PNGBS Outing: 7th December 1986: Hiritano Highway

Only two cars and three birders, Charles Menendez, Niklas Wahlberg and myself, met under the NBC tree for the December outing. Not surprising really as most people had already departed on their Christmas holidays. Our aim was to do a run along the Hiritano Highway, stopping at various birding spots en route. After heavy overnight rain, the morning was overcast and cool. By 05:50 we were birding in the roadside rain forest at the ‘King Bird Tree’. One of the first birds we saw was a damp looking Grey-headed Goshawk; also noted was my first Purple-tailed Imperial Pigeon and two Manucode species, Glossy-mantled and Trumpet. The Trumpet Manucode perched in the open making a ‘chunk’ call. We left the King Bird Tree at 07:15 having recorded 33 species. A brief stop at the oxbow added another 12 species including Little and Azure Kingfishers. A flowering tree beside the highway was attracting a variety of Lorikeets and prompted another brief stop: Rainbow Lorikeet was the commonest species but also feeding in the tree were Black-capped Lories, Greater Streaked Lories, Red-flanked Lorikeets and Eclectus Parrots.

We eventually reached Kanosia Lagoon at 09:15, where the overcast conditions had developed into fine drizzle. First birds were a flock of 14 Cattle Egrets in breeding plumage. The lagoon hosted a good selection of birds including two Oriental Pratincole, 15 Garganey and two Little Ringed Plover, one in breeding plumage. While Nik and I went on to the coast a Hisiu with 75 species recorded, Charlie headed back to Port Moresby.

We reached the sea at Obu Point at 11:15. On a drive along the beach to Cape Suckling we recorded 11 species of wader, including 3 Terek Sandpipers, 14 Whimbrel and c.200 Red-necked Stint. A gathering of terns at Obu Point included c.300 Common Terns and c.50 Little Terns. With 89 species we turned for home.

At Hisiu Mangroves, I managed to lock the keys in the car, but fortunately managed to break-in and retrieve the keys without too much trouble. Nik, meanwhile, had been watching a pair of Mangrove Robins which thankfully hung around for me to see them. We had a good time in the mangroves catching up with most of the mangrove specialities including my first Mangrove Fantails plus Mangrove Gerygone, Broad-billed Flycatcher, Collared Kingfisher and a single Oriental Cuckoo. Hisiu Lagoon was completely dry, so we did not linger. Our last stop was Aroa Lagoon where we added a few more species to the list, including a single Australian White Ibis plus some more wetland and savanna species.

Tired and contented we rolled back into Port Moresby as the sun was setting having recorded 111 species.

Species List:
Australasian Grebe, Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Australasian Darter, Great Egret, Pied Heron, Intermediate Egret, Cattle Egret, Eastern Reef Egret, Nankeen Night-Heron, Australian White Ibis, Whistling Kite, Brahminy Kite, Papuan Harrier, Brown Goshawk, Grey-headed Goshawk, Pacific Black Duck, Wandering Whistling Duck, Green Pygmy Goose, Garganey, White-browed Crake, Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Comb-crested Jacana, Oriental Pratincole, Masked Lapwing, Grey Plover, Pacific Golden Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Mongolian Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Whimbrel, Grey-tailed Tattler, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Bar-tailed Godwit, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Gull-billed Tern, Common Tern, Little Tern, Emerald Ground-Dove, Stephan’s Ground-Dove, Peaceful Dove, Dwarf Fruit-Dove, Orange-bellied Fruit-Dove, Purple-tailed Imperial-Pigeon, Torresian Imperial Pigeon, Papuan mountain Pigeon, Greater Streaked Lory, Black-capped Lory, Coconut Lorikeet, Red-flanked Lorikeet, Orange-breasted Fig-Parrot, Red-cheeked Parrot, Eclectus Parrot, Oriental Cuckoo, Pheasant Coucal, Uniform Swiftlet, Glossy Swiftlet, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Blue-winged Kookaburra, Collared Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher, Little Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Rainbow Bee-eater, Oriental Dollarbird, Pacific Swallow, White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike, Black Cuckoo-Shrike, Boyer’s Cuckoo-Shrike, Cicadbird, White-winged Triller, White-shouldered Fairy-Wren, Mangrove Gerygone, Northern Fantail, Rufous Fantail, Mangrove Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Friled Monarch, Leaden Flycatcher, Broad-billed Flycatcher, Shining Flycatcher, Mangrove Robin, Mangrove Golden Whistler (Nik only), Grey Whistler, White-bellied Whistler, Rusty Pitohui, Olive-backed Sunbird, Dusky Myzomela, Graceful Meliphaga, Tawny-breasted Honeyeater, Helmeted Friarbird, Rufous-banded Honeyeater, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Grey-headed Mannikin, Metallic Starling, Brown Oriole, Spangled Drongo, White-breasted Wood-Swallow, Black-backed Butcherbird, Yellow-faced Myna, Golden Myna, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Trumpet Manucode, Raggiana Bird of Paradise,Torresian Crow.

