DOCSLIB.ORG

Papua New Guinea Huon Peninsula Extension 26Th June to 1St July 2018 (6 Days) Trip Report

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Papua New Guinea Huon Peninsula Extension 26Th June to 1St July 2018 (6 Days) Trip Report Papua New Guinea Huon Peninsula Extension 26th June to 1st July 2018 (6 days) Trip Report Pesquet’s Parrots by Sue Wright Tour Leader: Adam Walleyn Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Papua New Guinea Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea - Huon Peninsula Extension I 2018 2 Tour Summary This was our inaugural Huon Peninsula Extension. Most of the group started out with a quick flight from Moresby into Nadzab Airport. Upon arrival, we drove to our comfortable hotel on the outskirts of Lae City. After getting settled in, we set off on a short but very productive bird walk around the hotel’s expansive grounds. The best thing about the walk was how confiding the birds were –they are clearly not hunted much around here! Red-cheeked Parrot, Coconut Lorikeet, Orange-bellied Fruit Dove, Torresian Imperial Pigeon, White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Yellow-faced Myna, and Singing Starling all vied for our attention right in the parking lot. As we took a short wander, we added Hooded Butcherbird, New Guinea Friarbird and look-alike Brown Oriole, and Black and Olive-backed Sunbirds to our growing tally. A Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot zipped overhead providing just a quick view, but the highlight of the walk was clearly the Palm Cockatoo that sat out feeding contentedly on fruits – admittedly a bit of a surprise to find this species so close to a major urban centre! We were relieved when Sue had arrived and Pinon’s Imperial Pigeon by Markus Lilje joined us for dinner to complete the group! The real adventure began early the next morning, with a drive back to the airport where we were to board our flight into the Huon. As the plane we had expected to use was in for repairs, we ended up having to use a smaller plane to get the group across in two runs, which worked out well. The Nadzab Airport itself was quite birdy, with a Papuan Harrier being the highlight, amongst many Horsfields Brush Lark, Golden-headed Cisticolas, Intermediate Egrets, and Masked Lapwings. From Nadzab, we had a stunning flight over the Huon mountains – amongst the most rugged and wild of all the world’s mountain ranges – precipitous cliffs, steep river valleys, rushing waterfalls, alpine tundra on the high mountain ridges, and vast tracts of undisturbed mid-mountain forest and cloud forest interspersed with clearings and kunai (human-made grasslands) before we landed on the grassy strip of the Huon coast at Wasu. From Wasu, we then boarded our vehicle. The heavy rainy season had taken its toll on the road, and it was a bumpy ride to the village of Gatop. We saw a few things from the truck, including Grey Crows. Huon flight by Cheyne Benjamin Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Papua New Guinea Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea - Huon Peninsula Extension I 2018 3 Upon arrival at the Lutheran school, we set up our mats and mosquito nets and tucked into the first of many tasty meals that Cheyne and the school ladies would prepare for us. Although it was now the heat of the day, we were eager to get out birding, and so headed a short distance below the village to the display area of Emperor Bird-of-paradise. We could hear the odd call ringing out, but it was too early in the day to expect a display, so we contented ourselves with whatever else might come by. A very cooperative Dwarf Koel proved a highlight. Then a burst of rain triggered some great bird activity, headlined by a female Emperor Bird-of-paradise, along with Great Cuckoo-Dove, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove (of the grey-headed plumbeicollis race), Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Mountain Peltops, Hooded Pitohui, Barred Cuckooshrike, Plain and Tawny-breasted Honeyeaters, and even a female Growling Riflebird. Despite all the activity, things were not looking overly promising at the roadside display tree, so we decided to ford a stream in order to get closer Emperor Bird-of-paradise by Sue Wright to another display tree where there was a lot of calling. After a fair bit of manoeuvring, we could see that at least two male Emperors were indeed displaying to onlooking females in the tree, but the males were tending to keep to thick foliage. However, with persistence, most of us managed to get jigsaw-puzzle views of these very impressive birds with their impressive white plumes and green and yellow heads. Stunning birds! Females and immature males were more confiding and sat out in the open. After re- crossing the stream and getting back to the road, we were greeted by some excellent viewing of several Ornate Fruit Doves. We then headed back to the school for a tasty dinner of taro, rice and locally-grown vegetables, and an early night into bed. The next morning, we were up early and eager to access the higher montane forest above the village of Satop. A flat battery in our truck got us off to a false start, but it was quickly replaced with another battery and we were on our way up the bumpy road. Conditions were poor with rain and increasing wind, and by the time we reached Satop village it was a full-blown storm with Brehm’s Tiger Parrot by Markus Lilje strong wind and heavy rain. Hopeless conditions for birding, so we sheltered in one of the village buildings drinking coffee and tea and trading stories for a couple of hours. Eventually, the wind and rain abated and we carried on towards the cloud forests above