Myanmar— Photo: David Bishop

Formerly known as Burma, Myanmar is the largest and most ornithologically diverse country in Southeast Asia. It stretches some 2,000 kilometers from the cold, lofty heights of the Himalayas in the north to the steamy, tropical lowland rainforests of southern Tanintharyi (Tenasserim). For decades, most areas of the country were closed to birdwatchers and other travelers. Now Myanmar has begun opening its doors to overseas visitors. Myanmar's size is equal to that of the United Kingdom and France combined, and it is home to less than 45 million people, but nearly 1,100 species of birds! With its friendly and impressively educated people, impressive natural resources—including large tracts of unspoilt forest, and spectacular cultural sites that include thousands of glittering pagodas, Myanmar really is, as the old local name Shwe Pyidaw suggests, "The Golden Land."

After a brief pause in the present-day capital of Yangon (Rangoon), we will travel north to the ancient capital of Bagan (Pagan), in central Myanmar. Here, along the banks of the Ayeyarwady River (Irrawaddy), once referred to as "the road to Mandalay," we will sample the avifauna of Myanmar's distinctive dry zone amidst the 4,000 or so pagodas and temples that dot the plains, some dating back to the ninth century. Specialties here include the endemic Burmese Bush Lark and the White-throated Babbler, an amazingly long-tailed member of the genus Turdoides. Setting off westwards from Bagan and crossing the Ayeyarwady River, we will eventually leave the dry zone and enter a large area of dry deciduous forest and scrub, which is home to another endemic, the sleek Hooded Treepie.

Continuing west, we will work our way up into the Chin Hills, our principal goal. These steep mountains, which form a southern extension of the Himalayas from neighboring Manipur in northeast India, are one of Southeast Asia's great ornithological landmarks. Here are found numerous unique subspecies, the striking endemic White-browed Nuthatch, and a host of rare and restricted range birds to fire the imagination. These include Blyth's Tragopan, Hume's Pheasant, Slender-billed Scimitar-Babbler, Spotted and Long-tailed wren-babblers, Striped and Brown-capped laughingthrushes, Black-headed Shrike-Babbler, Streak-throated Barwing, Gray Sibia, Black-breasted Thrush, and Broad-billed Warbler.

Our tour will conclude on the very edge of the Shan States among the bird-rich evergreen forests of Kalaw and the equally fascinating leg-rowers of sublime Inle Lake.

Myanmar's interior is still completely off the "tourist track," but this does not compromise our comfort in any way; accommodations are a memorable feature of the tour and generally superb to very comfortable; lodge at Mount Victoria charmingly rustic and comfortable, with service to rival any five-star hotel, and located at moderate elevations, thus a very pleasant climate; pace relaxed and not physically strenuous; most birding on flat roads and trails; hot and dry in the lowlands.