The Fairy Martin Hirundo ariel in Papua New Guinea. Three New Sight Records and a Brief Review

Three new sight records of Fairy Martin Hirundo ariel believed to be only the fourth, fifth and sixth for PNG are presented below, followed by a brief review of the Fairy Martin in Papua New Guinea.

On 26 September 1986 at Tabubil airstrip, Western Province, A and L.M. Murray observed a Fairy Martin with a low-flying group of Uniform Swiftlets Collocalia vanikorensis. Clear views were obtained or some 15 minutes of its snow white rump, dark wings and back, rust red head and nape and pale underparts. Its tail was dark and square. Its flight was more direct than the swiftlets and it glided frequently. This species has not previously been recorded from Tabubil. It is possible the exceptionally dry month prior to this sighting and/or the noticeable southwards migration, e.g. of Rainbow Bee-eaters Merops ornatus and Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrikes Coracina novaehollandiae were relevant factors.

Fairy Martin, Tari Airfield 29 Oct 1986

On 28 October 1986 at 15:00 while driving through Tari, Southern Highlands Province, R.Hicks noticed a small, white-rumped hirundine hawking low over an area of long grass in the company of several Pacific Swallows Hirundo tahitica. A brief glance showed that the rump was clean white and when the bird turned, its rufous cap could be seen, so erasing thoughts of a late Tree Martin Hirundo nigricans. The next day two individuals were observed from a distance of not more than 5m for about half-an-hour while they were perched on the Tari airfield perimeter fence. The birds could not be relocated on either 30 or 31 October.

Fairy Martins, Tari Airfield, 29 Oct 1986

The following field notes were made: The birds were noticeably smaller than the Pacific Swallows with which they were associated, but with a stockier, shorter-winged build, similar to that of Tree Martin, although none of this species were available for comparison. Plumage details: The rufous cap extended from forehead to nape and just below the eye. The mantle and back were black with some pale streaking where the rufous of the crown met with the black of the mantle, giving a zig-zag collar effect. Flight feathers and both upper and lower tail were dark grey. The rump was clean white. Chin, throat and ear coverts were very finely streaked pale brown on white. The ear coverts were also smudged with rufous. Just below this, on the upper breast were some faint brown smudges. The rest of the underparts were clean white.

On 8 November 1986 at 12:30, Mike and Helen Hopkins and R.Hicks observed a flock of c.70 Fairy Martins flying over the Bensbach River, c.10km south of Balamuk, Western Province.Shortly after the flock was seen perched on a derelict wire fence which allowed a more accurate estimate of c.100 birds to be made. Two Tree Martins were also present with the flock. These birds were much more jumpy than the Tari individuals and would not allow a close approach.

The Fairy Martin is a widespread species in Australia, although only a breeding season visitor to the south-east of that country (Pizzey 1980). It is a vagrant to PNG with only three records prior to the last quarter of 1986. The first of these records was of a single bird at Nomad River, Western Province on 10 May 1967 (Bell 1968). The second was of unspecified numbers at Weam, also Western Province in mid-1970 (Lindgren 1970) and only c.20km north of the Bensbach floodplain sighting this year. The third record was not until some 12 years later when a single individual was seen at Kanosia Lagoon, Central Province on 15 August 1982 (Finch 1982). All three records are of birds associating with Tree Martins which are common non-breeding season (March-October) visitors to PNG (Beehler et al 1986). It is probable that these three records refer to Fairy Martins that had become caught up in the Tree Martins northern migration. All records occurred in the southern winter.

