Whitehead's Swiftlet Collocalia whiteheadi on Manus?

On a recent visit to Manus, 11 - 14 May 1989, three types of swiftlet Collocalia spp with white rumps were observed, where only two had previously been recorded (Coates 1985). These were identified as follows.

1) The commonest swiftlet was small with narrow pointed wings and a pointed tail. It had dark brown upperparts except for a neat, small, oblong (broader across the body than along it) white rump. The underparts were paler brown and a bit smudgy on the belly. This was identified as White-rumped Swiftlet C. spodiopygia, a species I had previously seen on New Britain and Bougainville. On Manus it was recorded in all habitats visited, from Lorengau at sea-level to rain forest at 200 m. It was the most numerous bird I recorded.

2) This type was similar in size and shape to the White-rumped Swiftlet and also with a small, neat white rump. This was distinguished by a glossy sheen on the upperparts (not always discernible) and a clean white belly sharply demarcated from a darker breast, which I find is a more reliable field characteristic than glossiness. This was identified as a white rumped form of Glossy Swiftlet C. esculenta, probably stresemanni. It was much less numerous than White-rumped Swiftlet and seemed to favour valleys with running water through forest or secondary growth.

3) The third form was larger than the preceding two, having a stockier body, broader wings and a square tail. Its upperparts were dark brown with a large, square, smudgy, ill-defined white rump. The belly was smudgy brown on a dirty white background, becoming more uniform on the breast. It was regularly recorded in small numbers along ridge tops in the interior of the island and always associated with White-rumped Swiftlets.

In shape and size it closely resembled Uniform Swiftlet C. vanikorensis, which has been recorded on Manus, although I did not see it on this trip. Four very similar swiftlets have been recorded in PNG, although two of these, Mountain Swiftlet C. hirundinacea and Three-toed Swiftlet C. papuensis, are endemic to mainland New Guinea (Beehler et al. 1986, Coates 1985). Both Uniform Swiftlet and Whitehead's Swiftlet have ranges extending north of Papua New Guinea (Beehler et al. 1986) although only Whitehead's Swiftlet has a white-rumped form, the New Ireland subspecies, leletensis. This subspecies is known only from a single specimen from the Lelet plateau, New Ireland (Coates 1985).

I think this third type of swiftlet I observed on Manus may be Whitehead's Swiftlet of the New Ireland subspecies. This would extend this subspecies' range 250 km westwards and would be a new species for Manus. However swiftlets are not the easiest species to identify in the field. These observations are presented in the hope that subsequent bird watchers will carefully observe the swiftlets on Manus and either confirm or refute my identification.

Beehler, B.M., T.K. Pratt & D.A. Zimmerman. 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton University Press.
Coates, B.J. 1985. The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Vol 1. Dove Publications.

Originally published in MURUK 5(2):64

In Search of the Manus Endemics.

Manus is one of the more remote of Papua New Guinea's provinces, lying about 250 km north of Madang and the same distance west of New Ireland. It was to this splendid isolation that we flew in early May 1989 for a long weekend away from Port Moresby. Of course while we were there we hoped to see some of the island's endemic birds. Depending which book you read there may be five or six of these: Meek's Pygmy Parrot Micropsitta meeki, Manus Boobook Ninox meeki, Superb Pitta Pitta superba, Manus Rufous Fantail Rhipidura semirubra (sometimes considered only a race of Rufous Fantail), Manus Pied Monarch Monarcha infelix and White-naped Friarbird Philemon albitorques. Manus and its birds have featured relatively little in PNGBS publications to date, so descriptions of the birds we saw are included here to help those who follow.

We arrived at Momote airfield at midday after a flight that had touched down in four provinces and flown over another four. Momote is a large ex-WW2 airfield on the island of Los Negros, which is separated from Manus island by the narrow Lonui Channel. We slowly drove the 25 km to Lorengau, the provincial capital, but only saw White-rumped Swiftlets en route.

