10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2014

The Wattled Honeyeater is a species, or now more accurately a genus, found in eastern Melanesia (Fiji) and in western Polynesia (Samoa and Tonga). In spite of the bird extinctions that have plagued the islands of the Pacific, it doesn’t seem to have suffered that much; I saw it in gardens in both Fiji and Tonga.

Tonga 176

Tonga Fiji Samoa Vanuatu 176

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

Soon we were out of the protected harbour and into choppier waters, and here I have to say I suffered for about two hours from the dreaded affliction known as sea-sickness. These terns are generally subtropical birds of the Pacific (I’ve seen them before in Tonga) and reach the extreme south of their range in northern New Zealand.

New Zealand 175

New Zealand Albatross 2011 Cooking 175

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

.’s Birds of New Guinea notes that the species is often seen moving in “high-flying flocks,” and Coates and Bishop’s Bird of Wallacea declares, “this species has suffered greatly from human predation and is now generally scarce to very rare.” Tongan Tooth-billed Pigeon ( Didunculus placopedetes ).

Solomon Islands 277

Solomon Islands Guinea Mauritius Humane 277