town and walked into a clearing. It was now mid-morning, and we had yet to see a bird – not exactly the start we had planned on! But the next hour saw the weather improving greatly and the birds were making up for lost time. Our first Huon Astrapia, a male, appeared but generally kept to thick Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Papua New Guinea Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea - Huon Peninsula Extension I 2018 4 cover, although it did show off its impressively long tail. A pair of Cinnamon-browed Melidectes showed briefly, but well; while the Huon endemic Spangled Honeyeater also made its first appearance. A pair of Brehm’s Tiger Parrot fed quietly on a Pandanus fruit at close range. A large flock of Tit Berrypecker passed through, feeding on small fruits, and a small group of Black-breasted Boatbill performed beautifully. Brilliant Red- collared Myzomela sipped on nectar. Mixed flocks moved around the edge of the clearing, containing Rufous-backed Honeyeater, Buff-faced Scrubwren, Fan-tailed Berrypecker, Rufous-naped Bellbird, Brown-backed and Regent Whistlers, Canary Flyrobin, Island Leaf Warbler, Papuan White-eye, and Red-capped Flowerpecker. Lots to keep us busy over a very exciting hour or two of birding! We ate lunch in the clearing and then walked back to the road. Along the trail to the road we saw a pair of Hooded Cuckooshrikes, and then were thrilled to get views, albeit brief, of Wahne’s Parotia while another male Huon Astrapia fluttered over our heads. We reached the road and tried some roadside birding. It was rather quiet, which was to be expected since it was now early afternoon. However, we did have a fantastic sighting of a Mountain Kingfisher of the distinct Huon endemic race sellamontis. We then left the road again to check out a large forest clearing. There was an exciting looking fruiting tree that, even in the hottest part of the day, was attracting visitation by Huon Astrapia and Spangled Honeyeater, allowing excellent Mountain Kingfisher by Markus Lilje viewing of these two endemic species. We quickly made the decision to spend the rest of the afternoon here. As we waited, Fairy Lorikeet and Dusky Lory zipped by. Then, as the later afternoon rolled around, the fruiting tree got very busy indeed. As many as 10 Huon Astrapias made an almost constant procession to the tree, joined by Spangled and Marbled Honeyeaters, Amboyna, Bar-tailed and Great Cuckoo- Doves, and then what we had really been hoping for: a couple of female Wahne’s Parotias showing well. Even better, a stunning male then turned up in the tree, flicking his 6 head wires around and showing off his golden frontal shield! Even a male and female Superb Bird-of- paradise joined in on the action. Absolutely fantastic birding, and then to top it all off a couple of Pesquet’s Parrots made some rather close flybys before the fading light signalled it was time to get back in our transport and head down the hill. What had started off as an unpromising day had come right in a hurry! We were back up the hill again the next morning, this time enjoying much better Huon Astrapia by Sue Wright weather. We headed straight to the magic clearing from yesterday afternoon and settled in for a long watch. Huon Astrapias, Spangled Honeyeaters, and Wahne’s Parotias visited the fruiting tree again, and with patience we managed to get good perched views of Fairy Lorikeets. A highlight of the morning was, after much persistence, excellent views of a Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Papua New Guinea Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea - Huon Peninsula Extension I 2018 5 male Mottled Berryhunter that was feeding on some small fruits close by. Black-throated Robin showed well, and a scarce Streaked Berrypecker also made an appearance. Other species of note during our vigil here included Rufescent Imperial Pigeon, Ornate and White-bibbed Fruit Doves, and Fan-tailed Berrypecker.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Biogeography and Biotic Assembly of Indo-Pacific Corvoid Passerine Birds
    ES48CH11-Jonsson ARI 9 October 2017 7:38 Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Biogeography and Biotic Assembly of Indo-Pacific Corvoid Passerine Birds Knud Andreas Jønsson,1 Michael Krabbe Borregaard,1 Daniel Wisbech Carstensen,1 Louis A. Hansen,1 Jonathan D. Kennedy,1 Antonin Machac,1 Petter Zahl Marki,1,2 Jon Fjeldsa˚,1 and Carsten Rahbek1,3 1Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 2Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, 0318 Oslo, Norway 3Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot SL5 7PY, United Kingdom Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 2017. 48:231–53 Keywords First published online as a Review in Advance on Corvides, diversity assembly, evolution, island biogeography, Wallacea August 11, 2017 The Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Abstract Systematics is online at ecolsys.annualreviews.org The archipelagos that form the transition between Asia and Australia were https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110316- immortalized by Alfred Russel Wallace’s observations on the connections 022813 between geography and animal distributions, which he summarized in Copyright c 2017 by Annual Reviews. what became the first major modern biogeographic synthesis. Wallace All rights reserved traveled the island region for eight years, during which he noted the marked Access provided by Copenhagen University on 11/19/17. For personal use only. faunal discontinuity across what has later become known as Wallace’s Line. Wallace was intrigued by the bewildering diversity and distribution of Annu.
