Roger and Jenny Hicks lived in Papua New Guinea for six years between 1985 and 1991. Their sons, Andrew and Matthew were both born in Port Moresby. They left PNG when the boys were still young but had always promised to return so Andrew and Matthew would have their own memories of the land of their birth.
Built overlooking the Tari Basin, Ambua Lodge in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea is one of the best places in the world to see birds of paradise. Thirteen species have been recorded between the township of Tari, at 1600 m, where much of the land is under cultivation and Tari Gap, at 2700 m, where the moss forest gives way to mid-montane grassland. Ambua Lodge, at 2100 m, lies at the limit of cultivation and the edge of the moss forest. Many of the species recorded in this altitude range are New Guinea endemics, including such sought after birds as Chestnut Forest Rail, Crested Berrypecker and Plum-faced Lorikeet, making Ambua Lodge one of the premier birding destinations in PNG, if not the world.
Ambua consists of a large, comfortable lodge where all main meals are taken, with forty individual bush material huts spaced down the hill so that each hut has a panoramic view of the Tari Basin below. Although rustic on the outside, the huts are all mod-cons inside, even down to the electric blankets for those chilly nights. The electricity is supplied by the lodge’s own hydro-electric plant.
My family and I stayed at Ambua Lodge from 7 - 11 September 1998. As we arrived at the lodge a female Stephanie’s Astrapia, our first bird of paradise, flew over the car park to a fruiting umbrella tree Schefflera sp. This tree attracted several other species, including a pair of Tit Berrypeckers, the male superficially resembling the Great Tit of Eurasia but with yellow cheeks and a male Loria’s Bird of Paradise, about the same size as a Common Starling, but with velvety black plumage and a contrasting lime green gape.
Situated at the forest edge, the grounds of the lodge are a good place to start birding. It is often easier to see the birds here than inside the forest. Great Wood-Swallows, large cousins of the White-breasted Wood-Swallows, and Sacred Kingfishers used the hut rooves as vantage points from which to hunt while a male Pied Chat used the same perch as a song-post. However, the most obvious bird in the lodge grounds was a melidectes, a large friarbird-sized honeyeater, which woke us with its loud raucous calls each morning. Why do the loudest birds always wake first? The birds here exhibit characteristics of both Belford’s and Yellow-browed Melidectes making it difficult to know which one to tick.
The Wata River, which powers the lodge’s hydro-electric plant, flows through a deep forested valley immediately behind the lodge. Superb Birds of Paradise inhabit this forest and a male was heard calling and seen in the trees just below the lodge’s heliport on most mornings. The Superb Bird of Paradise is another medium sized velvety black bird of paradise, sporting a blue, wedge-shaped breast-shield that extends either side of the body. From the lodge a circular trail descends into the valley to vantage points overlooking spectacular waterfalls before continuing down to the river. Black and white Torrent Larks, close relatives of the Magpie Lark so familiar in Australia, were seen along the river. Their high-pitched calls which carry above the sound of rushing water drew our attention. Another inhabitant of swift flowing mountain streams is the endemic Salvadori’s Teal. It has been recorded along the Wata River, but unfortunately not by us on this trip. A traditional rope bridge spans the river and the trail climbs steeply out of the valley before following the valley edge upstream. Away from the noise generated by the river it was easier to hear and find forest birds. A Short-tailed Paradigalla, another medium sized, black bird of paradise distinguished by its yellow and blue facial wattles, foraged in the forest canopy by apparently probing in rotten wood with its relatively long bill.
The Highlands Highway, winding past Ambua en route to Mendi (and eventually via Mount Hagen to the sea at Lae, on New Guinea’s north coast) gives easy access to the moss forest above the lodge and to the alpine grassland of Tari Gap. Traffic on the highway is very light with only the occasional PMV (Public Motorised Vehicle) and 4WD to disturb the birds and bird-watchers. Near the lodge we saw a female Lawes’ Parotia (another bird of paradise) while further up the road we watched a Rufous-backed Honeyeater building its nest of moss in the top of a small tree. Numerous parrots and lorikeets flew over but only the sleigh bell-like calls of flocks of Blue-collared Parrots were identified. They are closely related to the Red-cheeked Parrot. After only four days back in PNG, I was still struggling to put a name to the majority of calls. Many of PNG's forest birds, and especially the birds of paradise, have much noisier wing beats than birds in Australia and Europe. A rustle of feathers caused us to look up just in time to see a male Stephanie's Astrapia flying across the road trailing his two long, broad, purple-black tail feathers behind him. As the morning sunlight caught his breast feathers they almost glowed, changing colour from a dark blue-green to an iridescent turquoise. Unfortunately, this wonderful view was all too brief.
