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KEY of ABBREVIATIONS a 1-10, A= C10-15, A

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HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS
SECRETS OF MELANESIA #1959
24 October - 4 November 2019
Species

MELANESIAN MEGAPODE

Megapodius eremita

VANUATU MEGAPODE

Megapodius layardi

PACIFIC BLACK DUCK

Anas superciliosa

SPOTTED WHISTLING DUCK

Dendrocygna guttata

WANDERING WHISTLING DUCK

Dendrocygna arcuata

RADJAH SHELDUCK

Tadorna radjah

KEY OF ABBREVIATIONS

PNG VAN PNG

12

  • H
  • 1
  • H

1

A 1-10, A= c10-15, A- about 15-30, A+ c80-100,
B 10-100, B= more than a hundred,

3

B- low hundreds, C 100-1000, C- low thousands, C+ high thousands, D tens of thousands (i.e. 10,000- 100,000), D= more than ten thousand, D- low tens of thousands, D+ high tens of thousands, E hundreds of thousands (i.e. 100,000-1,000,000), H Heard Only

4

PNG

56

VANUATU PETREL

Pterodroma occulta

MAGNIFICENT PETREL

Pterodroma (brevipes) magnificens

COLLARD PETREL

Pterodroma brevipes

TAHITI PETREL

Pseudobulweria rostrata

BECK'S PETREL

Pseudobulweria becki

STREAKED SHEARWATER

Calonectris leucomelas

CHRISTMAS SHEARWATER

Puffinus nativitatis

VAN VAN VAN R

78

2

910 11 12 13

1

PNG PNG R

WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER

Puffinus pacificus

TROPICAL SHEARWATER

Puffinus balloni

HEINROTH'S SHEARWATER

Puffinus heinrothi

SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER

Puffinus tenuirostris

FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER

Puffinus carneipes

BULWER'S PETREL

Bulweria bulwerii

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL

Oceanites oceanicus

POLYNESIAN STORM-PETREL

Nesofregetta fuliginosa

LEACH'S STORM-PETREL

Oceanodroma leucorhoa

LITTLE GREBE

Tachybaptus ruficollis

TRICOLORED GREBE

Tachybaptus tricolor

R

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

A1

  • A
  • 3

RPNG, SOL RRRRVAN RPNG

WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD

Phaethon lepturus

R

HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS
SECRETS OF MELANESIA #1959
24 October - 4 November 2019
Species

YELLOW BITTERN

Ixobrychus sinensis

BLACK BITTERN

PNG

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

PNG, SOL

Dupetor flavicollis

NANKEEN NIGHT HERON

Nycticorax caledonicus

STRIATED HERON

Butorides striata

GREAT-BILLED HERON

Ardea sumatrana

PIED HERON

Ardea picata

EASTERN GREAT EGRET

Ardea modesta

INTERMEDIATE EGRET

Ardea intermedia

LITTLE EGRET

Egretta garzetta

CATTLE EGRET

Bubulcus ibis

PACIFIC REEF HERON

Egretta sacra

GREAT FRIGATEBIRD

Fregata minor

LESSER FRIGATEBIRD

Fregata ariel

RED-FOOTED BOOBY

Sula sula

RR

H1

RRRRRRR

  • 2
  • A
  • 1

A1

  • 5
  • B

A2
31
11
42

BROWN BOOBY

Sula leucogaster

1

LITTLE PIED CORMORANT

Microcarbo melanoleucos

LITTLE BLACK CORMORANT

Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

EASTERN OSPREY

Pandion cristatus

R

PACIFIC BAZA

PNG, SOL PNG

Aviceda subcristata

BLACK HONEY BUZZARD

Henicopernis infuscatus

LONG-TAILED HONEY BUZZARD

Henicopernis longicauda

BRAHMINY KITE

Haliastur indus

BLACK KITE

Milvus migrans

WHISTLING KITE

PNG PNG, SOL

  • 1
  • 1

Haliastur sphenurus

WHITE-BELLIED SEA EAGLE

Haliaeetus leucogaster

PNG

HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS
SECRETS OF MELANESIA #1959
24 October - 4 November 2019
Species

