Birds of Melanesia Bismarcks, Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia

450 Pages·2012·22.51 MB·English

by  Guy Dutson

Butaritari
P A C I F I C O C E A N Island
Marakei Island and Atoll
Abaiang
Island Taburao
Buariki Bonriki and Bikenibeu
Bairiki Binoinano
Tabiauea
Kaniet Is. EQUATOR KIRIBATI
Kuria Island 0°
Hermit Is. Nauru
Ooma Aranuka Island Nonouti Island
Ninigo Is. Beru Island
Wuvulu ST MATTHIAS IS. Abemama
Island Nikunau
ADMIRALTY IS. Mussau
Lavongai Tabiteuea
Manus (New Hanover) Tabar Is. Island Arorae Island
Rambutyo Lihir Is. Onotoa
Djaul Island
Bismarck S ea Tanga Is.
New Ireland Tamana
Island
Long Witu Is. Feni Is.
Karkar
New Britain
Umboi

Lakina
N E W G U I N E A SOLOMONS
Niutao
Tonga
Choiseul TUVALU
BISMARCKS
Santa Isabel Nui
S olomon S ea Vaitupu
Nggela Sule Island
Trobriand Is. Malaita Lafanga and Motulalo
Funafuti
Woodlark
Pavuvu and Pyramid Island Niuoko
D’ENTRECASTEAUX IS. Mbanika Islands
Guadalcanal -10°
Reef Islands
Santa Cruz TEMOTU
L
OUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO Rennell UtupVuaanikoro
Torres Is.
Bank Is. Wallis and
Futuna
Gaua
C o r a l S e a
Maewo
Yasawa Island FIJI Thikombia
Santo Island
Ambae
Matacawa Levu Island
Pentecost Vanua Levu Taveuni
Ambrym Yanggeta Island Island
Malekula
Naviti Island
Epi Makogai Island
VANUATU
Waya
Efate Ovalau
Malolo Island
Vitu Levu Moala Island
Gau Kabara
Panan Île Art Erromango Vatulele Island Island
Beqa Island
A U S T R A L I A Tanna Totoya
Ono
Ouvéa Aneityum Kadavu Island Island Matuku -20°
Island
Lifou Vatoa
Grande Terre
Maré
BOMel inside cover.indd 2 4/7/11 08:38:58
Îles des Pines
160° 170° -180°
Birds of
Melanesia
The Bismarcks, Solomons,
Vanuatu and New Caledonia
http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield
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helm field GuideS
Birds of
Melanesia
The Bismarcks, Solomons,
Vanuatu and New Caledonia
Guy dutson
illustrated by
richard Allen, Adam Bowley,
John Cox and Tony disley
ChriSTopher helm
loNdoN
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Published in 2011 by Christopher Helm, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc,
49–51 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP
Copyright © 2011 text by Guy Dutson
Copyright © 2011 illustrations by Richard Allen, Adam Bowley, John Cox and Tony Disley
The right of Guy Dutson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN (print) 978-0-7136-6540-6
ISBN (epdf) 978-14081-5246-1
ISBN (epub) 978-14081-5245-4
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – photographic, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage or retrieval systems – without permission of the publishers.
This book is produced using paper that is made from wood grown in managed sustainable forests. It is natural, renewable and recyclable.
The logging and manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.
Commissioning editor: Nigel Redman
Project editor: Jim Martin
Designed by Marc Dando at Fluke Art
Printed in China by Lion Production Limited.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
illustration credits
Richard Allen: Plates 1–20
Adam Bowley: Plates 46–86
John Cox: Plates 31–45
Tony Disley: Plates 21–30
Cover illustrations
Front: Kagu (John Cox)
Back: Knob-billed Fruit Dove (John Cox), Superb Pitta (Adam Bowley), Moustached Kingfisher (Adam Bowley), Buff-bellied Monarch (Adam Bowley)
Visit www.acblack.com/naturalhistory to find out more about our authors and their books.
You will find extracts, author interviews and our blog, and you can sign up for newsletters to be
the first to hear about our latest releases and special offers.