Benson's Trail, named after the local land owner, is a 1 km track cut into the epiphyte-draped moss forest at about 2200 m. Among the birding tour groups visiting Ambua, it has gained a reputation as a prime area for seeing many of the areas specialities. We spent a morning along the trail and having been given permission to catch and band* birds set four mist nets in the forest under-storey. While wondering what we might catch, we bird watched along the trail, hearing the loud staccato machine-gun like calls of the Brown Sicklebill and the even stranger radio-static calls of a King of Saxony Bird of Paradise. By following the calls, a male King of Saxony Bird of Paradise, complete with head plumes longer than his body, was located in the forest canopy. Also in the canopy a party of Black Sittellas, all dark except for a reddish face and tail, foraged along the moss covered branches while a pair of Friendly Fantails attended a nest in the under storey. The first round of the nets produced a Common Smoky Honeyeater, blackish in colour that blushed when handled, turning its normally yellow facial wattle a bright red. Subsequently we caught Rufous-backed Honeyeater, Olive Straightbill (another honeyeater), Orange-crowned Fairy-Wren and a pair of Black-breasted Boatbills. However, the prize catch of the day was a male King of Saxony Bird of Paradise, complete with its weird and wonderful head plumes. The two plumes, about 40 cm long, each consist of a single feather starting from just behind the eye. The barbs on the feather are specially modified to form small platelets, about the size of a fingernail and with a rubbery feel. Whilst this bird was in the hand it kept up a constant barrage of calls which attracted a male Brown Sicklebill, one of the largest birds of paradise, to within a couple of metres of where we were sitting. Shortly after this, it began to rain heavily so ending our banding activities for the day.
Tari Basin, below Ambua Lodge, is home to the Huli people who were unknown to the outside, western, world before 1935 when Jack Hides, a patrol officer in the Papuan Service, led an exploratory patrol into their territory. The Huli are farmers, growing sweet potatoes and taro in gardens near their scattered settlements. They are, perhaps, best known for the wigs of human hair worn by the men and decorated with yellow and red flowers, cuscus (a type of possum) fur and bird of paradise plumes. These wigs, which can take up to two years to grow, are usually made from the wearer’s own hair. When young and single, Huli men attend special wig schools where their hair is sprinkled with special spring water to encourage its growth. As it grows it is stretched and shaped using a bamboo cane. When the head of hair has reached the desired size and shape, whether for a day-to-day mushroom-shaped wig or a special crescent-shaped ceremonial wig, it is painstakingly cut from the head using a ceremonial knife.
On an excursion to a Huli village we were shown around the wig school and later met some Huli warriors dressed up for a sing-sing. As well as the wigs, elaborately decorated with flowers, fur and feathers, the wigmen also paint their faces in intricate designs. In days gone by the colours would have been obtained from the surrounding bush, yellow from clay, black from charcoal and red from various fruits, but now they use poster paints. It was fascinating watching the Huli prepare for their dance, taking as much care over their make-up as Hollywood superstars.
Feathers, particularly bird of paradise plumes, are an important part of the wig decoration. During our visit to the Huli we identified feathers from the following species adorning their wigs:- the triangular, metallic, turquoise-blue frontal shield and black breast feathers of the Superb Bird of Paradise formed a centre piece over the forehead; the primary feathers of New Guinea Harpy Eagle or Long-tailed Buzzard were stuck in the edge of some wigs while others sported the whole wings of either Barn Owl or Grass Owl; the wings and tails of various lorikeets and occasionally whole birds, stuck in beak first, adorned some wigs; longer feathers, such as Ribbontail Astrapia and Black Sicklebill tail feathers or King of Saxony Bird of Paradise head plumes and a spray of Raggiana (red), Lesser Bird of Paradise (yellow) or Cassowary (brown) feathers topped off the wig. From the six wigs on display we identified the feathers of over 20 species of birds, including those of eight birds of paradise.
The Huli we visited lived in the Tani Valley, at about 1600m and some 15 km west of Tari. At this altitude cultivation is possible and much of the ground is given over to gardens with the occasional copse of casuarina trees. In this habitat the birds were different from those recorded around the lodge. Long-tailed Shrikes stood sentinel on roadside bushes and Western Mountain White-Eyes, here at the eastern edge of their range, foraged and fed fledged young in garden edge trees. Most interesting though was a flock of Hooded Mannikins. This species normally has a white breast, but the birds in the Tani Valley had cinnamon underparts and probably represent an undescribed sub-species.