The latest three records differ in that they all occurred in the southern spring, much later in the year than the previous records, at a time when the Fairy Martin should be well into their breeding season. The Tari and Tabubil records are considerably further north than Fairy Martins have previously been recorded, the individual at Tabubil being only 5^oS of the equator. The record from Tari is further unique in that there were no other Australian breeding species present. The Tari birds were associating with Pacific Swallows, a species that is not known to migrate and has not yet been admitted to the Australian list. This suggests there may have been a large influx of Fairy Martins into PNG in the southern autumn of 1986 and it will be interesting to see if any further records come to light following the publication of this note. 

Beehler, B.M., T.K.Pratt & D.A.Zimmerman (1986). Birds of New Guinea. Princeton University Press.

Bell, H. 1968. Fairy Martin – A new bird for New Guinea. Emu 68: 5.

Finch, B.W. 1982. Fairy Martin at Kanosia Lagoon – First Record for Central Province PNGBS Newsletter 193/4: 12

Lindgren, E. 1970. Observations. PNGBS Newsletter 59: 1.

Pizzey, G. 1980. A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Collins.

First published in Muruk 2(2): 64-65 co-authored with A. Murray and L.M. Murray

PNGBS Outing: 12 October 1986: Hiritano Highway

Leaving the NBC tree at about 05:45, we headed out along the Hiritano Highway again, on a misty morning. First stop was the King Bird Tree, just beyond the Brown River crossing, where the mist turned to fine drizzle. It did not make seeing the rain-forest birds any easier. We saw and identified Emperor Fairy-Wren and Frilled Monarch among the usual forest birds. Most intriguing sighting was a flock of 20 mannikins followed shortly after by another four. They made the typical manikin call and could, possibly, have been Streak-headed Mannikins. As we were getting ready to leave a male King Bird of Paradise flew across the road, a fleeting flash of red, giving just about everybody a brief glimpse.

We made a brief 20-minute stop at the oxbow, seeing a few species, of which Little Kingfisher was the pick.

Two weeks previously we had visited the Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise display tree at Lower Vanapa. While we were away bird-watching my car was broken into and various bit and pieces stolen, including my spare pair of binoculars. We reported it to the local village and they said come back in a couple of weeks and they would see what they could do. We made a brief unscheduled visit today and the villagers were as good as their word having retrieved most of the stolen items, including the binoculars and my tool kit.

On the road again, we continued along the Hiritano Highway reaching Kanosia Lagoon at about 10:30. En route we had recorded four species of raptor: Brahminy and Whistling Kites, Crested Hawks and Brown Goshawk. The lagoon held a flock of c.400 Green Pygmy Goose and a nice range of waders including Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover, Red-necked Stint and six Marsh Sandpipers. While some of us were scanning the lagoon for waders, others had found a recently fledged Maske lapwing chick, crouched in a hoof print. Among the birds on the lagoon were a flock of 34 Glossy Ibis while a single Cattle Egret, in breeding plumes was in nearby fields. While we had a picnic lunch an Australian Hobby passed through.

As time was getting on, plans to push on to Cape Suckling were abandoned and at about 13:00 we headed back to Moresby.

Species List:
Australasian Grebe, Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Australasian Darter, Great Egret, Pied Heron, Rufous Night Heron, Whistling Kite, Crested Hawk, Australian Hobby, Spotted Whistling Duck, Wandering Whistling Duck, Green Pygmy Goose, Pacific Black Duck, Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Bush-hen, Comb-crested Jacana, Masked Lapwing, Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Coroneted Fruit-Dove, Orange-bellied Fruit-Dove, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Collared Imperial Pigeon, Zoe Imperial Pigeon, Papuan Mountain Pigeon, Greater Streaked Lory, Dusky Lorikeet, Rainbow Lorikeet, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Red-cheeked Parrot, Eclectus Parrot, Common Koel, Pheasant Coucal, Large-tailed Nightjar, Uniform Swiftlet, Papuan Spine-tailed Swift, Common Paradise-Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Blue-winged Kookaburra, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Rainbow Bee-eater, Pacific Swallow, Tree Pipit, Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike, White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike, Varied Triller, Emperor Fairy-Wren, Yellow-bellied Gerygone, Green-backed Gerygone, Willie Wagtail, Black-faced Monarch, Frilled Monarch, Grey Shrike-Thrush, Rusty Pitohui, Black Sunbird, Silver-eared Honeyeater, Dusky Myzomela, Graceful Meliphaga, Tawny-breasted Honeyeater, Yellow-tinted Honeyeater, Brown Oriole, Yellow-faced Myna, Golden Myna, Singing Starling, Metallic Starling, White-breasted Wood-Swallow, Black-backed Butcherbird, Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Torresian Crown.