SOLOMONS SEA EAGLE

Haliaeetus sanfordi

PYGMY EAGLE

Hieraaetus weiskei

SOL

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75

  • 1
  • 1

31

SWAMP HARRIER

VAN

1

Circus approximans

VARIABLE GOSHAWK

Accipter hiogaster

GREY-HEADED GOSHAWK

Accipter poliocephalus

BROWN GOSHAWK

Accipiter fasciatus

PNG, SOL PNG VAN

PIED GOSHAWK

PNG, SOL PNG, SOL R

1

Accipiter albogularis

MEYER'S GOSHAWK

Accipter meyerianus

PEREGRINE FALCON

Falco peregrinus

WOODFORD'S RAIL

Nesoclopeus woodfordi

BUFF-BANDED RAIL

Gallirallus philippensis

ROVIANA RAIL

SOL

H

R

2

SOL

Gallirallus rovianae

PALE-VENTED BUSH-HEN

Arnaurornis moluccana

SPOTLESS CRAKE

Porzana tabuensis

WHITE-BROWED CRAKE

Porzana cinerea

PURPLE SWAMPHEN

Porphyrio porphyrio

LITTLE CURLEW

PNG, SOL SOL, VAN RR

Numenius minutus

BEACH STONE-CURLEW

Esacus magnirostris

BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW

Numenius tahitiensis

LESSER SAND PLOVER

Charadrius mongolus

GREATER SAND PLOVER

Charadrius leschenaultii

COMMON RINGED PLOVER

Charadrius hiaticula

BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER

Pluvialis squatarola

RRRSOL

PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER

Pluvialis fulva

COMB-CRESTED JACANA

Irediparra gallinacea

  • 4
  • A
  • 5
  • 5

PNG

HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS
SECRETS OF MELANESIA #1959
24 October - 4 November 2019
Species

BAR-TAILED GODWIT

R

76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

3

Limosa lapponica

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT

Limosa limosa

WHIMBREL

RRRR

11
1221
AAA

Numenius phaeopus

GREY-TAILED TATTLER

Tringa brevipes

WANDERING TATTLER

Tringa incana

COMMON SANDPIPER

Actitis hypoleucos

TEREK SANDPIPER

Xenus cinereus

RUDDY TURNSTONE

Arenaria interpres

RED-NECKED STINT

Calidris ruficollis

SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER

Calidris acuminata

BROWN NODDY

Anous stolidus

BLACK NODDY

Anous minutus

1

RRRRRRR

  • 6
  • 2

3
BCB
ABA

WHITE TERN

Gygis alba

GREATER CRESTED TERN

Thalasseus bergii

LESSER CRESTED TERN

Thalasseus bengalensis

LITTLE TERN

Sternula albifrons

BRIDLED TERN

Onychoprion anaethetus

SOOTY TERN

Onychoprion fuscatus

ROSEATE TERN

Sterna dougalli

BLACK-NAPED TERN

Sterna sumatrana

COMMON TERN

61
1

PNG R

A

RRRPNG, SOL PNG

  • 2
  • 1

Sterna hirundo

WHISKERED TERN

Chlidonias hybrida

GREY-BACKED TERN

Onychoprion lunatus

POMARINE SKUA

Stercorarius pomarinus

ARCTIC SKUA

RR

Stercorarius parasiticus

HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS
SECRETS OF MELANESIA #1959
24 October - 4 November 2019
Species