    [Show full text]
  • Disaggregation of Bird Families Listed on Cms Appendix Ii
    Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 2nd Meeting of the Sessional Committee of the CMS Scientific Council (ScC-SC2) Bonn, Germany, 10 – 14 July 2017 UNEP/CMS/ScC-SC2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II (Prepared by the Appointed Councillors for Birds) Summary: The first meeting of the Sessional Committee of the Scientific Council identified the adoption of a new standard reference for avian taxonomy as an opportunity to disaggregate the higher-level taxa listed on Appendix II and to identify those that are considered to be migratory species and that have an unfavourable conservation status. The current paper presents an initial analysis of the higher-level disaggregation using the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World Volumes 1 and 2 taxonomy, and identifies the challenges in completing the analysis to identify all of the migratory species and the corresponding Range States. The document has been prepared by the COP Appointed Scientific Councilors for Birds. This is a supplementary paper to COP document UNEP/CMS/COP12/Doc.25.3 on Taxonomy and Nomenclature UNEP/CMS/ScC-Sc2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II 1. Through Resolution 11.19, the Conference of Parties adopted as the standard reference for bird taxonomy and nomenclature for Non-Passerine species the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Non-Passerines, by Josep del Hoyo and Nigel J. Collar (2014); 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Avifauna of Mt. Karimui, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea, Including Evidence for Long-Term Population Dynamics in Undisturbed Tropical Forest
    Ben Freeman & Alexandra M. Class Freeman 30 Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(1) The avifauna of Mt. Karimui, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea, including evidence for long-term population dynamics in undisturbed tropical forest Ben Freeman & Alexandra M. Class Freeman Received 27 July 2013 Summary.—We conducted ornithological feld work on Mt. Karimui and in the surrounding lowlands in 2011–12, a site frst surveyed for birds by J. Diamond in 1965. We report range extensions, elevational records and notes on poorly known species observed during our work. We also present a list with elevational distributions for the 271 species recorded in the Karimui region. Finally, we detail possible changes in species abundance and distribution that have occurred between Diamond’s feld work and our own. Most prominently, we suggest that Bicolored Mouse-warbler Crateroscelis nigrorufa might recently have colonised Mt. Karimui’s north-western ridge, a rare example of distributional change in an avian population inhabiting intact tropical forests. The island of New Guinea harbours a diverse, largely endemic avifauna (Beehler et al. 1986). However, ornithological studies are hampered by difculties of access, safety and cost. Consequently, many of its endemic birds remain poorly known, and feld workers continue to describe new taxa (Prat 2000, Beehler et al. 2007), report large range extensions (Freeman et al. 2013) and elucidate natural history (Dumbacher et al. 1992). Of necessity, avifaunal studies are usually based on short-term feld work. As a result, population dynamics are poorly known and limited to comparisons of diferent surveys or diferences noticeable over short timescales (Diamond 1971, Mack & Wright 1996).