PNGBS Outing: 6 July 1986: Hiritano Highway

A red-letter day for PNG birders as we got our first look at the new field guide which Bruce Beehler personally presented to the PNGBS. We have had copies of the illustrations for the past year, so it will be nice to have the entire book. Fifteen members and friends including Derek and Joanna Scott as well as Bruce Beehler headed off for the Lower Vanapa and the Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise display tree. En route a pair of Large-tailed Nightjars were disturbed from the road. Within minutes of our arrival we were rewarded with views of two female Twelve-wired Birds of Paradise but sadly no sign of the male. A good morning’s birding followed with more than 50 species being recorded: the highlight was a single Collared Imperial Pigeon, rarely recorded from the Port Moresby area. Also seen were a pair of Pinon Imperial Pigeons, a pair of Golden Mynas, a glimpse of a Common Paradise Kingfisher and a singing male Emperor Fairy-Wren.

Next it was onto Kanosia Lagoon where we found the usual waterbirds plus an Australian Hobby. On the road from Kanosia to Aroa Service Station there was an ominous ticking from under the bonnet of my Suzuki Jeep which then expired. The timing chain had broken. I got a tow to the service station but none of the birders’ cars was thought to be up to the job of towing me back to Port Moresby. Silver-eared Honeyeaters, Pacific Swallows and Yellow-tinted Honeyeaters were seen around the services. The other birders headed onto Aroa Lagoon but with my car out of action there was not enough room for all the rest. Joanna Scott volunteered(?) to stay with me. Eventually, I managed to organise a tow behind a PMV (it cost me K60!) and Joanna and I endured a very dusty ride back to Moresby.

Species List:

Australasian Grebe, Little Black Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Australasian Darter, Great Egret, Pied Heron, Rufous Night Heron, Whistling Kite, Crested Hawk, Australian Hobby, Spotted Whistling Duck, Wandering Whistling Duck, Green Pygmy Goose, Pacific Black Duck, Dusky Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Bush-hen, Comb-crested Jacana, Masked Lapwing, Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Coroneted Fruit-Dove, Orange-bellied Fruit-Dove, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Collared Imperial Pigeon, Zoe Imperial Pigeon, Papuan Mountain Pigeon, Greater Streaked Lory, Dusky Lorikeet, Rainbow Lorikeet, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Red-cheeked Parrot, Eclectus Parrot, Common Koel, Pheasant Coucal, Large-tailed Nightjar, Uniform Swiftlet, Papuan Spine-tailed Swift, Common Paradise-Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Blue-winged Kookaburra, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Rainbow Bee-eater, Pacific Swallow, Tree Pipit, Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike, White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike, Varied Triller, Emperor Fairy-Wren, Yellow-bellied Gerygone, Green-backed Gerygone, Willie Wagtail, Black-faced Monarch, Frilled Monarch, Grey Shrike-Thrush, Rusty Pitohui, Black Sunbird, Silver-eared Honeyeater, Dusky Myzomela, Graceful Meliphaga, Tawny-breasted Honeyeater, Yellow-tinted Honeyeater, Brown Oriole, Yellow-faced Myna, Golden Myna, Singing Starling, Metallic Starling, White-breasted Wood-Swallow, Black-backed Butcherbird, Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Torresian Crown.

Female House Sparrow Passer domesticus on Paga Hill, Port Moresby

On 10 June 1986 at 07:00 I was bird-watching on Paga Hill before going into work when I heard a familiar call, but was unable to identify the species. The source of the call was tracked down to a rubbish collection area. The bird was feeding amongst the rubbish but when disturbed flew up onto some nearby telephone wires where it was identified as a female House Sparrow Passer domesticus. I watched it for about two minutes before it flew into some trees and could not be relocated. I saw the sparrow once more, and again only briefly, on 12 June, when it was perched on some more overhead wires in the company of two White-breasted Wood-swallows Artamus leucorhynchus. Unfortunately no other bird-watchers managed to see the sparrow. I am familiar with this species and its congener, the Tree Sparrow P. montanus in Europe. The following description is taken from the notes I made shortly after each observation.