LONG-TAILED SKUA

R

101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125

Stercorarius longicaudus

METALLIC (WHITE-THROATED) PIGEON

Columba vitiensis

SLENDER-BILLED CUCKOO-DOVE

Macropygia amboinensis

BAR-TAILED CUCKOO-DOVE

Macropygia nigrirostris

MACKINLAY'S CUCKOO-DOVE

Macropygia mackinlayi

PIED CUCKOO-DOVE

Reinwardtoena browni

CRESTED CUCKOO-DOVE

Reinwardtoena crassirostris

PACIFIC EMERALD DOVE

Chalcophaps longirostris

STEPHAN'S EMERALD DOVE

Chalcophaps stephani

NICOBAR PIGEON

Caloenas nicobarica

BRONZE GROUND DOVE

Gallicolumba beccanii

TANNA FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus tannensis

WOMPOO FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus magnificus

SUPERB FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus superbus

CORONETED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus coronulatus

SILVER-CAPPED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus richardsii

RED-BELLIED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus greyii

WHITE-BIBBED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus rivoli

YELLOW-BIBBED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus solomonensis

CLARET-BREASTED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus viridis

WHITE-HEADED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus eugeniae

KNOB-BILLED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus insolitus

ORANGE-FRONTED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus aurantiifrons

ORANGE-BELLIED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus iozonus

R

  • 1
  • 1

PNG PNG R

  • H
  • 1
  • 1

5
HA
1

PNG SOL VAN PNG, SOL PNG, SOL PNG, SOL VAN

PNG, SOL SOL SOL, VAN PNG

  • 6
  • 4

PNG, SOL PNG, SOL SOL

  • 1
  • 1

PNG

1

DWARF FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus nainus

HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS
SECRETS OF MELANESIA #1959
24 October - 4 November 2019
Species

PINK-SPOTTED FRUIT DOVE

Ptilinopus perlatus

PACIFIC IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula pacifica

RED-KNOBBED IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula rubricera

ISLAND IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula pistrinaria

COLLARED IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula mullerii

FINSCH'S IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula finschii

CHESTNUT-BELLIED IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula brenchleyi

TORRESIAN IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula spilorrhoa

VANUATU IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula bakeri

BLACK IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula melanochroa

ZOE'S IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula zoeae

PINON'S IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula pinon

YELLOWISH IMPERIAL PIGEON

Ducula subflavescens

PALE MOUNTAIN PIGEON

Gymnophaps solomonensis

PAPUAN MOUNTAIN PIGEON

Gymnophaps albertisii

PALM COCKATOO

Probosciger aterrimus

SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO

Cacatua galerita

SOLOMONS COCKATOO

Cacatua ducorpsii

BLUE-EYED COCKATOO

Cacatua ophthalmica

BISMARK HANGING PARROT

Loriculus tener

BUFF-FACED PYGMY PARROT

Micropsitta pusio

MEEK'S PYGMY PARROT

Micropsitta meeki

FINSCH'S PYGMY PARROT

Micropsitta finschii

126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150

R

21

  • A
  • H
  • A
  • A

PNG, SOL PNG. SOL

  • 2
  • 2

PNG SOL

3

VAN PNG

3

PNG SOL PNG

SOL

  • A
  • A
  • A

PNG PNG PNG PNG PNG, SOL

  • 1
  • 1

ORANGE-BREASTED FIG PARROT

Cyclopsitta gulielmiterti

EDWARD'S FIG PARROT

Cyclopsitta edwardsii

HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS
SECRETS OF MELANESIA #1959
24 October - 4 November 2019
Species

