate food primarily by scent.
Greater Short-Nosed Fruit Bat Wikipedia
Common Green Frog (Hylarana erythraea)
Image Copyright Jean-Pierre Odet
Image Copyright Jean-Pierre Odet
Last Observed: March 2016, Koh Chang
Observed By: Jean-Pierre Odet
The common green frog is a native amphibian of Southeast Asia. It’s comon and green, and it’s a frog – straight from the utalitarian school of animal naming.
Their native habitat is subtropical or moist lowland forests and all kinds of other moist environs so they are right at home in the rainforest of Koh Chang
Common Green Frog Wikipedia
More Koh Chang Amphibians
