Photos with this report (click to enlarge) | |||
Crested Cuckoo-Dove |
Guadalcanal Boobook |
Oriole Whistler |
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Temotu Whistler |
Cardinal Myzomela |
This was a trip made under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and the newly rebranded Tourism Solomons (Formerly SIVB, the Solomon Is Visitors Bureau), and once again very well put together by Marketing Officer Brenden Mautoa as a part of his development brief with birding tourism. My brief was to run the training programme for local guides, developed and extended from the very successful 2016 initiative, and the check out new sites, their logistics and their birding/wildlife tourism potential.
Finding a suitable time slot was difficult due to my own commitments, but we eventually settled on Sept 17-27 with the following itinerary:
Mon Sept 17 Fly /Cairns /Brisbane/Honiara. Met up with Brenden and Hudson from the Ministry of Tourism and just caught 1515 flight to Gizo. Overnight at Gizo Hotel
Tues Sept 18 Training for local guides with a short practical session that afternoon, overnight Gizo Hotel.
Wed Sept 19 Reconnaissance visit to Ranongga and Vella Lavella, checking out the logistics and seeing the very nice Jajama homestay on Vella Lavella. Flight to Honiara 5 pm. Overnight Kitano Mendana Hotel.
Thurs Sept 20 Guide training at Tourism Solomons offices in Honiara. Overnight Kitano Mendana Hotel.
Fri Sept 21 Practical session with local guides at Mt Austen, and then Betikama wetlands. Follow up and comments on the training then closure that afternoon. Overnight Kitano Mendana Hotel.
Sat Sept 22 Joined by Chris the Temotu Tourism officer. Flight from Honiara to Santa Cruz at 1120 am, staying at Rotary Lodge at Lata.
Sun Sept 23 Reconnaissance of the Lata area to evaluate birding and tourism potential. Overnight Rotary Lodge
Mon Sept 24 Further reconnaissance work of Noepe Forest hampered by heavy rain. Overnight at Rotary Lodge.
Tues Sept 25 Short morning visit in quite good conditions to Noepe Forest. Flight back to Honiara 1300. Overnight Kitano Mendana Hotel.
Wed Sept 26 Further birding reconnaissance of Mt Austen area and Bekana village. Farewell dinner at Heritage Hotel. Overnight Kitano Mendana Hotel.
Thurs Sept 27 Honiara to Brisbane 1300 and then Brisbane/ Cairns.
Birding on Gizo was limited but we made a field trip out to Two Mile (SI$100 by taxi), seeing a single Red-vented Myzomela and several White-capped Monarchs, with Venty and I seeing one Gizo White-eye when we returned briefly later. Next day the sea crossing to Ranongga 0800-0900 was mercifully calm, I suggested we do that first to make for a quicker return for our flight, and the afternoon crossing back from Vella Lavella at 1400-1430 was a tad bumpy but not wet. Black-naped Tern, 2 Brown Booby and Brown Noddy were the only notable seabirds, and I did not get a definite Black Noddy this time, though a Beach Kingfisher flew over calling as we came out from Gizo harbor, and a Common Kingfisher did likewise on Ranongga. The latter island gave me a very fine Ranongga White-eye some 20 or so minutes after we managed to find a landing, with several more calling, all quite near the church at Nyami. This large island was ringed by what is an intact but exposed and stranded coral reef, with fan corals, brain corals etc all now about 2m above sea level, as the entire island was uplifted in the quake of 2007!
The crossing to nearby Vella Lavella was about 20 minutes, but birding in the heat was quite hard. The albidiventris race of Buff-headed Coucal showed well, with a couple of adults and a juvenile. White-capped Monarch was easy enough here, but Vella Lavella (Banded) White-eye was surprisingly hard, we could hear them but getting one in view proved very trying and I eventually got a brief view of one in a large dense tree, they seemed very active and quite wary. Striated Heron near Jajama Lodge was a new Sols bird for me. Neither sight nor sound of the highly distinctive local taxa of Solomons Pied Monarch and Oriole Whistler, I need to come back for these two prospective lifers.