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Species List for Mount Majura
    Bird Species List for Mount Majura This list of bird species is based on entries in the database of the Canberra Ornithologists Group (COG). The common English names are drawn from: Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. (1994) The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union Monograph 2, RAOU, Melbourne. (1) List in taxonomic order Stubble Quail Southern Boobook Australian Wood Duck Tawny Frogmouth Pacific Black Duck White-throated Needletail Little Black Cormorant Laughing Kookaburra White-faced Heron Sacred Kingfisher Nankeen Night Heron Dollarbird Brown Goshawk White-throated Treecreeper Collared Sparrowhawk Superb Fairy-wren Wedge-tailed Eagle Spotted Pardalote Little Eagle Striated Pardalote Australian Hobby White-browed Scrubwren Peregrine Falcon Chestnut-rumped Heathwren Brown Falcon Speckled Warbler Nankeen Kestrel Weebill Painted Button-quail Western Gerygone Masked Lapwing White-throated Gerygone Rock Dove Brown Thornbill Common Bronzewing Buff-rumped Thornbill Crested Pigeon Yellow-rumped Thornbill Glossy Black-Cockatoo Yellow Thornbill Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Striated Thornbill Gang-gang Cockatoo Southern Whiteface Galah Red Wattlebird Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Noisy Friarbird Little Lorikeet Regent Honeyeater Australian King-Parrot Noisy Miner Crimson Rosella Yellow-faced Honeyeater Eastern Rosella White-eared Honeyeater Red-rumped Parrot Fuscous Honeyeater Swift Parrot White-plumed Honeyeater Pallid Cuckoo Brown-headed Honeyeater Brush Cuckoo White-naped Honeyeater Fan-tailed
    [Show full text]
  • Papua New Guinea Huon Peninsula Extension I 25Th to 30Th June 2019 (6 Days) Trip Report
    Papua New Guinea Huon Peninsula Extension I 25th to 30th June 2019 (6 days) Trip Report Huon Astrapia by Holger Teichmann Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Adam Walleyn Rockjumper Birding Tours www.rockjumperbirding.com Trip Report – RBL Papua New Guinea Huon Extension I 2019 2 Tour in Detail Our group met up in Port Moresby for the late morning flight to Lae’s Nadzab airport. Upon arrival, we transferred to our comfortable hotel on the outskirts of Lae city. A walk around the expansive grounds turned up some 23 species to get our lists well underway, including Orange-bellied and Pink-spotted Fruit Dove (the latter of the distinct and range-restricted plumbeicollis race), Torresian Imperial Pigeon, Eclectus Parrot, and Yellow-faced Myna, not to mention perhaps 1,000 Spectacled Flying Foxes creating quite the sight and sound! Early the next morning we were back at Nadzab airport, where a quick scan of the airfield produced some Horsfield’s Bush Larks and also excellent looks at a male Papuan Harrier that did a close flyby being bombarded by numerous Masked Lapwings! We were soon boarding our charter flight Pink-spotted Fruit Doves by Holger Teichmann over the rugged Huon mountains, although we quickly entered dense clouds and could see nothing of these impressive mountains. After some half an hour of flying through thick cloud on the plane’s GPS track, we suddenly descended and made an uphill landing at Kabwum airstrip! Our land cruiser was there, waiting for us, and after loading bags and ourselves onboard we made the bumpy drive up many switchbacks to reach the high ridge above Kabwum.
    [Show full text]
  • Notes on Occurrence and Feeding of Birds at Crater Mountain Biological Research Station, Papua New Guinea
    EMU Vol. 96,89-101,1996 0 Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union 1996 0158-4197/96/0289 + 12 Received 10-4-1995, accepted 14-7-1995 Notes on Occurrence and Feeding of Birds at Crater Mountain Biological Research Station, Papua New Guinea Andrew L. MacklJ and Debra D. Wright132 University of Miami, Department of Biology, Coral Gables, Florida 33124, USA Department of Ornithology, Academy of Natural Sciences, 19th and Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, USA Summary: During 1989-93, 170 species of birds were ob- net capture rates. Comparisons among four other sites in served and 1787 individuals captured in mist nets at the southern Papua New Guinea reveal striking similarities Crater Mountain Biological Research Station, Chimbu among sites in number of species and trophic organisation. Province, Papua New Guinea. Populations of many species Range extensions, weights and natural history observations fluctuated on annual or supra-annual schedules; 46 species are reported for many species. Feeding observations of nec- were considered transients. Areas of the forest where many tarivorous and frugivorous birds at over 50 species of plant understorey trees had been removed exhibited reduced mist are reported. In a review of the ecology of New Guinea's avifauna, Management Area, a conservation project based on Beehler (1982) reported that no long-term field studies land-use management by the traditional Pawaiian and had been carried out in diverse avian communities of Gimi landowners. The station is 10 km east of Haia in New Guinea. Since then there has been some progress, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea (6"43.4'S, mostly in lowland sites (Bell 1982a, 1982b, 1982c, 145'5.6'E) at c.