Our stay at Ambua ended with an early morning foray up to the Tari Gap where we walked along the Highland Highway as the sun climbed over the surrounding mountains lending a golden hue to the montane grassland. The light really was magical. Island Thrushes, close relatives and very similar to the Common Blackbird, fed on the roadside and Red-collared Myzomelas, small honeyeaters, the males resplendent in scarlet and black, fed in the stunted forest trees. As we descended from the gap a male Ribbontail Astrapia with his 1 m long, black tipped white tail undulating behind him flew across the road. Our eighth bird of paradise and a fitting way to end our stay at Ambua Lodge.
*We were licensed to import mist-nets into and to band birds in PNG by the PNG Department of Environment and Conservation. The bands were supplied by the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme with whom we are also licensed.
We would like to thank Neil DaCosta, manager at Ambua, who did much to make our stay so enjoyable; Maria and Mark who made a lasting impression on Andrew and Matthew; Jake who rescued us from the tropical downpour and finally Padja, our field assistant who stayed with us even when the rain poured. Thank you all for making our stay at Ambua so memorable.
Getting There: Accommodation at Ambua Lodge can be booked through Trans Niugini Tours, P.O. Box 371, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea; Tel: +675 521438; Fax: +675 52 2470; Email: travel@pngtours.com. Air Niugini flies daily between Port Moresby and Tari.
List
Between 7 - 11 September 1998, I recorded 57 species while staying at Ambua Lodge. Included in this list are all the birds of paradise which have been recorded between Tari township and Tari Gap. Those I did not see on this trip are marked with an ‘X’.
Great Egret Egretta alba
Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides
Brown Quail Coturnix australis
Common Sandpiper Tringa hypoleucos
Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia nigrirostris
Papuan Mountain Pigeon Gymnophaps albertisii
Dusky Lory Pseudeos fuscata
Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus
Goldie's Lorikeet Trichoglossus goldiei
Papuan Lorikeet Charmosyna papou
Yellow-billed Lorikeet Neopsittacus musschenbroekii
Blue-collared Parrot Geoffroyus simplex
Mountain Swiftlet Collocalia hirundinacea
Sacred Kingfisher Halcyon sancta
Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica
Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach
Pied Chat Saxicola caprata
Island Thrush Turdus poliocephalus
Island Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus trivirgatus
White-shouldered Fairy-Wren Malurus alboscapulatus
Orange-crowned Fairy-Wren Clytomyias insignis
Buff-faced Scrub-Wren Sericornis perspicillatus
Dimorphic Fantail Rhipidura brachyrhyncha
Friendly Fantail Rhipidura albolimbata
Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
Black Monarch Monarcha axillaris
Black-breasted Boatbill Machaerirhynchus nigripectus
Canary Flycatcher Microeca papuana
Blue-Grey Robin Peneothello cyanus
Sclater's Whistler Pachycephala soror
Regent Whistler Pachycephala schlegelii
Brown-backed Whistler Pachycephala modesta
Little Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla megarhyncha
Grey Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla harmonica
Black Sittella Daphoenositta miranda
Tit Berrypecker Oreocharis arfaki
Western Mountain White-eye Zosterops fuscicapillus
Red-collared Myzomela Myzomela rosenbergii
Rufous-backed Honeyeater Ptiloprora guisei
Grey-streaked Honeyeater Ptiloprora perstriata
Belford's Melidectes Melidectes belfordi
Yellow-browed Melidectes Melidectes rufocrissalis
Common Smoky Honeyeater Melipotes fumigatus
Hooded Mannikin Lonchura spectabilis
Torrent-Lark Grallina bruijni
Great Wood-Swallow Artamus maximus
Mountain Peltops Peltops montanus
X Crested Bird of Paradise Cnemophilus macgregorii
Loria's Bird of Paradise Cnemophilus loriae
Short-tailed Paradigalla Paradigalla brevicauda
X Buff-tailed Sicklebill Epimachus albertisi
X Black Sicklebill Epimachus fastuosus
Brown Sicklebill Epimachus meyeri
Ribbon-tailed Astrapia Astrapia mayeri
Stephanie's Astrapia Astrapia stephaniae
Superb Bird of Paradise Lophorina superba
Lawes' Parotia Parotia lawesii
King of Saxony Bird of Paradise Pteridophora alberti
X Raggiana Bird of Paradise Paradisaea raggiana
X Blue Bird of Paradise Paradisaea rudolphi
Built overlooking the Tari Basin, Ambua Lodge in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea is one of the best places in the world to see birds of paradise. Thirteen species have been recorded between the township of Tari, at 1600 m, where much of the land is under cultivation and Tari Gap, at 2700 m, where the moss forest gives way to mid-montane grassland. Ambua Lodge, at 2100 m, lies at the limit of cultivation and the edge of the moss forest. Many of the species recorded in this altitude range are New Guinea endemics, including such sought after birds as Chestnut Forest Rail, Crested Berrypecker and Plum-faced Lorikeet, making Ambua Lodge one of the premier birding destinations in PNG, if not the world.