Back at Honiara we did a guide training morning at Mt Austen from 0600-1030, which was quite productive and excellent training on calls, giving directions and use of telescope. Yellow-bibbed Lory showed very well, there were good numbers of Mackinlay’s Cuckoo-Dove (11 in a flock!) and Solomons Cockatoo with 8 in one flock. Oriole Whistler proved hard, with me only hearing it though Brenden got a good photo, and White-capped Monarch and Steel-blue Flycatcher showed briefly. Finsch’s Pygmy Parrot was very vocal and we saw it well once, creeping up a large trunk, whilst Midget Flowerpecker was seen several times and White-billed Crow once as if flew by, ditto Song Parrot.
Betikama was very hot at 1100-1145, but a male Song Parrot was perched up, the Moustached Tree-swift was the only one of the trip, and an Australian Reed Warbler was singing well.
Temotu is quite a hard destination to get to with just two flights a week, often delayed or cancelled, and costs more then getting to Brisbane. Happily it left on time on Sept 22 and the Dash 8 “Megapode” landed around 1330 at Santa Cruz airstrip. We stayed at Rotary Lodge and I just did some birding around the airstrip late afternoon, accompanied by two keen local lads, not seeing any endemics but hearing an unexpected Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeon which is not listed for here by Dutson, seeing a flock of 9 Pacific Imperial Pigeon, flushing what was almost certainly an immature Nankeen Night Heron in the coconut and fig woodland, and seeing my first Sols Wandering Tattler.
Next day Sept 23 we used the lodge 4WD and went out along the road about 10 km out of Lata, struggling very hard to find much of note though I did twice see Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeon and Pacific Imperial was widespread, until I went up into a remnant taller forest patch on a ridge. Not knowing the calls was frustrating and I recorded several things which remain uncertain, but I finally found a small flock with Temotu Whistler, the distinctive local race of Rufous Fantail and finally a single Santa Cruz White-eye. The afternoon was a bust due the vehicle breaking down, abandoned by a hut outside town, and then heavy rain. I did see Pacific Kingfisher and Eastern Koel, but nothing else, and the local cops gave our bedraggled damp group a ride back to the lodge.
Sept 24 saw us head out to Noepe Forest, with two local guides, who knew the forest but unfortunately not really the birds and certainly not the Santa Cruz Shrikebill which was my major target. We scored a small mixed flock on the edge early on, which gave what proved to be my only Sanford’s White-eye of the trip with 3 birds, two more Santa Cruz White-eyes, and more Rufous Fantail and Temotu Whistler plus Red-bellied Fruit-Dove. Then it began to rain hard and it poured all morning, basically wiping out any hope of finding things. The afternoon was no better and we had to postpone everything until a final short session next day before the flight at 1300.
The weather was better, albeit with a short shower as we arrived at the forest, where Brenden got us a Rusty-winged Starling perched up, but a walk deep into the tall forest got us nothing new and certainly no sign of the shrikebill. A second Rusty-winged Starling was seen on the way back to town but that was it, we got 4 of the 5 Santa Cruz specials over the 4 days here. I fear the Santa Cruz Shrikebill must be very local and rare and I think we should have gone up into the low hills I saw from the air, regrettably now being devastated by Chinese logging camps of the Xian-lin logging company- we flew in with 5 Malaysian loggers and supplies for the camps.
I had neither time not inclination to make the 6 or 7-hour open boat journey out to Vanikoro for the two endemics there, Vanikoro Monarch and Vanikoro White-eye, this is something to be done via much larger vessels only as far as I’m concerned. Santa Cruz was quite hard birding with low-density species, really only for hardcore groups only or very adventurous birders with plenty of time, preferably after we can get some local guides trained up on the specials.
My day in Honiara saw me fearful of another rain-impacted day as it belted down overnight with quite strong winds and a low pressure system in place. Luckily at first light it was dry, with Honiara in the centre of the system and both calm and dry with high cloud only, so I met up with Samson at the star memorial at Mt. Austen at 0700 and we went for Oriole Whistler again, this time with very nice views of both sexes, and a bonus of both Crested Cuckoo-Dove and Solomons Pied Monarch. Then it was time for my attempt at Guadalcanal Boobook, a case of third time lucky as we got great views of two at the day roost, albeit after a steep and muddy scramble, and it stayed dry until I got back to the Kitano Mendana Hotel.
