10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

There are four species in the family, ranging from India to the Solomon Islands. It’s a forest specialist, and hunts from a perch, which isn’t just unusual among the swifts (as in it never happens), it’s also unique within the family. Whiskered Treeswift. She’s looking to your left.

Solomon Islands 166

Solomon Islands Singapore India Family 166

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2015

The species was in the news because some scientists had finally managed (or bothered – it’s much the same thing) to locate the population high in the mountains of the Solomon Islands, and catch and photograph one. Unsurprisingly the ones that most stick in the mind were the lost species. Box after box of egg.

Collecting 222

Collecting Solomon Islands New Zealand Fiji 222

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

I quickly got a good view of an Orange-breasted Honeyeater , a local endemic, and the Vanikoro Flycatcher , a geographically disjunct oddity that occurs only in Fiji and the Solomon islands. The species replaces the common Wattled Honeyeater that can be found across the rest of Fiji’s islands, as well as the rest of Polynesia.

Fiji 168

Fiji Solomon Islands Parrots Los Angeles 168