Ambua consists of a large, comfortable lodge where all main meals are taken, with forty individual bush material huts spaced down the hill so that each hut has a panoramic view of the Tari Basin below. Although rustic on the outside, the huts are all mod-cons inside, even down to the electric blankets for those chilly nights. The electricity is supplied by the lodge’s own hydro-electric plant.
My family and I stayed at Ambua Lodge from 7 - 11 September 1998. As we arrived at the lodge a female Stephanie’s Astrapia, our first bird of paradise, flew over the car park to a fruiting umbrella tree Schefflera sp. This tree attracted several other species, including a pair of Tit Berrypeckers, the male superficially resembling the Great Tit of Eurasia but with yellow cheeks and a male Loria’s Bird of Paradise, about the same size as a Common Starling, but with velvety black plumage and a contrasting lime green gape.
Situated at the forest edge, the grounds of the lodge are a good place to start birding. It is often easier to see the birds here than inside the forest. Great Wood-Swallows, large cousins of the White-breasted Wood-Swallows, and Sacred Kingfishers used the hut rooves as vantage points from which to hunt while a male Pied Chat used the same perch as a song-post. However, the most obvious bird in the lodge grounds was a melidectes, a large friarbird-sized honeyeater, which woke us with its loud raucous calls each morning. Why do the loudest birds always wake first? The birds here exhibit characteristics of both Belford’s and Yellow-browed Melidectes making it difficult to know which one to tick.
The Wata River, which powers the lodge’s hydro-electric plant, flows through a deep forested valley immediately behind the lodge. Superb Birds of Paradise inhabit this forest and a male was heard calling and seen in the trees just below the lodge’s heliport on most mornings. The Superb Bird of Paradise is another medium sized velvety black bird of paradise, sporting a blue, wedge-shaped breast-shield that extends either side of the body. From the lodge a circular trail descends into the valley to vantage points overlooking spectacular waterfalls before continuing down to the river. Black and white Torrent Larks, close relatives of the Magpie Lark so familiar in Australia, were seen along the river. Their high-pitched calls which carry above the sound of rushing water drew our attention. Another inhabitant of swift flowing mountain streams is the endemic Salvadori’s Teal. It has been recorded along the Wata River, but unfortunately not by us on this trip. A traditional rope bridge spans the river and the trail climbs steeply out of the valley before following the valley edge upstream. Away from the noise generated by the river it was easier to hear and find forest birds. A Short-tailed Paradigalla, another medium sized, black bird of paradise distinguished by its yellow and blue facial wattles, foraged in the forest canopy by apparently probing in rotten wood with its relatively long bill.
The Highlands Highway, winding past Ambua en route to Mendi (and eventually via Mount Hagen to the sea at Lae, on New Guinea’s north coast) gives easy access to the moss forest above the lodge and to the alpine grassland of Tari Gap. Traffic on the highway is very light with only the occasional PMV (Public Motorised Vehicle) and 4WD to disturb the birds and bird-watchers. Near the lodge we saw a female Lawes’ Parotia (another bird of paradise) while further up the road we watched a Rufous-backed Honeyeater building its nest of moss in the top of a small tree. Numerous parrots and lorikeets flew over but only the sleigh bell-like calls of flocks of Blue-collared Parrots were identified. They are closely related to the Red-cheeked Parrot. After only four days back in PNG, I was still struggling to put a name to the majority of calls. Many of PNG's forest birds, and especially the birds of paradise, have much noisier wing beats than birds in Australia and Europe. A rustle of feathers caused us to look up just in time to see a male Stephanie's Astrapia flying across the road trailing his two long, broad, purple-black tail feathers behind him. As the morning sunlight caught his breast feathers they almost glowed, changing colour from a dark blue-green to an iridescent turquoise. Unfortunately, this wonderful view was all too brief.