The final day I paid a quick visit to the museum opposite the hotel, principally as I wanted to see the feather money they used to use on Temotu, with the red feathers from male Cardinal Myzomela made into 9 m long strips that were coiled up for use on ceremonial occasions and bride price. Apparently each one took hundreds of birds that were trapped using sticky gum and then plucked before being released, and each took hundreds of hours to make, with 9 grades of money ranging from the lowest of black feathering to the highest of the red feathers. The museum has a 9 m long roll on show, but the last maker of such money died in the 1980’s.
My visit was excellent for the guide training, developing on from what I introduced in 2016 and with obvious progress evident from the guides whom I had met before, plus the new folks, all of whose enthusiasm and interest was most gratifying. I actually got 7 lifers, with 4 new white-eyes alone in this epicentre of evolution that is crying out for study, up there with Hawaii and the Galapagos as amazing examples of rapid speciation and evolution, in not only white-eyes but also whistlers, fantails, kingfishers and monarchs. My thanks to Brenden Mautoa (Marketing Officer) for setting up my visit and to Tourism Solomons and Ministry of Tourism for supporting it. I hope we can run something alone these lines for the guides at Hauta on Makira in 2019, and check out some other potential new birding sites on Malaita and Tetepare.
H denotes Heard only ✓Denotes a lifer
XC xenocanto IBC Internet Bird Collection
PHASIANIDAE
Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus
Quite common and often heard in wooded habitat and gardens on Santa Cruz, we saw a hen with 3 chicks, one with two chicks and a male with 3 females. An introduced and long-naturalized species in Temotu, one of just 3 introduced species in the Solomons, and a Solomons tick.
ARDEIDAE
Great Egret Ardea alba modesta
One at Betikama wetlands.
Pacific Reef-Heron (Pacific Reef-Egret) Egretta sacra
Just one dark morph seen at Vella Lavella.
Striated Heron Butorides striata
One on Vella Lavella was my first for the Solomons.
[Nankeen Night Heron Nycticorax caledonicus]
A mid-size brownish looking heron flushed out of coconut and fig woodland by the airstrip at Lata on Sept 22, almost certainly this species which is not known from Temotu, but just not seen well enough to confirm.
SULIDAE
Brown Booby Sula leucogaster
Two with Brown Noddies off Ranongga were my first for the Solomons.
PHALACROCORACIDAE
Little Pied Cormorant Microcarbo melanoleucos
One at Betikama wetlands.
ACCIPITRIDAE
Pacific Baza (Crested Hawk) Aviceda subcristata gurneyi
One at Mt Austen.
Variable Goshawk Accipiter hiogaster rubianae
One in flight at Two Mile on Gizo, my first record of this taxon and another complex long overdue for splitting.
Pied Goshawk Accipiter albogularis woodfordi
One was sat on the grassy strip at Munda on Sept 17, seen as we took off. A fine adult was perched in the same area at Mt Austen on Sept 21 and 26.
Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
A couple at Mt Austen
RALLIDAE
Buff-banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis christophori
Very common on Santa Cruz with up to 10 in a day seen along the roadsides.
Australasian (Pacific) Swamp-hen Porphyrio melanotus samoensis
Four seen at Betikama wetlands.
SCOLOPACIDAE
Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva
7 at Lata airport at Santa Cruz, most in the remnants of partial breeding dress. Also 3 were in some cleared farmland in the forest at Noepe, a very odd site for this species.
Wandering Tattler Tringa incana
One on rocks along the shore by Lata airstrip, with a multi-syllable flight call and long wings, a new Sols bird for me.
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
One on Ranongga.
LARIDAE
Brown Noddy Anous stolidus
A couple perched on the jetty at Gizo airport, and a few on the crossing. Oddly, all I saw close on the day we went out to Vella Lavella were this species, I did not definitely see Back Noddy at all, unlike my previous visit. I estimated around 120 for the boat rides, plus quite a few distant Noddy sp.
Crested Tern (Greater Crested or Swift Tern) Sterna bergii
Just a single off Gizo airport island on both trips.
Black-naped Tern Sterna sumatrana
A couple off Gizo en route to Ranongga, and 7 there on the way back
COLUMBIDAE
Mackinlay’s Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia mackinlayi
A flock of 11 perched up on dead tree on Mt Austen Sept 21 were an unusually large group. Small numbers seen on Santa Cruz and again on Mt Austen Sept 26.