CARDINAL LORY

PNG, SOL

151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175

A2
A4

Chalcopsitta cardinalis

COCONUT LORIKEET

Trichoglossus haematodus

PURPLE-BELLIED LORY

Lorius hypoinochrous

WESTERN BLACK-CAPPED LORY

Lorius lory

WHITE-NAPED LORY

Lorius albidnucha

YELLOW-BIBBED LORY

Lorius chlorocercus

R

  • A
  • A
  • A
  • A
  • A

PNG PNG SOL VAN PNG SOL PNG SOL

  • 2
  • 8

PALM LORIKEET

A

Charmosyna palmarum

RED-CHINNED LORIKEET

Charmosyna rubrigularis

MEEK'S LORIKEET

Charmosyna meeki

RED-FLANKED LORIKEET

Charmosyna placentis

DUCHESS LORIKEET

Charmosyna margarethae

RED-CHEEKED PARROT

Geoffroyus geoffroyi

SONG PARROT

PNG, SOL PNG, SOL SOL

132
22

Geoffroyus heteroclitus

ECLECTUS PARROT

Eclectus roratus

BUFF-HEADED COUCAL

Centropus milo

GREATER BLACK COUCAL

Centropus menbeki

WHITE-NECKED COUCAL

Centropus ateralbus

VIOLACEOUS COUCAL

Centropus violaceus

LESSER BLACK COUCAL

Centropus bernsteini

PACIFIC KOEL

Eudynamys orientalis

CHANNEL-BILLED CUCKOO

Scythrops novaehollandiae

SHINING BRONZE CUCKOO

Chrysococcyx lucidus

FAN-TAILED CUCKOO

Cacomantis flabelliformis

BRUSH CUCKOO

PNG PNG

PNG, SOL PNG RVAN PNG, SOL

Cacomantis variolosus

ORIENTAL CUCKOO

Cuculus optatus

HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS
SECRETS OF MELANESIA #1959
24 October - 4 November 2019
Species

LONG-TAILED CUCKOO

Urodynamis taitensis

MANUS BOOBOOK

Ninox meeki

NEW BRITAIN BOOBOOK

Ninox odiosa

WEST SOLOMONS BOOBOOK

Ninox jacquinoti

GUADALCANAL BOOBOOK

Ninox granti

MALAITA BOOBOOK

Ninox malaitae

176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200

PNG PNG PNG SOL SOL SOL PNG

MAKIRA BOOBOOK

Ninox roseoaxillaris

LARGE-TAILED NIGHTJAR

Caprimulgus macrurus

SOLOMONS NIGHTJAR

Eurostopodus nigripennis

MOUSTACHED TREESWIFT

Hemiprocne mystacea

GLOSSY SWIFTLET

PNG, SOL

1

RR

  • 5
  • 2
  • A

A
AA
AA

Collocalia esculenta

WHITE-RUMPED SWIFTLET

Aerodramus spodiopygius

MAYR'S SWIFTLET

5

Aerodramus orientalis

UNIFORM SWIFTLET

Aerodramus vanikorensis

PAPUAN SPINE-TAILED SWIFT

Mearnsia novaeguineae

DOLLARBIRD

Eurystomus orientalis

BLACK-CAPPED PARADISE KINGFISHER

Tanysiptera nigriceps

WHITE-MANTLED (NEW BRITAIN) KINGFISHER

Todiramphus albonotatus

ULTRAMARINE KINGFISHER

Todirhamphus leucopygius

FOREST KINGFISHER

Todiramphus macleayii

YELLOW-BILLED KINGFISHER

Syma torotoro

VANUATU KINGFISHER

Todiramphus farquhari

RUFOUS-BELLIED KOOKABURRA

Dacelo gaudichaud

R

  • A
  • A

1

  • A
  • A
  • A
  • A

PNG, SOL PNG PNG PNG, SOL

  • 5
  • 2
  • H

1

BEACH KINGFISHER

Todiramphus saurophaga

SACRED KINGFISHER

Todirhamphus sanctus

PNG, SOL PNG, SOL

HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS
SECRETS OF MELANESIA #1959
24 October - 4 November 2019
Species