    [Show full text]
  • National Recovery Plan for the Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera Phrygia)
    National Recovery Plan for the Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia) April 2016 1 The Species Profile and Threats Database pages linked to this recovery plan is obtainable from: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia, 2016. The National Recovery Plan for the Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia) is licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report, content supplied by third parties, and any images depicting people. For licence conditions see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. This report should be attributed as ‘National Recovery Plan for the Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia), Commonwealth of Australia 2016’. The Commonwealth of Australia has made all reasonable efforts to identify content supplied by third parties using the following format ‘© Copyright, [name of third party] ’. Disclaimer While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication. Image credits Front Cover: Regent honeyeaters in the Capertee Valley, NSW. (© Copyright, Dean Ingwersen). 2
    [Show full text]
  • Madagascar November 2016
    Tropical Birding Trip Report MADAGASCAR NOVEMBER 2016 Madagascar: The Eighth Continent 7-23 November, 2016 Western endemics extension 3-7 November Helmet Vanga extension 23-28 November TOUR LEADER: Charley Hesse Report and photos by Charley Hesse. All photos were taken on this tour The incredible Helmet Vanga Madagascar is a destination like no other. It has an ‘other-worldly’ feel to it and is filled with groups of animals and plants found nowhere else on earth. It holds several totally unique, endemic bird families, namely the mesites, cuckoo-roller, ground-rollers, asities and Malagasy warblers plus the distinctive groups of couas & vangas. Not only did we see these families well, we actually saw all the available species. By using the very best local guides, we pretty much cleaned up on the rest of Madagascar’s endemic birds available on this tried and tested itinerary. Madagascar is much more than just a bird tour though, and we also found an impressive 28 species of lemurs, Ring- tailed Mongoose, 3 species of tenrec, almost 50 species of reptiles (including 3 species of leaf-tailed geckos), 12 species of frogs and countless beautiful butterflies and marine fish. With spectacular landscapes and varied habitats, from the spiny forests of the southwest to the towering rainforest of the northeast, plus fascinating local culture, friendly local people, high quality food and lodging throughout, it was an amazing trip. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report MADAGASCAR NOVEMBER 2016 WESTERN ENDEMICS EXTENSION 3 November – Tana to Ankarafantsika Today was mainly a travel day.
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Abundances in Primary and Secondary Growths in Papua New Guinea: a Preliminary Assessment
    Mongabay.com Open Access Journal - Tropical Conservation Science Vol.3 (4):373-388, 2010 Research Article Bird abundances in primary and secondary growths in Papua New Guinea: a preliminary assessment Kateřina Tvardíková1 1 Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biological Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, CZ- 370 05 České Budějovice. Email: <[email protected] Abstract Papua New Guinea is the third largest remaining area of tropical forest after the Amazon and Congo basins. However, the growing intensity of large-scale slash-and-burn agriculture and logging call for conservation research to assess how local people´s traditional land-use practices result in conservation of local biodiversity, of which a species-rich and diverse component is the avian community. With this in mind, I conducted a preliminary survey of birds in small-scale secondary plots and in adjacent primary forest in Wanang Conservation Area in Papua New Guinea. I used mist-netting, point counts, and transect walks to compare the bird communities of 7-year-old secondary growth, and neighboring primary forest. The preliminary survey lasted 10 days and was conducted during the dry season (July) of 2008. I found no significant differences in summed bird abundances between forest types. However, species richness was higher in primary forest (98 species) than in secondary (78 species). The response of individual feeding guilds was also variable. Two habitats differed mainly in presence of canopy frugivores, which were more abundant (more than 80%) in primary than in secondary forests. A large difference (70%) was found also in understory and mid-story insectivores. Species occurring mainly in secondary forest were Hooded Butcherbird (Cracticus cassicus), Brown Oriole (Oriolus szalayi), and Helmeted Friarbird (Philemon buceroides).
