3/15/2024 0 Comments Solomons cockatoo lifespan![]() ![]() The New Georgia Islands are rich in endemics and we will thoroughly explore this fascinating part of the Solomons, taking in Munda, Tetepare, Kolombangara, Gizo, Ranongga and Vella Lavella. On Malaita, we will be seeking the endemic Malaita White-eye and the endemic Red-vested Myzomela. On Guadalcanal, the lower altitude forests hold such endemics as Pied Goshawk, Solomons (or Ducorps’s) Cockatoo, Guadalcanal Owl, the attractive Ultramarine Kingfisher, Chestnut-bellied Monarch, Steel-blue Flycatcher, Midget Flowerpecker, Brown-winged Starling, and the uncommon Black-headed Myzomela. ![]() We will have to return repeatedly to Honiara as it is the hub of the Solomons air services, so we will have several opportunities for local birding. We will begin our Solomon Islands birding tour on the island of Guadalcanal where we will be based at the small capital town of Honiara. While much of the tour involves nothing out of the usual and has moderate or even easy walking, this tour also involves some quite demanding hiking and very basic village accommodation at times, so will definitely appeal to the more adventurous birder! Provided you are prepared, this adventurous tour is incredibly rewarding and the hospitality shown on many of the islands is unparalleled. This exciting tour aims to see as many as possible of the accessible Solomon Islands endemics during a four-week timescale. Still yielding undescribed species and rediscoveries of birds long feared extinct, this region has truly been overlooked both by scientists and by birders. Whilst searching for many of these incipient species, we will marvel at the subspecific variation between islands and come to our own ideas about species limits, which are still poorly understood in this part of the world. Many more species are due to be recognized in future if current concepts of species limits are applied. Combined with the biogeographically distinct islands of Rennell and the Santa Cruz group, the Solomons have a total of 84 endemic birds plus another 12 endemics shared only with other Melanesian islands. with at least 62 completely endemic species (depending on the taxonomy followed). The Central Solomons is unequivocally the richest ‘Endemic Bird Area’ in the world, having more restricted-range species than any other EBA. ![]() Here, islands only eight kilometres (five miles) apart have evolved their own endemic bird species! They are close enough to retain a reasonably high bird diversity yet isolated and fragmented enough to enable an amazing level of speciation of endemic birds. The Solomons form a chain of islands stretching out beyond Papua New Guinea into the deeper Pacific. Beyond the central island of Guadalcanal, famous for some of the most heroic battles of the Second World War, and Gizo, a fledgling scuba-diving destination, we may well encounter no other visitors.ĭuring our journey through the Solomons, we will visit twelve of the islands, allowing us the opportunity to find the great majority of the Solomons endemics. Few tourists have discovered this Eden, and the Solomon Islanders remain overwhelmingly friendly and generous to visitors whilst retaining much of their cultural heritage. The environment is still remarkably pristine as most Solomon Islanders pursue their traditional life of fishing on the reefs and tending lush gardens hidden in the forest. Who else has a national flag symbolizing sea, sand and forest? The nation is an archipelago of volcanic islands, still largely cloaked in luxuriant rainforest, sweeping down to golden sand beaches and fringing coral reefs. Scattered in a loose oval to the east of New Guinea, the Solomon Islands are a quintessential South Pacific idyll, combining a classic landscape and largely tourist-free, easy-going island life with exotic endemic birds. Our Solomon Islands birding tour provides a very comprehensive coverage of the islands for the more adventurous birder who longs to see its rich birdlife, including that final glorious pitta right at the edge of the family’s world range. Leaders: Birdquest leader to b announced and local guidesīirdquest’s Solomon Islands birding tours explore these rarely-visited but endemic-rich islands that lie to the east of New Guinea. Friday 11th October – Friday 8th November 2024įriday 31st July – Friday 28th August 2026 ![]()
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