It was two thirds the size of a White-breasted Wood-Swallow, the only species present with which to compare it, and of a similar chunky build. It had a heavy, pale seed-eaters bill. The underparts, from chin to vent, were a uniform brown-grey. The upperparts were a darker brown and heavily streaked with black on the mantle. Pale edgings to the wing coverts resulted in one obvious wing-bar and one less obvious. The most notable plumage feature was a broad pale supercilium which started behind the eye and went towards the back of the head.

The habitat on Paga Hill is mixed savanna (i.e. grassland with some trees and shrubs) with some houses and associated garden plants. This female House Sparrow first appeared after a month of continuous south-easterly winds. Assuming it was a true vagrant it would probably have originated in Australia where the nearest House Sparrows are at Cooktown, north Queensland (Pizzey 1980), some 700km SSW of Port Moresby. However the situation of Paga Hill less than 1km from Port Moresby's harbour, is probably more important than the habitat in which the sparrow was seen or the prevailing weather conditions prior to its arrival. As with the first record of this species in PNG, a party of four at Kila Kila (Ashford 1978), it is probably that this female arrived aboard ship.

Ashford, R.W. 1978. First record of House Sparrow for Papua New Guinea. Emu 78: 36
Pizzey, G. 1980. A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Collins. Sydney.

(Originally published in Muruk 1(3):91)

PNGBS Outing: 20 April 1986: Beyond The Reef

For the April Bird Club outing we were once again venturing out to sea, hoping to get about 20 km offshore, beyond the reef, to get to grip with some of the seabirds otherwise only rarely recorded. Fifteen bird club members gathered before dawn at the yacht club. Coffee and biscuits were served as we motored through the sheltered waters inside the barrier reef but few birds were seen in the pre-dawn half-light. Several Brown Boobies were gathered around the Basilisk Passage marker, but little else of note.

Once outside the reef, the heavy swell generated by the recent storms raised hopes of some interesting seabirds even if we were forced to hang on in the bumpy conditions. Brown Noddies were seen in increasing numbers and an occasional Lesser Frigatebird cruised over. About two miles beyond the reef the first Streaked Shearwaters were planning the waves and remained with us for most of the day, often flying close to the boat giving us excellent views.  Shortly after the first Streaked Shearwater appeared, Ian Burrows noticed an all dark Wedge-tailed Sheawater off the front of the boat. While I was trying to get on to this bird, the boat hit a rough patch and my binocular strap broke; I was lucky they did not disappear over the side.

A few minutes later a different shearwater or petrel put in an appearance. It passed close by the boat allowing us good views. It seemed to be smaller and slighter than the Wedge-tailed Shearwater; head, face and upper breast were dark; remainder of the upperparts were uniform dark greyish-brown; underparts were white; centre of the wings was also white contrasting strongly with the dark leading and trailing edges to the wing. We felt sure we could identify such a distinctive bird but nothing in the available guide resembled our bird.

More Brown Noddies appeared and also one or two Brown Boobies. Just before we turned to head back an all dark, small skua flew past. Its light build and streamlined shape identified it as a dark phase adult Arctic Skua. Shortly after a burly, pale phase Pomarine Skua, with twisted central tail feathers, zoomed past helping to confirm the earlier identification of the Arctic Skua.

The return trip was much more comfortable and we caught up with the unidentified petrel again, allowing us to confirm its field characters. Also seen was a school of dolphins, a shark and several flying fish. As we approached Basilisk Passage through the reef we noticed a large, mixed flock of birds on and around the reef marker. The skipper throttled back and allowed us to drift closer. The Brown Boobies were still there but now accompanied by a variety of terns: c.20 Crested Terns, a few Common Terns, c.15 Brown Noddies, 1 Black Noddy, 4 brilliant white Black-naped Terns and 4 very rosy Roseate Terns. Once inside the reef, any feelings of sea-sickness dissipated and we were treated to an on-board breakfast while anchored off Local Island.