VARIABLE DWARF KINGFISHER

Ceyx lepidus

BISMARCK KINGFISHER

Alcedo websteri

LITTLE KINGFISHER

Ceyx pusillus

MELANESIAN KINGFISHER

Todiramphus tristrami

COMMON KINGFISHER

Alcedo atthis

RAINBOW BEE-EATER

Merops ornatus

BLYTH'S HORNBILL

Aceros plicatus

RED-BELLIED PITTA

Pitta erythrogaster

PNG, SOL PNG

201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225

PNG, SOL PNG. SOL PNG, SOL PNG

  • 2
  • 4
  • 2
  • H
  • 2
  • 2
  • H

PNG, SOL PNG

  • 4
  • 2

SUPERB PITTA

Pitta superba

PNG

LONG-BILLED HONEYEATER

Melilestes megarhynchus

DWARF LONGBILL

Toxorhamphus iliolophus

YELLOW-BELLIED LONGBILL

Toxorhamphus novaeguineae

MIMIC MELIPHAGA

Meliphaga analoga

GREY-EARED HONEYEATER

Lichmera incana

NEW BRITAIN FRIARBIRD

Philemon cockerelli

MANUS FRIARBIRD

Philemon albitorques

NEW GUINEA FRIARBIRD

Philemon novaeguineae

MEYER'S FRIARBIRD

Philemon meyeri

MAKIRA HONEYEATER

Meliarchus sclateri

VANUATU HONEYEATER

Glycifohia notabilis

VARIED HONEYEATER

Lichenostomus versicolor

TAWNY-BREASTED HONEYEATER

Xanthotis flaviventer

ASHY MYZOMELA

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  • West New Britain

    West New Britain

    WEST NEW BRITAIN SEPTEMBER 7–14, 2019 Superb Fruit-Dove LEADER: DION HOBCROFT LIST COMPILED BY: DION HOBCROFT VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM WEST NEW BRITAIN SEPTEMBER 7–14, 2019 By Dion Hobcroft Who is a pretty girl: two male Eclectus Parrots vie for the attention of the red female. This parrot has an unusual reproductive biology where females stay at the nest hollow and mate with several males. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 West New Britain, 2019 Planes took off and landed on time, customs and immigration was pretty speedy, and we were soon checked into our lovely rooms at the Airways Hotel. Everything went to plan, so we were well set up to spend the afternoon at Pacific Adventist University, a pleasant campus with several freshwater ponds and patches of scrubby secondary growth dominated by large Rain Trees that are native to central America. It is a great location to start a trip, as the open terrain and good numbers of water birds make birding easy, and there are quite a number of species that we typically only encounter at this location. These we found with little effort including a fine Orange-fronted Fruit-Dove, several Plumed Whistling- Ducks, excellent Radjah Shelducks, a nesting Comb-crested Jacana, nesting Papuan Frogmouth, and great views of Black-backed Butcherbird and the dapper little Gray-headed Munia. A highlight was studying the elaborate bower of the Fawn-breasted Bowerbird. Other species seen well included Wandering Whistling- Duck, Common Kingfisher, Bar-shouldered Dove, Whistling Kite, Metallic Starling, and Australasian Figbird.
  • Ultimate Papua New Guinea Ii

    Ultimate Papua New Guinea Ii

    The fantastic Forest Bittern showed memorably well at Varirata during this tour! (JM) ULTIMATE PAPUA NEW GUINEA II 25 AUGUST – 11 / 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 LEADER: JULIEN MAZENAUER Our second Ultimate Papua New Guinea tour in 2019, including New Britain, was an immense success and provided us with fantastic sightings throughout. A total of 19 Birds-of-paradise (BoPs), one of the most striking and extraordinairy bird families in the world, were seen. The most amazing one must have been the male Blue BoP, admired through the scope near Kumul lodge. A few females were seen previously at Rondon Ridge, but this male was just too much. Several males King-of-Saxony BoP – seen displaying – ranked high in our most memorable moments of the tour, especially walk-away views of a male obtained at Rondon Ridge. Along the Ketu River, we were able to observe the full display and mating of another cosmis species, Twelve-wired BoP. Despite the closing of Ambua, we obtained good views of a calling male Black Sicklebill, sighted along a new road close to Tabubil. Brown Sicklebill males were seen even better and for as long as we wanted, uttering their machine-gun like calls through the forest. The adult male Stephanie’s Astrapia at Rondon Ridge will never be forgotten, showing his incredible glossy green head colours. At Kumul, Ribbon-tailed Astrapia, one of the most striking BoP, amazed us down to a few meters thanks to a feeder especially created for birdwatchers. Additionally, great views of the small and incredible King BoP delighted us near Kiunga, as well as males Magnificent BoPs below Kumul.
  • Melanesia: Secrets 2017