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page
ACkNowledGemeNTS 8
Contents
iNTroduCTioN 9
Aims of this book 9
Geographical coverage 9
maps 10
island types and climate 18
Vegetation and habitats 19
melANeSiAN orNiTholoGy 20
Nomenclature 20
Taxonomy 20
Biogeography and island distributions 20
endemism 21
migration 21
introduced species 22
how many bird species in melanesia? 22
BirdwATChiNG iN melANeSiA 23
identifying birds 23
plumages and moult 25
finding birds 25
Studying birds 25
Birdwatching etiquette 25
Birdwatching sites 26
organisations and records 33
further reading 33
CoNSerVATioN 33
Threats and solutions 33
Globally threatened species 33
extinct species 35
uSiNG The plATeS ANd SpeCieS TexTS 36
iSlANd GroupS of melANeSiA 37
CheCkliST of The BirdS of melANeSiA 38
Colour plATeS
n plate 1: Grebes, whistling ducks and diving ducks 52
n plate 2: dabbling ducks 54
n plate 3: Albatrosses, large petrels and Shearwaters 56
n plate 4: larger Shearwaters and smaller all-dark petrels 58
n plate 5: Smaller Pterodroma petrels and prions 60
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n plate 6: Smaller Shearwaters and petrels 62
n plate 7: Storm petrels 64
n plate 8: Boobies 66
n plate 9: Tropicbirds, frigatebirds and pelican 68
n plate 10: Cassowary, Cormorants, megapodes and Junglefowl 70
n plate 11: herons, egrets, ibis and Spoonbill 72
n plate 12: herons, Bitterns and kagu 74
n plate 13: kites, harrier and honey Buzzard 76
n plate 14: osprey and Sea eagles 78
n plate 15: Variable Goshawk and Bismarcks hawks 80
n plate 16: other Goshawks 82
n plate 17: pacific Baza and falcons 84
n plate 18: Quail, Buttonquails and Crakes 86
n plate 19: rails and Bush-hen 88
n plate 20: woodford's rail, Gallinules and Jacana 90
n plate 21: large Shorebirds 92
n plate 22: plovers 94
n plate 23: Curlews, Godwits and Turnstone 96
n plate 24: Sandpipers and Tattlers 98
n plate 25: knots, ruff, Snipes and phalarope 100
n plate 26: Small Sandpipers 102
n plate 27: Gulls and large Terns 104
n plate 28: Smaller Terns 106
n plate 29: pelagic Terns and Noddies 108
n plate 30: Skuas and Jaegers 110
n plate 31: Cuckoo-doves 112
n plate 32: Ground doves 114
n plate 33: fruit doves 116
n plate 34: imperial pigeons i 118
n plate 35: imperial pigeons ii 120
n plate 36: other pigeons i 122
n plate 37: other pigeons ii 124
n plate 38: Cockatoos and lories 126
n plate 39: lorikeets, parakeets and parrots 128
n plate 40: lorikeets and pygmy parrots 130
n plate 41: Cuckoos 132
n plate 42: Coucals and koel 134
n plate 43: Nightbirds and Barn owls 136
n plate 44: owls 138
n plate 45: Swifts 140
n plate 46: Small kingfishers 142
n plate 47: large Bismarck kingfishers 144
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n plate 48: large Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia kingfishers 146
n plate 49: Bee-eaters, dollarbird, hornbill and pittas 148
n plate 50: Bismarcks Swallows, wagtails and Trillers 150
n plate 51: Bismarcks Cuckooshrikes 152
n plate 52: Bismarcks Sunbirds, flowerpecker and honeyeaters 154
n plate 53: Bismarcks myzomelas 156
n plate 54: Bismarcks fantails and whistlers 158
n plate 55: Bismarcks monarchs 160
n plate 56: Bismarcks flycatchers and flyrobins 162
n plate 57: Bismarcks Thrushes, warblers and white-eyes 164
n plate 58: Bismarcks Thicketbirds, warblers and Bush Chat 166
n plate 59: Bismarcks drongos, woodswallow, Crow and Starlings 168
n plate 60: Bismarcks parrotfinch and mannikins 170
n plate 61: Solomons Cuckooshrikes 172
n plate 62: Solomons Sunbird, flowerpecker and honeyeaters 174
n plate 63: Solomons whistlers 176
n plate 64: Solomons fantails and flycatchers 178
n plate 65: Solomons monarchs 180
n plate 66: Solomons Swallows, Thrushes and Crows 182
n plate 67: Solomons warblers, robin, parrotfinch and mannikin 184
n plate 68: Solomons white-eyes 186
n plate 69: Solomons drongo, Starlings and mynas 188
n plate 70: makira passerines i 190
n plate 71: makira passerines ii 192
n plate 72: makira passerines iii 194
n plate 73: makira passerines iV 196
n plate 74: rennell passerines i 198
n plate 75: rennell passerines ii 200
n plate 76: Temotu passerines i 202
n plate 77: Temotu passerines ii 204
n plate 78: Vanuatu passerines i 206
n plate 79: Vanuatu passerines ii 208
n plate 80: Vanuatu passerines iii 210
n plate 81: Vanuatu passerines iV 212
n plate 82: New Caledonia passerines i 214
n plate 83: New Caledonia passerines ii 216
n plate 84: New Caledonia passerines iii 218
n plate 85: New Caledonia passerines iV 220
n plate 86: New Caledonia passerines V 222
SpeCieS ACCouNTS 225
GAzeTTeer 427
iNdex 432
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My personal interest and love of the birds of Melanesia started on a student expedition in 1990 and has brought
me on regular return visits. On these field visits, notably a year island-hopping in 1997–1998, I have had the
fortune to observe almost all of the extant Melanesian birds. I am extremely grateful to those people who have
ACknowledgements
assisted me through their time and effort.
