Birding in Lo Xo pass

Bird fauna in Lo Xo – Birding in Lo Xo

Lo Xo is actually the name of a pass on Ho Chi Minh road leading Da Nang southwest-ward to Kon Tum. The mountain forest along the Vietnam border with Laos. It is located in the Kontum Plateau EBA nearby Ngoc Linh national park, the tantalizingly close but for now off-limits Mount Ngoc Linh, which are mostly covered in the primary evergreen forest although the effects of wartime defoliation can still clearly be seen at certain points along the highway.

One of the most important birds, Black-crowned Barwing, discovered in 1996 and known from only three sites in Vietnam and Laos, seems to favor the easily accessed scrub and secondary growth bordering the highway. Other good birds such as Red-tailed Laughingthrus, Short-tailed Scimitar-babbler (Indochinese Wren-babbler) are found on the Dakblo Rd leading to Laos, unfortunately, it hard to access this site due to military security permission in recent years.

Most highlights

White-winged Magpie, Yellow-billed Nuthatch, White-cheeked Laughingthrush, Black-hooded Laughingthrush, Red-tailed Laughingthrush, Indochinese Wren-babbler, Red-tailed Minla, Black-crowned Barwing.

Birding routes

Keep along the main road 14 but find some scrub or coffee plantation to find Black-crowned Barwing, the bird is easy to see around the area just about 2 km near Dak Che bridge shows on the map below.

Transportation

This map helps you to find the way, you can travel by private car from Da Nang airport for about 3 hours. A connected trip with MANG DEN is usually a drive from Da Nang for one night stay in Kham Duc or in-versa.

Accommodations

There are two good hotels (Kham Duc and Be Chau Giang) locate in Kham Duc town, Phuoc Son district, Quang Nam province, about 40km direct to Da Nang.