Crested Cuckoo-Dove Reinwardtoena crassirostris
A major surprise from Mt Austen on Sept 26, when I heard this species calling and was able to lure it into flying by and then perching atop a dead branch for great views. It was at a low altitude of about 380m and was just my second record, the other from Bougainville back in 2009.
Pacific Emerald Dove Chalcophaps longirostris
Very uncommon on Santa Cruz, I saw just two singles flushed off the road and did not hear it at all in the forest. Temotu is the only place in the Solomons that it occurs and it was obviously a new Sols birds for me.
Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus viridis lewisii
A single at Mt Austen Sept 26
Red-bellied Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus greyii
Small numbers on Santa Cruz at Neope, with 2 seen on each visit, another Sols tick, otherwise from Vanuatu and Lifou/Ouvea.
Superb Fruit Dove Ptilinopus superba H
Heard at Mt Austen, I have yet to see this species in the Sols.
Pacific Imperial Pigeon Ducula pacifica pacifica
The common Ducula on Nendo, we got into double figures each day and the “crrroo” call was commonly heard
Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeon Ducula rubricera rufigula
This was an unexpected find on Nendo, and Dutson has it as not occurring in Temotu. I heard it late afternoon by the airstrip Sept 22, and saw at least 3 next day at several sites, complete with large red bill knob. Maybe a new arrival, or else overlooked?
Island (Floury) Imperial Pigeon Ducula pistrinaria
Quite common on Gizo, seen even over the town, and also on Vella Lavella.
CACATUIDAE
Solomons (Ducorps’s) Cockatoo Cacatua ducorpsii
Vocal and widespread in small numbers Mt Austen with 9 on the first visit and 7 on the second.
PSITTACIDAE
Cardinal Lory Chalcopsitta cardinalis
Small numbers around Gizo and Honiara, with half a dozen up Mt Austen.
Coconut (Rainbow) Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus massena
Small numbers around Honiara, Gizo and Santa Cruz.
Yellow-bibbed Lory Lorius chlorocercus
A good count for them on Mt Austen Sept 21, with at least 8 birds seen well. One seen and a couple heard on Sept 26.
Eclectus Parrot Eclectus roratus
Surprisingly few, with just a single male at Mt Austen.
Finsch’s Pygmy Parrot Micropsitta finschii
Seen very well at Mt Austen on both visits with good views of one perched on tree trunks, and a few dots flying by, it was also very vocal and often heard in the forest there. It is endemic to the Solomons and New Ireland.
Song Parrot Geoffroyus heteroclitus
Heard on Gizo, then a female flying by at Mt Austen Sept 21. and a fine male at Betikama. It is endemic to the Bismarcks and the Solomons.
CUCULIDAE
Australian Koel Eudynamys cyanocephala
A female seen at Lata on Santa Cruz, with another of uncertain sex flying by later. Previously only heard in the Sols.
CENTROPODIDAE
Buff-headed Coucal Centropus milo
Very vocal on Mt Austen both times, I saw 5 there on the first visit including 3 together that were making a hell of a din. It does have a deep hooting call as well as the fearsome groans and shrieks. Birds of the race albidiventris on Vella Lavella also gave good views, with a single then two adult birds with a brownish streaked juvenile.
STRIGIDAE
✓ Guadalcanal Boobook Ninox granti
Samson came good here on Sept 26, a case of third time lucky for me as two previous attempts at day roosts for this species struck out. For this one we took a steep and muddy one hour or so short cut down a track from the main Mt Austen road, and cut down through gardens to the creek, with a short walk downstream and a muddy scramble up to a huge fig tree. Here there were two Guadalcanal boobooks peering out of a hole in a huge branch high in the tree, seeming quite fascinated by the little dance with waving small leafy branches Samson said was custom. I watched them for 15 minutes or so, seeing the face and upper body nicely, photos on IBC, before leaving for a walk downstream then another scramble up to the village where Tourism Solomons kindly picked me up.
APODIDAE
White-rumped Swiftlet Aerodramus spodiopygius reichenowi
A couple of sightings from Santa Cruz, and one on Mt Austen Sept 26.
Uniform Swiftlet Collocalia vanikorensis lugubris
Small numbers from Mt Austen and Santa Cruz.
Swiftlet sp.
A Uniform-type swiftlet at Mt Austen on Sept 23 had a small diffuse greyish rump patch, quite unlike the clear white of White-rumped Swiftlet. I wonder if Mayr’s Swiftlet might be the species, but who knows?