    [Show full text]
  • The Utility of Existing Passerine Microsatellite Markers for Genetic Studies in Endangered Species
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Access to Research and Communications Annals Conservation Genet Resour DOI 10.1007/s12686-010-9254-x TECHNICAL NOTE The utility of existing passerine microsatellite markers for genetic studies in endangered species: as demonstrated for a critically endangered forest bird endemic to Re´union Island, the Re´union cuckooshrike (Coracina newtoni) Jordi Salmona • Deborah A. Dawson • Damien Fouillot • Thomas Ghestemme • Christophe Thebaud • Loune`s Chikhi • Marc Salamolard Received: 5 May 2010 / Accepted: 18 May 2010 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010 Abstract Genetic data are increasingly recognized for Keywords Campephagidae Á Coracina newtoni Á their utility in conservation programs. However, many Cross-species utility Á Cuckoo shrike Á Microsatellite Á endangered species belong to families that have been Passerine understudied. Due to the urgency of their conservation status it is important to quickly identify polymorphic microsatellite loci from available resources. We show for The Re´union Cuckoo shrike, Coracina newtoni, a forest the Re´union Cuckoo shrike Coracina newtoni, that this bird endemic to Re´union Island, is among the rarest and strategy can be very useful. Using 110 passerine micro- most threatened bird species in the world and was recently satellite primer sets we identified eighteen polymorphic classified as critically endangered (IUCN 2009). The single loci and tested them in 25 C. newtoni individuals. Fol- remaining population is currently confined to a small area lowing a Bonferroni correction one pair of loci displayed of 12 km2 at altitudes ranging from 1,300 to 1,800 m and linkage disequilibrium (P-value \ 0.0001).
    [Show full text]
  • West Papua – Birds-Of-Paradise and Endemics of the Arfaks and Waigeo
    INDONESIA: WEST PAPUA – BIRDS-OF-PARADISE AND ENDEMICS OF THE ARFAKS AND WAIGEO 03 – 14 AUGUST 2022 03 – 14 AUGUST 2023 Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise is often considered one of the best-looking birds in the world! www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 2 | ITINERARY Indonesia: West Papua – Arfak and Waigeo New Guinea is a geographic rather than political term that refers to the main island in the region. The western half of the island of New Guinea comprises the Indonesian provinces of West Papua (Papua Barat) and Papua, collectively once called West Irian or Irian Jaya; the eastern half of the main island of New Guinea comprises the country of Papua New Guinea. We will be based in West Papua for this exhilarating, small-group birding adventure. Aside from the large landmass of New Guinea, the New Guinea region includes numerous small islands (some part of Indonesia and others part of Papua New Guinea), and we will visit one of these areas: Waigeo, part of the Raja Ampat Archipelago in West Papua (also known as the Northwestern Islands). Approximately 680 bird species have been recorded from West Papua, from slightly more than 700 for the whole New Guinea region. Some 550 species are considered breeding residents, with 279 New Guinea endemics (found in Indonesia and/or Papua New Guinea) and at least an additional 42 endemics found only in West Papua. There are also over 115 Palearctic and Australian migrant species and a range of seabirds which spend some of their time in West Papua. This tour will begin in the town of Manokwari, situated on the north-eastern tip of West Papua's Bird's Head (or Vogelkop) Peninsula where we could get our tour started with the gorgeous Lesser Bird-of-paradise, this area is usually great for Blyth’s Hornbill and numerous fruit doves.
    [Show full text]
  • Papua New Guinea Ii
    The Greater Bird-of-paradise display we witnessed at the km 17 lek in Kiunga was truly unforgettable. PAPUA NEW GUINEA II 12– 28 August / 1 September 2016 LEADER: DANI LOPEZ VELASCO Our second tour to Papua New Guinea – including New Britain - in 2016 was a great success and delivered an unprecedented number of high quality birds. A total of 21 species of Birds-of-paradise (BoPs), - undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary, and “out of this world” bird families in the world, were recorded, perhaps most memorable being a superb male Blue BoP, scoped at close range near Kumul for as long as we wished and showing one of the most vivid blue colours in the animal world. Just as impressive though were spectacular performances by displaying Raggiana and Greater BoPs in excellent light, with up to 8 males lekking at a time, a stunning male King BoP and two displaying males Twelve-wired BoPs at the Elevala River, a cracking adult male Magnificent BoP in the scope for hours at Tabubil, several amazing King-of-Saxony BoPs, waving their incredible head plumes like some strange insect antennae in the mossy forest of Tari Valley, great sightings of both Princess Stephanie´s and Ribbon-tailed Astrapias with their ridiculously long tail feathers, superb scope studies of Black and Brown Sicklebills uttering their machine-gun like calls, and so on. While Birds-of-paradise are certainly the signature family in PNG, there is of course 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Papua New Guinea II www.birdquest-tours.com plenty more besides, for example we recorded a grand total of 33 species of pigeons and doves, -they reach their greatest diversity here in New Guinea, as do kingfishers-, including nine Fruit Doves, a rare New Guinea Bronzewing feeding on the road, and, during the extension, both Black Imperial Pigeon and Pied Cuckoo-Dove.
    [Show full text]