Australian Birdkeeper – June-July 2018

Many-coloured Fruit Dove on Taveuni—one

of the spectacular fruit dove species of Fiji

We pulled into a large entrance area to a
couple of homes on the eastern side of the
road. We had hardly alighted from the car
when a Masked Shining Parrot fl ew across
the road from the reserve and landed in the
heavily treed area on our side. Naturally, it
was drop everything and grab a camera to
hopefully get an image before it fl ew away.
We had no need to panic as we soon found
that the bird was interested in feeding on
dark purple-black berries in one of the
trees and seemed to tolerate our presence.
There is a fair amount of foot traffi c
along the road and heaps of cars going
into work in Suva. No doubt the birds
were habituated to humans to an extent.
We were lucky to fi nd a number of these
parrots feeding in this tree over the next
few days and to get great video and still
images. The owner of the property was
very cordial and allowed us to walk
through his garden to see the birds. This is
what you admire and even expect from the
very friendly Fijian people.
The following day, we met a local bird
man familiar with the Pink-billed Parrot
Finch Erythrura kleinschmidti, a most
sought-after species for the twitchers who
visit Fiji seeking to notch as many bird
species as possible. (Twitcher is a term
used for bird watchers who aim to spot and
tick off as many species of bird on a visit as
possible, keeping lists and trying to be able
to say they have seen a certain number of
species, hopefully more than anyone else.)
We drove to the Namosi Rd, west of Suva,
along Queens Rd and into the mountains.
It is an extremely beautiful area and well
worth the drive, even if you are not into
birds. It had been a very wet night and the
morning was very quiet for birds. No doubt
they were sitting drying out. We did not
see the rare parrot fi nch, but did see the
attractive Peale’s Parrot Finch Erythrura
pealii feeding on berries in a tree with
Golden Doves Chrysoenas lutevirens and
many other common species. The road
eventually joins up with Prince’s Rd north
of Colo-i-Suva. We spent another day on
the Namosi Rd but still failed to sight the
rare Pink-billed Parrot Finch.

TAVEUNI
It was now time to fl y to the Garden
Island, Taveuni with Fiji Link. We stayed
overnight at Tokatoka Resort, close to
the airport. That afternoon Colin went
for a walk and soon came back to advise
that he had come across a fl ock of Peale’s
Parrot Finches on the lawn at the back of
the resort. About 40–50 birds were feeding
on the lawn, along with some 20 of the
introduced Strawberry Finch Amandava
amandava. We had a lovely time trying to
get close enough for some decent images.
Our fl ight was at 2.35pm the following
afternoon, so we spent the morning
photographing birds in the gardens as well
as enjoying a relaxing swim in the lovely
pool. This is a hot, humid part of the world,
so I suggest you pack a swimming costume

because you will need one!

On the fl ight, I started talking to a man

in the seat in front of me, Phillip, and

discovered that his family were the owners

of Garden Island Resort on Taveuni, which

is where we had booked to stay. He is a

very amiable gentleman and could not do

enough for us. He and his staff are highly

recommended if you are looking for great

accommodation on the island.

The next morning we went up Des Voeux

Peak, which every sensible birder does as

it is one of the few roads that gets you up

into some high-altitude birding. This gravel

track requires a 4x4 and you can arrange

with the resort to hire a vehicle and driver

to get you there. We saw lots of Maroon

Shining Parrots Prosopeia tabuensis,

and heard even more, but they were very

fl ighty and we were not successful in

getting any images. This is also one of the

best places to see the rare Satin Flycatcher

Lamprolia victoriae, commonly named

the Silktail. We travelled as far as the 4x

driver wished to subject his vehicle to the

rough road climbing up the mountain. We

then walked, and Colin got a glimpse of the

Silktail with its metallic spangled head. I

only saw it as a silhouette as it disappeared

into the surrounding heavy scrub.

While at this altitude, around 1000m

above sea level, it was hoped that we may

have a chance to see the Red-throated

Lorikeet Charmosyna amabilis. This

small species has not been seen for many

years and fears are that it may be extinct,

due mainly to the Ship or Black Rat. It is

considered to be responsible for a number

of island species’ extinctions in the Pacifi c.

I have visited the highland areas of the

main islands—Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and

Taveuni—and unfortunately have never

been able to justify a lengthy stay to look

for the Red-throated Lorikeet. However, I

am inclined to believe that this bird is rare,

and likely to exist in the remote mountain

areas of these islands, which are seldom

visited by anyone to confi rm a sighting.

Just after the contact with the Silktail,

a small fl ock of 6–10 lorikeets fl ew by,

uttering shrill squeaks which sounded

similar to the Collared Lory Phigys

soliarius, but not as shrill in my opinion.

Unfortunately, they were in silhouette.

They fl ew past swiftly and disappeared

around the corner of the mountain out of

sight. I did try to follow them in the hope

that they may settle in a fl owering tree, so I

could hopefully identify them.

I cannot say that I had just seen this rare

lorikeet, but I sense that if someone could

afford the time searching the mountain

areas of Fiji, this beautiful species may be

found again.

In speaking to a local Indian gentleman

named Abi, who has spent some time in

the mountainous interior of Taveuni, he

feels that there is a strong possibility that

this species exists. He has a keen interest

in wildlife and I hope that he may one day

fi nd the bird.

Masked Shining Parrot feeding on berries of

an indigenous tree—I have also seen them

feed on pine tree seeds

Garden Island Resort specialises in dive

trips to Rainbow Reef, considered the

No.9 dive site in the world for soft corals.

I am not an experienced diver, but Phillip

suggested it was worth our while to go out

and take the opportunity while we were

there. I did so and, under the experienced

watch of Annie, marvelled at the beauty of

the reef and its kaleidoscope of colourful

fi sh. Because I focus on birdwatching, I

often miss other wonderful wildlife sights.

Thanks, Phillip.

Our time to leave Fiji came quickly. We

fl ew back to Nadi and stayed overnight to

catch our morning fl ights back to Australia.

This trip coincided with the wet months

of the year, which is often a deterrent for

bird watchers. We may have been lucky

but on this trip we were never hampered

by rain because most of the heavy falls

occurred at night.

‘ Fiji has a

surprising number of

species for a Pacifi c

Island group... ’