Following a lazy afternoon, we went bird watching in the evening at a site recommended by Tony Palliser. It was less than 3 km from Lorengau (see map) and several of the endemics had been seen there. It proved productive for us too. White-rumped Swiftlets were again much in evidence, accompanied by a few Glossy Swiftlets, which also have white rumps here, but are distinguished by cleaner white bellies. Our first new bird was a Black-headed (Bismarck) White-Eye, which was relatively common in areas of secondary growth. It has, as its name implies, a black or dark grey head, including chin and throat, which becomes paler on the nape, shading into the dark green of the upperparts. The white eye-ring was broken in front of the eye and was not as broad as that of the Black-fronted White-Eye, the species with which we are most familiar. The underparts were dusky yellow, brighter on the undertail coverts.

The first endemic we saw, not surprisingly, was a White-naped Friarbird, flying across the valley. In silhouette it was not unlike the Eurasian Jay, albeit with a thinner neck. For a friarbird it was quite striking. It had a dark brown face, crown, mantle, back and wings. The nape and all underparts were pale fawn. It had an amazing range of calls, at times sounding like a Rufous-bellied Kookaburra or a Raggiana Bird of Paradise, neither of which occurs on Manus. It was widespread and we recorded it in all the habitats we visited, including around Lorengau.

The next bird we saw had us puzzled. A cuckoo-shrike landed in a fruiting tree where some Singing Starlings were already feeding. It seemed uniform dark grey with perhaps darker wings, and was noticeably smaller than the starlings. We ruled out Cicadabird at first because we thought it too small, but shortly after it was joined by a female-plumaged Cicadabird. As the starlings appeared normal sized we decided it must be a small subspecies. A second puzzle followed a little later when a third type of swiftlet with a white rump was seen. It was generally larger and stockier than both White-rumped and Glossy Swiftlets, with a large, square, dirty white rump. We think this may prove to be Whitehead's Swiftlet of the New Ireland race. As this may be a new record for Manus, one of only a few records of this subspecies and an increase in the known distribution of this subspecies, this observation will be written up in more detail (Hicks in prep).

Our third new bird was Meek's Pygmy-Parrot, which we heard repeatedly before seeing a small flock foraging along the branches of a large tree. Generally they had mustard yellow heads, although some had dark crowns, and underparts, except for the undertail coverts, which were brighter yellow. The mantle, back, wings and tail were dark green. The legs were orange. They were relatively common and easily seen in both forest and secondary growth. Our second new record for Manus, which will also be written up in more detail, was a pair of Claret-breasted Fruit-Doves feeding in the same fruiting tree as the Cicadabirds and starlings. This rounded off our evening's bird watching.

Disappointingly the remainder of our stay produced no more new birds although we did see Common Golden Whistler and more Claret-breasted Fruit-Doves in rainforest along the highway. Frustratingly the endemic Superb Pitta may have been glimpsed. A bird was flushed from a forest track, all that was noted of this bird was a flash of electric blue on the inner wings and across the back of a pitta-sized bird. What else could it have been? If Superb Pitta is found at this site (see map), then all the Manus endemics can be found within 3 km of Lorengau, as Tony Palliser recorded Manus Boobook and Manus Pied Monarch in the same area.

We would like to thank Tony Palliser who provided information about bird watching on Manus and supplied the very useful map, which we have reproduced here, with some additions.

Species List: Brahminy Kite; Grey Goshawk; Large Sand-Plover; Grey-tailed Tattler; Black-naped Tern; Crested Tern; Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove; Rainbow Lorikeet; Black-capped Lory; Meek's Pygmy-Parrot; Eclectus Parrot; Brush Cuckoo (h); Moustached Tree-Swift; White-rumped Swiftlet; Glossy Swiftlet; Whitehead's Swiftlet (?); Rainbow Bee-eater; Superb Pitta (?); White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike; Cicadabird; Northern Fantail; Shining Flycatcher; Common Golden Whistler; Yellow-bellied Sunbird; Black-headed White-Eye; White-naped Friarbird; Singing Starling; Metallic Starling. 28 species.

Originally published in MURUK 5(1):34-36

Range extension for Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus viridis

On a visit to Manus in May 1989, Claret-breasted Fruit-Doves Ptilinopus viridis were noted on two occasions. As this species had not previously been recorded from Manus (Coates 1985) details of these observations are presented here.