    Melanesia: Secrets 2017

    Melanesia Secrets Solomon Islands and Vanuatu 20th to 31st October 2017 (12 days) Trip Report White-headed Fruit Dove by Stephan Lorenz Trip report compiled by Tour Leader, Stephan Lorenz Rockjumper Birding Tours | Melanesia www.rockjumperbirding.com Trip Report – RBL Melanesia - Secrets 2017 2 Tour Summary Starting in the Solomon Islands and finishing in Vanuatu, the cruise explored some true secrets of Melanesia, including visits to incredibly remote islands that harbour many seldom-seen endemics. In total, we covered about 1,200 nautical miles, visited 11 islands with more than a dozen landings, and recorded 118 species of birds, with several rare species of bats also noted. At sea, we enjoyed several hours of excellent pelagic birding. The tour started on Guadalcanal, where we spent a morning in the classic birding spot of Mt Austen, gathering up a fine selection of widespread Solomon endemics, plus a Black-headed Myzomela – a Guadalcanal endemic. From here, we cruised north overnight to land on the rarely-visited and even more rarely birded San Jorge Island, where we caught up with the endemic Solomons Cuckooshrike and White- billed Crow, both sought-after species. The following day, we landed on mysterious Malaita, which holds some of the most remote and inaccessible highland areas in the Solomons. We enjoyed a morning birding Nendo Flying Fox by Stephan Lorenz along an easily accessible logging track, where the very rare Red-vested Myzomela was the highlight of the morning. The island of Makira is home to several endemics, and we set forth finding a good number of them, with Makira Honeyeater, an endemic genus, especially memorable.
  • Recommended Sicklebill Safaris Tours

    Recommended Sicklebill Safaris Tours

    Recommended Sicklebill Safaris Tours . TOUR 1: GUADALCANAL & RENNELL TOUR 5: GENTLE SOLOMONS he largest raised atoll in the world, Rennell is home to 43 species of breeding birds and boasts his tour visits most of the major hotspots in the Solomons with the exception of Santa Isabel. 6 endemics. All of the endemics can be seen in close proximity to the airfield by walking along It does however, limit itself to the areas that are most easily accessed and does not attempt the logging tracks. The tour also visits Honiara and its environs including a morning visit the more strenuous climbs up into the mountains. While it provides a very good representation Tto Mt Austen where Ultramarine Kingfisher, Duchess Lorikeet and White-billed Crow are amongst Tof Solomons birds, the more difficult montane birds, only found at high altitude, will not be seen. the highlights. A relatively easy tour with no steep treks up into the hills though the surface of the Rennell tracks can be a bit rough. TOUR 2: SANTA ISABEL BLACK-FACED PITTA HUNT TOUR 6: COMPREHENSIVE SOLOMONS ffering you the chance of some of the Solomon’s most Iconic birds - the Black-faced Pitta, his exciting birdwatching tour visits all the major birding sites within the Solomons in its the Fearful Owl and the Solomon’s Frogmouth, this is one of our most popular Solomons search for as many as possible of the islands endemics. It requires a good level of fitness as destinations. The walk up to Tiritonga is steep and needs a reasonable level of fitness but it is not an easy tour, with long steep hikes up into mountains, and nights camping under Othe rewards are great.
  • Birding Melanesia 2015 Report by Adam Walleyn