Any visitor to Melanesia will soon realise that their greatest acknowledgements are owed to the local people
whose generosity and kindness is a highlight of working in the region. This book must be dedicated to those
Melanesians who have helped me, and to those who are willing to help similar visitors. I hope that this book is seen
as a small gesture in return, and that it helps to cultivate interest in birds and bird conservation within the region.
On my 1990 visit, special thanks go to my fieldwork colleagues David Buckingham and Jonathan Newman,
our main advisors notably Nigel Collar and Alison Stattersfield (BirdLife International, previously International
Council for Bird Preservation) and Jared Diamond, and our financial sponsors (A. J. Burton 1956 Charitable
Settlement, A. S. Butler Charitable Trust, Bartle-Frere Exhibition, British Ornithologists’ Union, Cable and
Wireless plc, Cambridge Expeditions Fund, Condor Conservation Trust, Cotton Trust, D. M. Charitable Trust,
Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust, Godinton Trust, ICBP/FFPS, Interpet, King Edward’s School Birmingham,
L. A. Cadbury Charitable Trust, Mary Euphrasia Moseley Trust, New York Explorers’ Club’s Youth Activity Fund,
People’s Trust for Endangered Species, R. and M. Foreman Charitable Trust, Radley Charitable Trust, Rayne
Foundation, Selwyn College, Spicers plc, Trinity Hall, Vincent Trust, The Wall Charitable Trust and Whitley Animal
Protection Trust). Most of the fieldwork underpinning this book was undertaken in 1997–1998 with generous
sponsorship from Bird Exploration Fund, A. J. Burton Charitable Trust, Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation, Keith
Ewart Charitable Trust, Parrot Society, Percy Sladen Memorial Fund and the Peter Scott Trust for Education
and Research in Conservation. Subsequent fieldwork and museum studies were sponsored by the American
Museum of Natural History (Collection Studies Grant), Bird Exploration Fund and British Ornithologists’ Union.
I benefited from shared time in the field with Nicolas Barré, David Buckingham, Chris Eastwood, Phil Gregory,
Yves Létocart, Jon Newman, John Pilgrim, Kester Wilson, and Birdquest and Sicklebill Safaris tour participants,
and I am very grateful for logistic support and accommodation from Max Benjamin (Walindi Dive Resort), Ellen
and Matthieu Degott-Rekowski, Eagon (Choiseul), Chris Eastwood, Mark Hafe, Ross Hepworth, Roy Hills, Seri
Hite, KFPL, Solomon Islands Development Trust, William Manehage, Jérome Spaggiari, Tim Turner, Wild Dog
mine, WWF-Solomon Islands and many village communities, especially those at which I stayed for several weeks,
notably Rossun, Tirotonga, Kena, Hauta, Buma and Vatthe.
In Papua New Guinea, I was granted research permission by Michael Laki and staff of the National Research
Institute and the Department of Environment and Conservation. In the Solomon Islands, I was granted research
permission by Moses Biliki and Audrey Rusa and worked with the Solomon Island Development Trust and World
Wide Fund for Nature–Solomons. In Vanuatu, I worked with the Environment Unit and Vatthe Conservation Area
Project. In New Caledonia, I worked with the Société Calédonienne d’Ornithologie, with permission to visit the
reserves from the DRN of Province Sud, and ASPO in Ouvéa.
In researching the text, I am extremely grateful to the following for their advice and access to data:
Mark Adams (Natural History Museum), Nicolas Barré (Société Calédonienne d’Ornithologie), Bruce Beehler, K.
David Bishop, Vincent Bretagnolle (CNRS), Walter Boles (Australian Museum), Bill Bourne, Ian Burrows, Stuart
Butchart, Brian Coates, Nigel Collar, Jared Diamond, Jonathan Ekstrom, Tom Evans, Chris Filardi, Clem Fisher
(Liverpool Museum), James Fitzsimons, David Gibbs, Phil Gregory, Don Hadden, Jon Hornbuckle, Mary LeCroy,
Yves Létocart, Ian McAllan, Tony Palliser, Robert Prys-Jones (Natural History Museum), Paul Sweet (American
Museum of Natural History), Mike Tarburton, Joe Tobias, Stephen Totterman (VanBirds), Colin Trainor, Dick
Watling (Environment Consultants Fiji) and H. Price Webb. In particular, I acknowledge the meticulous advice of
Jared Diamond and Ian McAllan.
The artists, Richard Allen, Adam Bowley, John Cox and Tony Disley, have produced some exceptional artwork,
often based on poor reference material, and have cheerfully updated their paintings as better references have
appeared. The editors, Nigel Collar and Nigel Redman, have greatly improved the text, and the designer, Marc
Dando, has expertly crafted the plates and text into a beautiful book.
Finally, it should be noted that all of this work is based on the efforts and results of previous visitors, as reviewed
in Mayr & Diamond (2001). The pioneering efforts of the early collectors, especially those on the Whitney South
Seas Expeditions, and the analysis of their specimens, notably by Ernst Mayr, remain the basis for our knowledge
of Melanesian ornithology. This book is also dedicated to their work.
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