HEMIPROCNIDAE
Moustached Treeswift Hemiprocne mystacea woodfordiana
Just a single at Betikama wetlands.
ALCEDINIDAE
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
A single bird flew out calling from the beach at Ranongga.
Ultramarine Kingfisher Todiramphus leucopygius (H)
Heard at Mt Austen both visits. I missed seeing the one Samson saw at Betana village.
Melanesian (Collared) Kingfisher Todiramphus (chloris) tristrami alberti
Vocal on Gizo, and began calling loudly at 2310 after the 4.5 earthquake on Sept 18 and only ceased when the aftershocks had finished around midnight. We saw several around Gizo town including one at Gizo Hotel.
Pacific Kingfisher Todiramphus (chloris) sacer ornatus
Common on Santa Cruz and heard in all wooded areas including Lata town, and seen at Neope and nearby. The male of this endemic race ornatus is quite small, distinct blue above with a rich rusty nape collar and underparts, with a rufous eyebrow, The female is also small, blue above with a rufous eyebrow but white below, this is a rather distinct taxon and I wonder if more splits may occur?
Beach Kingfisher Todiramphus saurophaga
One flew out over the boat calling loudly as we came out into the main channel from Gizo en route to Ranongga.
Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus
A single was at Gizo airport, quite small and pale whitish buff below.
BUCEROTIDAE
Blyth’s Hornbill Aceros plicatus
Half a dozen seen at Mt Austen on both trips, usually in pairs.
MELIPHAGIDAE
Cardinal Myzomela Myzomela cardinalis sanctaecrucis
Small numbers on Santa Cruz, this taxon has a red head and chest and a black belly, I think this species should be split into several components, as they are so distinct.
Crimson-rumped (Yellow-vented) Myzomela Myzomela eichhorni
One female at Two Mile on Gizo.
CAMPEPHAGIDAE
Yellow-eyed Cuckooshrike Coracina lineata pusilla
Seen at Mt Austen on both trips, yet another species complex that needs splitting up.
White-bellied Cuckooshrike Coracina papuensis elegans
A few seen at Mt Austen and on Gizo.
Grey-capped Cicadabird Coracina (tenuirostris) remota saturatior
Heard on Vela Lavella, then three subadult males, rusty but becoming blotched with blackish at Mt Austen on both visits, with a single male on the initial visit as well.
RHIPIDURIDAE
Willie-wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
Seen at Gizo and Honiara.
Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons agilis
The taxon on Santa Cruz is another rather distinctive one, with rusty rump and upper tail, white tail tips, and rufous forehead contrasting with quite dark browny plumage, black throat and spotted chest. No supercilium but a whitish malar, yet another complex in need of splitting as some taxa are very distinct. It was uncommon in the taller forest, with 2 or 3 each day.
MONARCHIDAE
Solomons Pied Monarch Symposiachrus barbatus
One at Mt Austen on Sept 26, with the flock that had the next species and Oriole Whistler, my first sighting on the Solomons, though I had heard it once before and seen it on Bougainville.
Chestnut-bellied Monarch Monarcha castaneiventris
Good views of 3 or 4 on Mt Austen.
White-capped Monarch Monarcha richardsii
Heard at Two Mile and seen well on Vella Lavella with 3 or 4 birds there.
Steel-blue Flycatcher Myiagra ferrocyanea
A couple of males seen at Mt Austen.
PACHYCEPHALIDAE
Oriole Whistler Pachycephala orioloides
Three heard at Mt Austen on Sept 21, but unwisely I did not go in after them, spending too much time trying to see them from the road, where they were very shy. Brenden went inside the forest and got a nice photo, so when I came up again on Sept 26 I decided to try again. It was slow going initially but eventually we got several to respond and I had nice views of a couple of males and a female. I am not sure I have actually seen this here before, and I reckon all these large island taxa should be split, as both vocals and females are quite different, with several (Malaita, Ranongga and Vella Lavella) also having highly distinct males. The female here had a whitish-grey throat and rather rich darker buffish underparts.