    Birding Melanesia 2015 Report by Adam Walleyn

    Melanesia Discover and Secrets of Melanesia: Birding Melanesia 2015 Report By Adam Walleyn Cardinal Lory pair. Copyright Adrian Hayward The 2015 Melanesian Birding trip was another great success. The year will probably long be remembered for one of the worst droughts ever and while the dry and windy conditions made birding more difficult than usual, we persevered and ended up with an incredible tally of endemics, many of them amongst the most poorly known birds in the world! This incredible itinerary takes in part of the north coast of Papua New Guinea and all of the main islands of the Bismarcks, Solomons and Vanuatu, along with many of the smaller ones. This region is one of the world’s most avian endemic-rich hotspots and is largely inaccessible and unvisited by birders. Amongst 267 species, highlights this year included Superb Pitta sitting right in the open, an unexpected Manus Fantail, one of the first observations of Mussau Triller, a stunning Solomons Nightjar, and incredible diversity of fruit doves (12 species), imperial pigeons (12 species), myzomelas (11 species) and of course white-eyes (10 species). The trip started off with a nice dinner in Madang and then our first of many early mornings to bird a patch of forest not far from town. Bird activity was great this morning and there were a number of fruiting trees which allowed good views of two species of birds of paradise - Lesser Bird of Paradise and Glossy-mantled Manucode. Other nice birds in the fruiting trees included Orange-bellied and Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Zoe’s Imperial Pigeon, Orange-breasted Fig Parrot, and numerous Golden Myna.
  • West New Britain Extension July 22–27, 2017

    West New Britain Extension July 22–27, 2017

    WEST NEW BRITAIN EXTENSION JULY 22 –27, 2017 White-mantled Kingfisher (Dion Hobcroft) LEADER: DION HOBCROFT LIST COMPILED BY: DION HOBCROFT VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM WEST NEW BRITAIN EXTENSION JULY 22 –27, 2017 By Dion Hobcroft A Purple-bellied Lory dines out in a Coconut flower. (Dion Hobcroft) Our tour got off to a shaky start with a cancelled flight from Port Moresby to Hoskins. Luckily, the superb Airways Hotel honored our rooms from the previous day that we had missed due to another cancelled flight. Love you Air Niugini! After settling in to the very comfortable Walindi Dive Resort, with its well-planned rooms, tasty meals, and excellent staff, we headed out for our first birding in New Britain. We met Joel, a local villager, who guided us up beyond his village into the forest. He led us to a New Britain Boobook, a small hawk-owl he keeps tabs on (and has done so for the past few years). With the elections on, I joked with Joel that we should call the owl “Prime Minister Pete.” We had actually seen the Prime Minister the day before. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 West New Britain Extension, 2017 After great looks at “Pete” we slowly wandered to a viewing area over the forest that was heaving with birds —lots of Eclectus Parrots, our first Blue-eyed Cockatoos, dozens of Red-knobbed and Yellowish imperial-pigeons, Long-tailed Myna, Variable Goshawk, an all-white Pied Coucal, a single Channel-billed Cuckoo (quite rare on NB), the beautiful Purple-bellied Lory, the scarce Black-bellied Myzomela, and great views of the colorful Knob-billed Fruit-Dove.
  • Solomon Islands

    Solomon Islands

    The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130(1):235–255, 2018 The avifauna of Makira (San Cristobal), Solomon Islands John C. Mittermeier,1* Guy Dutson,2 Roger E. James,3 Tammy E. Davies,4,5 Reuben Tako,6 and J. Albert C. Uy7 ABSTRACT—The island of Makira in the eastern Solomon Islands is a globally significant priority for bird conservation and, like other islands in Melanesia, its avifauna plays an important role in understanding patterns of biogeography and speciation. Large portions of the island have rarely been visited by ornithologists, however, and published natural history information is limited for many species. We conducted field surveys, interviews, and camera trapping on Makira from October 2015 to February 2016, including the first ornithological surveys in southern Makira. We identify minor differences between the bird communities in the southern and northern parts of the island and report on noteworthy natural history observations, including nest descriptions for Yellow-legged Pigeon (Columba pallidiceps) and Shade Warbler (Horornis parens). We did not detect 3 endangered terrestrial species (Makira Woodhen [Gallinula silvestris], Thick-billed Ground- Dove [Gallicolumba salamonis], and White-bibbed Ground-Dove [Gallicolumba jobiensis]), and all 3 are probably extinct on Makira. High numbers of invasive species are present throughout Makira’s forests, in particular rats (Rattus spp.), which were found at all our survey sites and accounted for nearly 34% of camera trap images, and cats (Felis catus), which were recorded at all sites that received .75 camera-days of survey effort. The widespread presence of invasive predators in remote and unlogged forests helps explain the disappearance of native species from the island.