Subsequent correspondence with John Mckean in Australia identified our mystery shearwater as a Tahiti Petrel: “‘your unidentified shearwater/petrel is clearly a Pterodroma on flight behaviour. Plumage wise it is identical to the Tahiti Petrels P.rostrata that we see off SE and NE Queensland. It has been seen before off PNG. Birds off Queensland have a well marked underwing stripe and may originate from New Caledonia. Field guides do not show or indicate this feature”.

Species List:

Streaked Shearwater, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Tahiti Petrel, Lesser Frigatebird, Brown Booby, Eastern Reef Egret, Arctic Skua, Pomarine Skua, White-winged Black Tern, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Black-naped Tern, Bridled Tern, Little Tern, Crested Tern, Brown (Common) Noddy, Black (White-capped) Noddy  

PNGBS Outing: 9 March 1986: Varirata National Park

Six cars met at the NBC tree at 05:15. We were hoping for a sighting of Halley’s Comet, but were disappointed by cloud cover on the horizon. Once in the park, we walked the ciruit trail to the Raggiana Bird of Paradise display tree (it even has its own sign!). Three males treated us to a fantastic display, strutting their stuff for about 45 minutes as the sun came up. When the Raggiana’s ran out of steam, we continued round the circuit trail, but birds were few and far between. We heard Wompoo Fruit-Dove and other unidentified species. At the picnic site we split up, the drivers, including me, going to retrieve their cars from the gate while the others walked the lookout trail. We returned to the picnic site and got the barbecue going, seeing White-shouldered Fairy-Wren, White-throated Honeyeater, Leaden Flycatcher and Spangled Drongo.

Species List:

Wompoo Fruit-Dove, White-shouldered Fairy-Wren, Yellow-eyed Cuckoo-Shrike, Leadedn Flycatcher, White-thorated Honeyeater, Spangled Drongo, Raggiana Bird of Paradise  

Blue Rock Thrush on Paga Hill, Port Moresby. First record for the Australian Region east o f the Moluccas

At 18:00 on 7 January 1986 while watching a party of c.30 Red-rumped Swallows Hirundo daurica feeding over the eucalypt savanna on the eastern slopes of Paga Hill in port Moresby, RKH noticed a bird fly across an open space and perch on a building under construction below use. He thought it might be a Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius and pointed it out to BWF who confirmed the identification.

The bird was observed without binoculars for about five minutes in fading light and the following notes were made. It was considerably larger than a  Pied Chat Saxicola caprata available for direct comparison and held itself in a typical thrush-like stance. Upon landing it flicked its tail slowly downwards, a movement often repeated while perched. Plumage details were difficult to determine in the fading light, but it was thought to be uniform blue-grey with darker primaries, a dark bill na dark legs. It eventually flew into the half completed building and was lost from sight.

We returned to the area at 06:00 the following morning, armed with binoculars. BWF spotted the bird almost immediately and we watched it for nearly an hour in good light. The dull image of the previous evening had changed overnight into a resplendent adult male of the chestnut bellied race M.s.philippensis. It was seen daily up to 19 January 1986 and appeared to range widely, although it was often found around the houses in the early morning and late afternoon. It was subsequently seen by 13 other observers.

The following description is taken from notes made at the time. The bird was shaped like a thrush, with a moderately long tail, often held pointing downwards and flicked agitatedly. Head to chest and entire upperparts were blue-grey, primaries and central retrices were darker. The wing coverts had small dark centres and whitish crescent shaped tips. The feathers across the back, bordering the wings and across the upper breast similarly had whitish crescent shaped tips. The underparts from chest to vent were a uniform, deep chestnut-orange, sharply contrasting with the blue-grey of the chest. The feathering at the base of the legs was blue. The bill was slender and quite long for a thrush and uniform blackish. The legs were also uniformly dark. The iris was large, prominent and dark.

 

There are ten species of rock thrush Monticola, five of which are confined to Africa (Howard & Moore 1984) and are not considered further here. The remaining five species are distributed across Eurasia. One reaches no further east than north India. Four species can be found in south-east Asia (King et al 1984) and all are at least partially migratory. The chestnut-bellied race of Blue Rock Thrush M.s.philippensis winters further south and east than any other species, reaching the Philippines and Indonesia. The Blue Rock Thrush is the only one of these four to have a blue breast and, in non-breeding plumage, to have scaly markings across the mantle and on the breast (King et al 1984, Viney & Phillips 1983). Both these features were noted on the bird at Paga Hill. This is the first record of this species in Papua New Guinea and in the Australia region (east of the Moluccas).