✓ Temotu Whistler Pachycephala vanikorensis ornata
This was the most widespread of the Santa Cruz endemics, being vocal in the remnant patches of tall forest. My first were a pair in a remnant on a ridge on Sept 23, after hearing it earlier, and at Noepe we saw up to 5 birds including males, females and a presumed juvenile. Taxonomically vexed, but Temotu Whistler is now a split from Fiji Whistler P. vitiensis (Andersen et al. 2014, Jønsson et al. 2014) which includes ornata and utupae [from Fiji Whistler], and vanikorensis [from Melanesian Whistler Pachycephala chlorura].
ACROCEPHALIDAE
Australian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus australis (H)
One singing well at Betikama wetlands was a new Sols species for me, though it kept just out of sight
HIRUNDINIDAE
Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica subfusca
Just a few of this small dark swallow seen at Honiara, Gizo and Lata on Santa Cruz.
ZOSTEROPIDAE
Gizo (Splendid) White-eye Zosterops luteirostris
A single at Two Mile after I went back to check again for it, I had forgotten how bright a yellow it is and the orange bill and legs are very striking.
✓ Ranongga White-eye Zosterops splendidus
One seen well in forest regrowth near the church at Nyami after about 20 minutes on the island, with 3 others calling nearby, cut posted to XC and the IBC. Olive green above, bright yellow below with greenish sides to the chin and throat, and a dark bill but orange legs.
✓ Vella Lavella (Banded) White-eye Zosterops vellalavella
This proved frustratingly hard in the heat of mid-day, as we could hear then calling in the regrowth along the track at Pusisama but they stayed hidden. At one point I could hear about 5 of them seemingly overhead but could not get onto one properly at all! I feared I was going to get a heard only white-eye lifer, but happily I finally got a brief look at one in mid-storey, seeing the orange bill and a greyish wash across the chest. Cut of the vocals posted on IBC and XC.
✓ Santa Cruz White-eye Zosterops sanctaecrucis
Appears very scarce on Santa Cruz, where I heard it once in second growth, and saw a single in the remnant forest ridge on Sept 23 in a loose flock with Temotu Whistler and Rufous Fantail, with two next day at Noepe Forest in the same assemblage as Sanford’s White-eye.
✓ Sanford’s White-eye Woodfordia (Zosterops) sanfordi
I was surprised ay how scarce this species was on Santa Cruz where we made just one sighting of 3 birds in forest edge at Noepe on Sept 24. A very odd bird, quite large with a long slightly decurved pale bill and pinkish legs, milky tea colour above with a prominent pale area around the eye. Since this species is so distinct I am surprised it has been removed from Woodfordia and placed with regular Zosterops.
CORVIDAE
White-billed Crow Corvus woodfordi
One flying by at Mt Austen, a brief view only.
STURNIDAE
Metallic Starling Aplonis metallica
A few on Mount Austen and Gizo but not on Santa Cruz.
Singing Starling Aplonis cantoroides
A few on Mount Austen and Gizo, but also not on Santa Cruz.
Brown-winged Starling Aplonis grandis
Up to 4 on Mt Austen, it has a clicking call, and a couple seen on Gizo.
✓Rusty-winged Starling
I thought I was going to dip, but Brenden found one perched up as we stopped at Neope forest on Sept 25, and we saw another later, Nondescript brownish with a short tail, and pale browny bases to the primaries in flight, not really visible at rest in bad light. No calls heard, and clearly very local here, it is endemic to Temotu and a few Vanuatu islands.
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
One of just 3 introduced species established in the Solomons and the only common and widespread one. It is common throughout Honiara and sadly also on Santa Cruz. Introduced from India to control pests in coconut plantations.
Long-tailed Myna Mino kreffti
Small numbers seen on Gizo, Vella Lavella and at Mt Austen, but not on Santa Cruz.
NECTARINIIDAE
Olive-backed Sunbird Cinnyris jugularis
Locally common in Gizo and Honiara.
DICAEIDAE
Midget Flowerpecker Dicaeum aeneum
Seen at Mt Austen.
PLOCEIDAE
Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
Unlike in 2016 I saw none for sure this trip, just a probable flyover in downtown Honiara.
MAMMALS
The Solomons has nine species of Pteropus flying-foxes, making identification of smaller species difficult.
A small rather pale species was seen singly a few times on Santa Cruz, with a golden nape and pale brownish pelage, maybe Temotu Flying-fox Pteropus nitendiensis or perhaps Pacific Flying-fox P. tonganus.
© Phil Gregory Sicklebill Safaris, www. sicklebillsafaris.com
info@S2travel.com.au