Tropical landscapes are changing as global demand for agricultural commodities rises, raising concerns about compatibility of agriculture and biodiversity conservation. The interplay between tropical agricultural landscapes and understory forest bird biodiversity in Southeast Asia is the focus of this research. We look into the ecological implications for conserving and protecting forest bird diversity in the face of agricultural expansion, focusing on land sharing and sparing strategies. The aims of this study are (1) To compare the species composition of understory birds between three dominant agricultural landscapes and forests reserves, (2) To find the species richness of bird species in each agricultural habitats and forest reserves, (3) To investigate the relationship between number of individuals and species of understory birds and vegetation characteristics. Mist-netting method (size: 9m × 3m) was used to sample the birds in the agricultural landscapes and forest. The characteristics of the landscape and site-level habitat attributes were measured at each sampling location. The results then were analysed using ANOSIM analysis to compare bird species composition between agricultural habitats and forest. The relationship between number of understory bird species and number of individual birds captured with vegetation characteristics were analysed using Generalized Linear Models (GLMs). A total of 122 species and 147 individuals of understory birds were recorded across four different landscapes. Among agricultural landscapes, orchard had the highest bird species richness. Bird species composition differed significantly among habitats except between oil palm and orchard The number of species and individuals positively increased with the understory vegetation cover. The study suggests that orchard plantations in tropical agricultural have a higher diversity of bird species among three agricultural habitats aside from forest. This highlights the importance of considering vegetation characteristics and habitat types when conserving and sustaining bird diversity. The chances of successions of both land-sparing and land-sharing approaches in protecting and conserving diversity of birds depends on understanding the vegetation characteristics and habitat types that are important to different bird species. To conclude, the cohabitation of land-sparing and land-sharing approaches, with an emphasis on undergrowth vegetation cover and habitat types, might benefit bird populations by increasing diversity of habitats, interaction, and stability.