Howard, R. & A.Moore. 1984. A complete checklist of the birds of the world. Papermac.

King, B., M.Woodcock, E.C.Dickinson. 1984. A field guide to the  birds of south-east Asia. Collins.

Viney, C. & K.Phillips. 1983. New Colour Guide to Hong Kong Birds. J.R.Lee.

First published in Muruk 2(2): 64-65 co-authored with B.W.Finch

A Week in West New Britain 9 – 16 January 1986

For our week in West New Britain we were based at the Hoskins Hotel, close to Hoskins airfield at the eastern end of the sealed road which round Kimbe Bay to just beyond Kimbe in the west. Along much of this road the land has been given over to plantation crops, mostly oil palm. Birds were relatively few among the palms although we did see Eastern Black-capped Lory, White-necked Coucal and Slaty-backed Goshawk. Around the villages Olive-backed and Black Sunbirds were common, Black Myzomela, New Britain Black Mannikin, Metallic Starling, New Britain Friarbird and Moustached Tree-Swift were also seen. A flock of seven Little Curlew which were feeding among the houses at Dami Reasearch Station, should have been sseing out the northern winter in Australia. A roosting flight of Blyth’s Hornbills heading west over Dami was seenmost evenings, with 79 being the most recorded. Inland and beyond the end of the sealed road the rain forest eventually gave way to rain forest and it was here we spent most of our bird-watching time. On our first day we went east along the coast road towards Lavege where we found a guide to take us to the hot springs. On the half hour walk we saw Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeon, Eclectus Parrot and Spangled Drongo. Near the hot springs we saw the nest holes dug by megapodes, using the ground warmed by geothermal activity to incubate their eggs, but sadly there was no sign of the birds. On subsequent days we went inland, first along the road to Bargua where we saw Pacific Baza, White-rumped Swiftlet and the New Britain subspecies of Dwarf Kingfisher which has a red bill. Next we explored the highway that will eventually link west to east New Britain. The best bird-watching was along the shores of Lake Lalili, made accessible by logging tracks. Here we saw Common Kingfisher, Comb-crested Jacana, Pied Cuckoo-Dove, Blue-eyed Cockatoo and Black Bittern. The highlight of the week was our first experience of snorkelling on a coral reef. We were taken to Ema Reef, 10 miles out in Kimbe Bay. The underwater scenery and colours were out of this world and fish-watching could be as pleasurable as bird-watching. En route to and from the reef we saw Common, Swift (Crested) and Little Terns, Lesser Frigatebird and Brown Boobies.

Our thanks to Max Benjamin of Walindi for the snorkelling and special thanks to Bob Prior for his time and hospitality.

Species List:
Lesser Frigatebird, Little Pied Cormorant, Brown Booby, Black Bittern, Pacific Baza, Slaty-backed Goshawk, Brahminy Kite, Spotted Whistling Duck, Pale-vented Bush-hen, Comb-crested Jacana, Pacific Golden Plover, Little Curlew, Common Sandpiper, Swinhoe’s Snipe, Common Tern, Swift (Crested) Tern, Brown Noddy, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Pied Cuckoo-Dove, Red-knobbed Fruit-Dove, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Eastern Black-capped Lory, Coconut Lorikeet, Red-flanked Lorikeet, Blue-eyed Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, White-necked Coucal, Moustached Tree-Swift, Uniform Swiftlet, White-rumped Swiftlet, Dwarf Kingfisher, Common Kingfisher, Blyth’s Hornbill, Pacific Swallow, White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike, Varied Triller, Northern Fantail, Willie Wagtail, Shining Flycatcher, Olive-backed Sunbird, Black Sunbird, Papuan Black Myzomela, New Britain Friarbird, Metallic Starling, Spangled Drongo, New Britain Black Mannikin, Yellow-faced Myna, Torresian Crow.

First Published in PNGBS Newsletter 219: 4 – 6, co-authored with Jenny H. Bott