10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

As introductions to tropical Pacific birding go, you could do a lot worse than Fiji. It was just such a layover that landed me in Fiji a few years ago. As myself and some other stranded Kadavu-bound travellers sat watching the grey clouds over the sea with a beer or two I also managed to find a tiny Fiji Parrotfinch in the grasses.

Fiji 166

Fiji Solomon Islands Parrots Los Angeles 166

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2014

I’ve written before about how the Collared Kingfisher is a million splits waiting to happen (not happened yet), and the golden whistlers of the Pacific have been split now (giving me on from Fiji, one in Australia and one in Vanuatu), but I hadn’t really expected the Wattled Honeyeater to be a split. by Tom Tarrant, CC.

Tonga 173

Tonga Fiji Samoa Vanuatu 173

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2013

Diving has taken me to places like Belize, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Egypt, places that coincidentally are fun to bird. For some it allows you to boast about the amazing locations, and for some it simply scratches that itch to invest heavily in gear. Kina, or Sea Urchin. I was a diver before I was a birder.

New Zealand 160

New Zealand Goats Vanuatu Fiji 160

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

I’ve subsequently managed to dive in some spectacular destinations, including Turneffe Atoll in Belize, the Great Astrolabe Reef in Fiji, the kelp forests of Monterey and the wreck of the President Coolidge in Vanuatu.

New Zealand 178

New Zealand Belize Vanuatu Fish 178

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

’s Birds of the Solomons, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia , “nests colonially on small offshore islands, but visits coastal lowlands of larger islands to forage for food.” “A ground-dwelling inhabitant of dense lowland rainforest,” notes Doughty et al.’s ” Beehler et al.’s

Solomon Islands 272

Solomon Islands Guinea Mauritius Humane 272

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2011

Vanuatu has five subspecies, Fiji has three, and the far flung Solomon Islands have twelve. Tom Tarrant The extent of buff and rufous on Fijian birds has lead one author to place them with the Sacred Kingfishers instead of the Collared Kingfisher, even though there are none in Vanuatu (which is between New Caledonia and Fiji.

Samoa 166

Samoa Vanuatu United Arab Emirates Tonga 166

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Subspecies vitiensis , Fiji. Subspecies juliae , Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. For example only a single subspecies from Vanuatu was sampled. Subspecies sacer , ‘Eua, Tonga. Photo by author. Tom Tarrant. As suspectes, this is in this species and not the Sacred Kingfisher. Image by author.

United Arab Emirates 173

United Arab Emirates Micronesia Tonga Vanuatu 173