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Papua New Guinea Where Birds of Paradise and Other Beautiful Birds Abound by Cyril Laubscher, Kent England Copyrights Remain with the Author

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Papua New Guinea Where Birds of Paradise and Other Beautiful Birds Abound by Cyril Laubscher, Kent England Copyrights Remain with the Author Papua New Guinea Where Birds of Paradise and Other Beautiful Birds Abound by Cyril Laubscher, Kent England Copyrights remain with the author. Introduction totally protected in Papua New s a small, tearful, six-year­ some of the 42 species in television Guinea. No part of a Bird of Paradise, old boy on his first day at documentaries. Apart from Papua New not even a feather, may be traded or A school in January 1945, the Guinea, lrianJaya and some of the sur­ bought by a tourist. teacher took pity on me and offered rounding islands, including Halmahera me a book to look at. This was my first and Batjan Islands in the Moluccas, Papua New Guinea, introduction to the wonders of natUre, Birds of Paradise are not found any- The Mystical Land and I shall never forget the beautiful where else in the world. Papua New Guinea (abbreviated to colour paintings of Birds of Paradise Zoos that have been fortunate PNG as it is affectionately known by that I saw in the book. enough in the past to obtain these many travellers) is second only to its My teacher explained what they magnificent birds for display, have southern neighhor, Australia, in the were, and little did I realize it at the always treasured them. Nowadays, claim for the largest island. Its time, but that was undoubtedly the they are scarcer than ever. They fea­ Equatorial climate is ideal for outdoor start of a lifetime interest in nature, and ture greatly in Papua New Guinea trib­ pursuits, but it has some of the most birds in particular. al culture, and the feathers are used as inhospitable terrain to traverse, with Anyone who has seen a live adult adornlnents for ceremonial dress high jagged mountains, vast expanses male Bird of Paradise will know what a among the men. of dense jungle, and an incredible beautiful bird it is. Many will have seen Today, all Birds of Paradise are array of fauna and flora that needs to A Hooded or New Britain Mannikin Lonchura spectabilis. Native to Papua New Guinea, the Blue-faced Parrotfinch is a popular aviary bird. be seen to be believed. Many places in of Birds of Paradise, and many parrots incredibly beautiful. On the first lnorn­ PNG are accessible only by air. in this area. ing about an hour after sunrise, I was Papua New Guinea is one of the Ambua Lodge was chosen as the standing on the porch of our chalet lnost fascinating places to visit. focal point for all our bird activities. watching the beautiful valley that Populated by some 4,000,000 people What we really wanted to see was the seemed to stretch to eternity, when sud­ belonging to various tribes, there are abundant and varied bird life that pre­ denly, a large blackish bird with a long over 700 languages spoken between vailed in this area. As soon as we went black tail landed in the tree about 20 the different tribes. The cultures are as down to our chalet after booking in, meters in front of me. I stood in amaze- diverse as the colorful tribes. we were entertained by a flock of 111ent watching an adult male Princess Cannibalism, headhunting, and other Hooded or New Britain Mannikins Stephanie's Astrapia (Astrapia stephani­ equally ahhorrent practices were only (Lonchura spectabilis) right in front of ae) slowly turn its head towards me, recently abolished. When we visited our chalet. They were clalnbering up and as the early morning sun's rays lit Papua New Guinea, it was different and down the stems of the long, tall up the bright green iridescent throat from anything else that my wife and I (about 2 meters high) seeding grass patch that is a diagnostic feature of a had experienced before. growing at the edge of the jungle right male, I was very excited. I had seen my We soon realized - because of the helow us. This occurrence was repeat­ first Bird of Paradise in its natural envi­ limited time available - that the best ed at regular intervals during our five­ rorunent. What a Sight! way forward was to arrange for an day stay at the lodge. These mannikins That evening I was able to see two organized tour to visit the Southern are widely bred by aviculturists in other Birds of Paradise - two male Highlands where we could see and Holland and around the world. Ribbon-tailed (A. mayerO with their enjoy some of the cultural heritage of two long white tail feathers streaming the Huli Wigmen, one of the most My First Sighting of a hehind as they flew from tree to tree interesting tribes in PNG. I had also Bird of Paradise in the Wild on either side of the road. This sight­ learned that there were a fair number The scenery around the lodge was ing was about five minutes slow drive the afa WATCHBIRD 19 ~ ~------~--~--------~~~--------------------------------------------------------------------~ .c o .2;:, j :c >­ <..