Benson's Trail, named after the local land owner, is a 1 km track cut into the epiphyte-draped moss forest at about 2200 m. Among the birding tour groups visiting Ambua, it has gained a reputation as a prime area for seeing many of the areas specialities. We spent a morning along the trail and having been given permission to catch and band* birds set four mist nets in the forest under-storey. While wondering what we might catch, we bird watched along the trail, hearing the loud staccato machine-gun like calls of the Brown Sicklebill and the even stranger radio-static calls of a King of Saxony Bird of Paradise. By following the calls, a male King of Saxony Bird of Paradise, complete with head plumes longer than his body, was located in the forest canopy. Also in the canopy a party of Black Sittellas, all dark except for a reddish face and tail, foraged along the moss covered branches while a pair of Friendly Fantails attended a nest in the under storey. The first round of the nets produced a Common Smoky Honeyeater, blackish in colour that blushed when handled, turning its normally yellow facial wattle a bright red. Subsequently we caught Rufous-backed Honeyeater, Olive Straightbill (another honeyeater), Orange-crowned Fairy-Wren and a pair of Black-breasted Boatbills. However, the prize catch of the day was a male King of Saxony Bird of Paradise, complete with its weird and wonderful head plumes. The two plumes, about 40 cm long, each consist of a single feather starting from just behind the eye. The barbs on the feather are specially modified to form small platelets, about the size of a fingernail and with a rubbery feel. Whilst this bird was in the hand it kept up a constant barrage of calls which attracted a male Brown Sicklebill, one of the largest birds of paradise, to within a couple of metres of where we were sitting. Shortly after this, it began to rain heavily so ending our banding activities for the day.
Tari Basin, below Ambua Lodge, is home to the Huli people who were unknown to the outside, western, world before 1935 when Jack Hides, a patrol officer in the Papuan Service, led an exploratory patrol into their territory. The Huli are farmers, growing sweet potatoes and taro in gardens near their scattered settlements. They are, perhaps, best known for the wigs of human hair worn by the men and decorated with yellow and red flowers, cuscus (a type of possum) fur and bird of paradise plumes. These wigs, which can take up to two years to grow, are usually made from the wearer’s own hair. When young and single, Huli men attend special wig schools where their hair is sprinkled with special spring water to encourage its growth. As it grows it is stretched and shaped using a bamboo cane. When the head of hair has reached the desired size and shape, whether for a day-to-day mushroom-shaped wig or a special crescent-shaped ceremonial wig, it is painstakingly cut from the head using a ceremonial knife.
On an excursion to a Huli village we were shown around the wig school and later met some Huli warriors dressed up for a sing-sing. As well as the wigs, elaborately decorated with flowers, fur and feathers, the wigmen also paint their faces in intricate designs. In days gone by the colours would have been obtained from the surrounding bush, yellow from clay, black from charcoal and red from various fruits, but now they use poster paints. It was fascinating watching the Huli prepare for their dance, taking as much care over their make-up as Hollywood superstars.
Feathers, particularly bird of paradise plumes, are an important part of the wig decoration. During our visit to the Huli we identified feathers from the following species adorning their wigs:- the triangular, metallic, turquoise-blue frontal shield and black breast feathers of the Superb Bird of Paradise formed a centre piece over the forehead; the primary feathers of New Guinea Harpy Eagle or Long-tailed Buzzard were stuck in the edge of some wigs while others sported the whole wings of either Barn Owl or Grass Owl; the wings and tails of various lorikeets and occasionally whole birds, stuck in beak first, adorned some wigs; longer feathers, such as Ribbontail Astrapia and Black Sicklebill tail feathers or King of Saxony Bird of Paradise head plumes and a spray of Raggiana (red), Lesser Bird of Paradise (yellow) or Cassowary (brown) feathers topped off the wig. From the six wigs on display we identified the feathers of over 20 species of birds, including those of eight birds of paradise.
The Huli we visited lived in the Tani Valley, at about 1600m and some 15 km west of Tari. At this altitude cultivation is possible and much of the ground is given over to gardens with the occasional copse of casuarina trees. In this habitat the birds were different from those recorded around the lodge. Long-tailed Shrikes stood sentinel on roadside bushes and Western Mountain White-Eyes, here at the eastern edge of their range, foraged and fed fledged young in garden edge trees. Most interesting though was a flock of Hooded Mannikins. This species normally has a white breast, but the birds in the Tani Valley had cinnamon underparts and probably represent an undescribed sub-species.