On the evening of 11 May 1989, while bird watching c. 3 km outside Lorengau on the Trans-Island Highway, a pair of Claret-breasted Fruit-Doves were observed for nearly 20 minutes while they fed and sat in an unidentified fruiting tree, in the company of a pair of Cicadabirds Coracina tenuirostris, Black-headed White-Eyes Zosterops hypoxantha and a Singing Starling Aplonis cantoroides. The fruit-doves were in view nearly the whole time and I watched them using 10x binoculars from a distance of less than 30 m. The following notes were made: both birds were mainly "fruit-dove" green with a broad, triangular shaped (apex uppermost) claret patch extending from the throat onto the breast. The head was greyer than the body and the undertail coverts were off-white. I did not note the colour of bill nor any markings on the inner wing. This breast patch was smaller on the presumed female, but was not a small crescentic mark as in the northern New Guinea race salvadorii, suggesting these are birds of one of the eastern races vicinus or lewisii. The second observation on 12 May 1989, c. 10 km from Lorengau along the Trans-Island Highway was brief, but long enough to identify the species. Other fruit-doves were seen but not identified. I have previously seen Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove once, on Bougainville in June 1986.

The Superb Fruit-Dove P. superbus, with which I am familiar from the Port Moresby area and the Yellow-bibbed Fruit-Dove P. solomonensis, which I have seen once on Bougainville, have both been recorded on Manus. I identified neither during my stay on Manus, but do not think either could be mistaken for a Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove.

In PNG the Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove has a disjointed range, being found along the north coast of New Guinea east to Madang, in the D'Entrecasteaux islands (Goodenough, Fergusson and Normanby) and the North Solomon Islands (Nissan, Buka and Bougainville) (Coates 1985). In the Bismarck archipelago it is known only from Lihir Island, north of New Ireland (Coates 1985, Burrows 1987). Manus lies c. 250 km north of Madang and c. 600 km west of Lihir, so this observation represents a considerable range extension for this species.

Burrows, I. 1987. Some notes on the Birds of Lihir. Muruk 2: 40-42.
Coates, B.J. 1985. The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Vol 1. Dove Publications.

Originally published in MURUK 5(2):85.

Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxana at Moitaka Settling Ponds

A single Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxana was seen at Moitaka Settling Ponds (National Capital District) at 07:15 on 30 March 1988. The most notable feature was its elongated outer tail feathers, which made it appear more slender than the Pacific Swallows H. tahitica available for comparison. Its plumage was very similar to the Pacific Swallows': dark blue-black above, greyish below with a rich rufous throat and upper breast. The long tail streamers and rich colour of the throat indicated this bird was an adult, as immatures have short tails and duller plumage (Pizzey 1980). A swallow with tail streamers, that had been glimpsed but not identified, at the settling ponds on 24 March 1988, is now assumed to have been this Welcome Swallow. The other two possible options are Barn Swallow H. rustica and Red-rumped Swallow H. daurica, both northern winter visitors to PNG (Beehler et al 1986). It was not considered to be either of these species as it lacked the dark breast band and white underparts of Barn Swallow and did not have the pale or rufous rump and collar of Red-rumped Swallow. We are familiar with all three species.

The Welcome Swallow is endemic to Australia, although some authorities consider it conspecific with the Pacific Swallow (Howard & Moore 1984). It is a partial migrant; some southern breeders desert their nesting areas in the austral winter and move north. It is self-introduced to New Zealand (Pizzey 1980). The first record in PNG was of a single bird associating with Barn Swallows and Tree Martins H. nigricans at Aroa Lagoon, Central Province, in November 1980 (Finch 1980). The second record was of two birds, an adult and an immature at Hisiu Lagoon, Central Province, in October 1984 (Finch 1984). Hence, this is only the third record for PNG and the entire New Guinea region.