> ~ o (5 .c a.. Ibis male Whiskered Lorikeet, Oreopsittacus arfaki, is a little jewel of a parrot. from Ambua and it was about an hour No doubt there were females as there was some rain each day, before sunset. Then, further sightings around, but they pale into insignifi­ which necessitated a quick removal of were obtained of male Princess cance because of their drab plumage all the camera equipment. But I did Stephanie's Astrapia feeding in a tree when compared with the brilliantly see the male on two occasions in the about 50 meters away from the edge colored males. trees above. of the highway. On a trip to one of the villages About two hundred meters away, This was followed by a solitary lower down the valley, we found out the strident harsh call of a male Superb sighting of the unmistakable male King about a display area that was currently Bird of Paradise (Lophorina superba) of Saxony's Bird of Paradise being used by a male Lawe's Parotia provided a clue where we could see (Pteridophora albertO - with its two (Parotia lawesii) My guide helped me the bird foraging for fruit and insects, long enamel-like head feathers with to build a makeshift hide from where I the mainstay of its diet. While watching attached tiny little flag-like appendages wanted to try and photograph the the Superb, my attention was drawn to that glow with a bright enamel-colored male as he came down to display. the unmistakable call of a small flock of blue that is quite dazzling. Unfortunately, this was not successful Green-naped Lorikeets (Trichoglossus 20 January/February 2001 haematodus) as they flew over the tops Lorikeet. About 20 minutes later, two between Ambua Lodge towards Tari of the trees in' the dense forest. A little Emerald Lorikeets (Neopsittacus pulli­ Gap about 30 minutes drive from later, we saw two Musschenbroek's cauda) landed in another tree near­ Ambua, where many Birds of Paradise Lorikeets (Neopsittacus musschen­ by, and then moved over to feed in have been filmed for television docu­ broekii) feeding quite high up on some the same tree as the Papuan and mentaries. unidentified fruit or seeds of a large tree Whiskered Lorikeets. A pair of A Black-cheeked Robin (Poecikxiryas growing in the vicinity. Goldie's Lorikeets was another albispecularis) was nesting in the for­ Lorikeets abound in this area, and a species seen only on one occasion est near the village. I was fortunate to number of species that are bred in while feeding further down the road photograph it at the nest as it returned aviaries can be seen in and around back towards the lodge. to brood its newly hatched nestling. Ambua Lodge. One of the most beauti­ On the way to seeing the colorful Strangely, it has never before been ful is the Papuan or Stella's Lorikeet Tit Berrypecker (Oreocharis aifaki) at recorded in the Ambua Lodge area, (Channosyna papou), commonly seen Tari Gap, I was pleased to watch but is a fairly common montane around the lodge. Huli Wigmen's head­ about six Blue-faced Parrotfinches species in many areas of the highlands dress used at ceremonial events, often (Erythrnra trichroa) feeding along the of Papua New Guinea. have the tail of this lorikeet in their side of the road. This parrotfinch is As we approached the village, a wigs. Dusky Lories fly over the trees widely kept and bred by aviculturists male Ribbon-tailed Bird of Paradise around the lodge regularly in the in Holland and other countries. One of suddenly took off from a low branch evenings. the specialties that I wanted to see was where it had been feeding on fruit, I managed to see the diminutive the Mountain Firetail (Oreostrnthus and flew across right in front of us at Whiskered Lorikeet ( Oreopsittacus juliginosus), a scarce and attractive a distance of about 30 meters. My ar:faki) on a number of occasions plump brownish finch with red flanks wife could not believe that this feeding either on flowers or on that is regularly recorded at Tari Gap, incredibly beautiful bird would be so berries and fruit. In one tree, which but we were unsuccessful. close to us. This memorable sighting appeared to be a Ficus spp, Papuan On the final day we went up to a is one among many that will stay with Lorikeets flew into feed, closely fol­ village owned by our guide's uncle. us forever, and was a fitting finale to lowed by a single Whiskered This was situated about half way a wonderful trip. .,. GRUMBACHINCUBATORSOFGERMANY WHENONLYTHE BESTWILLDO Item shown H203/01/02-lncub;oItor 8SS300.
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