Our stay at Ambua ended with an early morning foray up to the Tari Gap where we walked along the Highland Highway as the sun climbed over the surrounding mountains lending a golden hue to the montane grassland. The light really was magical. Island Thrushes, close relatives and very similar to the Common Blackbird, fed on the roadside and Red-collared Myzomelas, small honeyeaters, the males resplendent in scarlet and black, fed in the stunted forest trees. As we descended from the gap a male Ribbontail Astrapia with his 1 m long, black tipped white tail undulating behind him flew across the road. Our eighth bird of paradise and a fitting way to end our stay at Ambua Lodge.
*We were licensed to import mist-nets into and to band birds in PNG by the PNG Department of Environment and Conservation. The bands were supplied by the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme with whom we are also licensed.
We would like to thank Neil DaCosta, manager at Ambua, who did much to make our stay so enjoyable; Maria and Mark who made a lasting impression on Andrew and Matthew; Jake who rescued us from the tropical downpour and finally Padja, our field assistant who stayed with us even when the rain poured. Thank you all for making our stay at Ambua so memorable.
Getting There: Accommodation at Ambua Lodge can be booked through Trans Niugini Tours, P.O. Box 371, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea; Tel: +675 521438; Fax: +675 52 2470; Email: travel@pngtours.com. Air Niugini flies daily between Port Moresby and Tari.
List
Between 7 - 11 September 1998, I recorded 57 species while staying at Ambua Lodge. Included in this list are all the birds of paradise which have been recorded between Tari township and Tari Gap. Those I did not see on this trip are marked with an ‘X’.
Great Egret Egretta alba
Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides
Brown Quail Coturnix australis
Common Sandpiper Tringa hypoleucos
Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia nigrirostris
Papuan Mountain Pigeon Gymnophaps albertisii
Dusky Lory Pseudeos fuscata
Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus
Goldie's Lorikeet Trichoglossus goldiei
Papuan Lorikeet Charmosyna papou
Yellow-billed Lorikeet Neopsittacus musschenbroekii
Blue-collared Parrot Geoffroyus simplex
Mountain Swiftlet Collocalia hirundinacea
Sacred Kingfisher Halcyon sancta
Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica
Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach
Pied Chat Saxicola caprata
Island Thrush Turdus poliocephalus
Island Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus trivirgatus
White-shouldered Fairy-Wren Malurus alboscapulatus
Orange-crowned Fairy-Wren Clytomyias insignis
Buff-faced Scrub-Wren Sericornis perspicillatus
Dimorphic Fantail Rhipidura brachyrhyncha
Friendly Fantail Rhipidura albolimbata
Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
Black Monarch Monarcha axillaris
Black-breasted Boatbill Machaerirhynchus nigripectus
Canary Flycatcher Microeca papuana
Blue-Grey Robin Peneothello cyanus
Sclater's Whistler Pachycephala soror
Regent Whistler Pachycephala schlegelii
Brown-backed Whistler Pachycephala modesta
Little Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla megarhyncha
Grey Shrike-Thrush Colluricincla harmonica
Black Sittella Daphoenositta miranda
Tit Berrypecker Oreocharis arfaki
Western Mountain White-eye Zosterops fuscicapillus
Red-collared Myzomela Myzomela rosenbergii
Rufous-backed Honeyeater Ptiloprora guisei
Grey-streaked Honeyeater Ptiloprora perstriata
Belford's Melidectes Melidectes belfordi
Yellow-browed Melidectes Melidectes rufocrissalis
Common Smoky Honeyeater Melipotes fumigatus
Hooded Mannikin Lonchura spectabilis
Torrent-Lark Grallina bruijni
Great Wood-Swallow Artamus maximus
Mountain Peltops Peltops montanus
X Crested Bird of Paradise Cnemophilus macgregorii
Loria's Bird of Paradise Cnemophilus loriae
Short-tailed Paradigalla Paradigalla brevicauda
X Buff-tailed Sicklebill Epimachus albertisi
X Black Sicklebill Epimachus fastuosus
Brown Sicklebill Epimachus meyeri
Ribbon-tailed Astrapia Astrapia mayeri
Stephanie's Astrapia Astrapia stephaniae
Superb Bird of Paradise Lophorina superba
Lawes' Parotia Parotia lawesii
King of Saxony Bird of Paradise Pteridophora alberti
X Raggiana Bird of Paradise Paradisaea raggiana
X Blue Bird of Paradise Paradisaea rudolphi
(Originally published in Australian Birding 5(2):12-14)
No comments:
Post a Comment