Beehler, B.M., T.K. Pratt & D.A. Zimmerman. 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton University Press.
Finch, B.W. 1980. PNGBS Newsletter 173-74: 4-5.
Finch, B.W. 1884. PNGBS Newsletter 212: 4-5.
Howard, R & A. Moore. 1984. A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Papermac.
Pizzey, G. 1980. A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Collins. Sydney.

Originally published in MURUK 4(3):110 co-authored with Richard Gregory-Smith

Myola in December

The heat and humidity of pre-wet season Port Moresby was gladly swapped for the cooler, fresher air of Myola at 2080m in the Owen Stanley Mountains. We landed at Myola shortly after 07:00 on 4 December 1987. The birding began almost immediately with small parties of Goldie’s Lorikeets flying overhead as they left their roost in the crowns of nearby Pandanus trees. Glossy Swiftlets and Tawny Grassbirds were soon added to the list, all these birds new for Phil who had recently arrived from England for a bird-watching holiday.

Following the welcoming breakfast, the bird-watchers and bush-walkers went their separate ways. The walkers stretched their legs in the direction of the crashed WW2 aircraft while the birders set mist nets in the forest to the east of the village using the same sites as in September 1987. The first birds, a pair of Orange-bellied Fairy-Wrens, were in the net before we had even finished putting it up. Once up, the nets were left for a while and we bird-watched in the moss forest seeing female Stephanie’s Astrapia feeding in the canopy and a Papuan Treecreeper spiralling up tree trunks. We had caught several birds when we made our first round of the nets including three Olive Straightbills, two of which we had ringed the previous September, and a Tawny Grassbird.

Shortly after lunch it began raining and we were treated to heavy showers through the afternoon. This was the pattern throughout our stay with clear mornings and wet afternoons. This reduced our bird-watching and bird-catching time. The mist nets were furled during the heaviest rain and checked often while there were only light showers. Despite the rain we managed to see some good birds. Phil caught up with the elusive Spotted Jewel-Babbler, often heard but seldom seen, while Barry and Lynda glimpsed a Lesser Ground Robin.

On Saturday the bush-walkers made a bog-stomp towards the Kokoda trail as low cloud had deterred them from trying to reach the tree fern forest. This was a wise choice because the rain came early. En route Peter saw a Lesser Melampitta hopping along the trail. The birders stayed around the village seeing ashy Robin, Regent Whistler and Grey Wagtail and catching Large Scrub-Wren and Rufous-backed Honeyeater. A male Mottled Whistler, not previously recorded from Myola, was also caught.

On Sunday the bush walkers, accompanied by Phil, set off early in the hope of reaching the tree fern valley before the rain started. This they managed even seeing Papuan Lorikeet and Painted Tiger-Parrot on the way but they were soaked by the time they returned to the village. Meanwhile, the nets had been going up and down regularly between the showers and catching a few good birds. The star of the weekend was the very last bird caught, a male Garnet Robin.

Once again we would like to thank the villagers of Myola for their hospitality, Pacific Expeditions through whom we organised the weekend and Talair.

People List: bird-watchers: Roger & Jenny Hicks (+1/2), Barry & Lynda Hopkins and Phil Whittington; bush-walkers: Veronique Badoux, Dave Briggs, Peter & Andrea Storer.

Species List:r = ringed,, h = heard only
New Guinea Harpy-Eagle (h), King Quail, Forbes’ Forest Rail, Black-billed Cuckoo-Dove, White-breasted Fruit-Dove, Goldie’s Lorikeet, Papuan Lorikeet, Painted Tiger Parrot, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Sooty Owl (h), Mountain Swiftlet, Glossy Swiftlet, Pacific Swallow, Pied Chat, Lesser Ground Robin, Island Thrush, Spotted Jewel-Babbler, Lesser Melampitta, Blue-capped Ifrita, Orange-crowned Fairy-wren (r) Tawny Grassbird (r), Mountain Mouse-Warbler, Large Scrub-Wren (r), Buff-faced Scrub-Wren, Papuan Scrub-Wren (r), New Guinea Thornbill, Brown-breasted Gerygone, Dimorphic Fantail, Black Fantail (r), Friendly Fantail, Black Monarch (h), Black-breasted Boatbill, Canary Flycatcher, Garnet Robin (r), Ashy Robin (r), Mottled Whistler (r), Regent Whistler (r), Rufous-naped Whistler (r), Papuan Treecreeper, Fan-tailed Berrypecker (r), Olive Straightbill (r), Rufous-backed Honeyeater (r), Belford’s Melidectes, Common Smoky Honeyeater (r), Grey-headed Mannikin, Loria’s Bird of Paradise, Stephanie’s Astrapia.

First published in Muruk 3(2): 67-68

White Pygmy Goose - new for the Port Moresby Area

On 22 November 1987, at 14:30, a female White Pygmy-Goose Nettapus coromandelianus was observed at Aroa Lagoon, Central Province, c.100 km north-west of Port Moresby. The following description is from notes taken at the time: At first the bird was swimming in a channel of open water, between dense beds of water weed less than 50m from the shore. It was similar in size to Green Pygmy-Goose N.pulchellus which were present in large numbers, but smaller than Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa. It had a black bill, a dark crown, and a dark smudge about the eye. No obvious white supercilium was noted. The rest of the head, neck, breast and flanks were bright white. It was a much ‘cleaner’ looking bird than expeted from the illustration in Beehler et al (1986) so that we considered at first it was a male in eclipse. After five minutes it flew to another channel further out in the lagoon and was eventually lost to sight. In flight the back and wings appeared grey with a narrow white bar across the tips of the secondaries. The bird was therefore identified as a female.

There are no previous published records of this species in southern PNG (Coates 1985, Beehler et al 1986). The Asian subspecies N.c. coromandelianusis resident in the Sepik basin of nort-western PNG and Lake Kandeep in the Central Highlands (Beehler et al, 1986). The Australian subspecies N.c. albipennis is resident in north-east Australia (Slater et al, 1986) although “it can be expected to occur as a vagrant in southern New Guinea (Beehler et al, 1986).

The origins of the bird at Aroa are not clear. Illustrations of the female of the Asian subspecies (Beehler et al, 1986, King et al, 1984) show a dusky looking bird wile illustrations of the Australian subspecies (Slater et al, 1986, Simpson & Day 1984) show a much whiter appearance. The bird at Aroa appeared most similar to the illustrations of the Australian subspecies. Unfortunately, none of the field guides consulted deal with both subspecies and the written accounts in the above four field guides and in others (Coates 1985; Pizzey 1983; Macdonald 1973; Rand & Gilliard 1967) are very similar although describing different subspecies.

Beehler, B.M, T.K.Pratt & D.A.Zimmerman. 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton University Press.
Coates, B.J. 1985. Birds of Papua New Guinea, Volume 1. Dove.
King, B., M. Woodcock, E.C.Dickinson. 1984. A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia. Collins.
MacDonald, D. 1973. Birds of Australia. Reed.
Pizzey, G. 1983. A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Collins.
Rand, A.L. & E.T. Gilliard. 1967. Handbook of New Guinea Birds. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Simpson, K. & N.Day. 1984. The Birds of Australia. Lloyd O’Neill
Slater, P., P.Slater & R.Slater. 1986. The Slater Guide to Australian Birds. Rigby.

Originally published in Muruk 3(1): 5, co-authored with Chris Eastwood and Will Glynn.

Food Plants of Female Fan-tailed Berrypecker

During a brief stay at Ambua Lodge, Tari (Southern Highlands Province) in November 1987, female Fan-tailed Berrypeckers Melanocharis versteri were observed feeding on the fruits of three different plants. No male Fan-tailed Berrypeckers were seen feeding. Samples of each plant were collected and subsequently identified by Lawong Balun. They were Planchonella sp (Sapotaceae), Rubus cf. ferdinandi-muelleri Focke (Rosaceae) and Pipturus argenteus Willd (Urticaceae). The fruit of each plant was ingested whole by the birds., the largest fruit being that of R.ferdinandi-muelleri which measured c.7mm x 5mm.

Voucher specimens at UPNG are: Planchonella Hicks & Hicks #8, Rubus #9 Pipturus #10.