10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Subspecies juliae , Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. For example only a single subspecies from Vanuatu was sampled. Image by author. It can’t have escaped your notice that there is still quite a lot of variation in these new species.

United Arab Emirates 94

United Arab Emirates Solomon Islands Micronesia Vanuatu 94

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.

Vanuatu 90

Vanuatu Samoa Birds Species 90

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 81

New Zealand Goats Birds Fish 81

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2013

The aforementioned Kauri in turn used these islands to reach places like Vanuatu. These far flung fragment islands have served as stepping stones in their own right to New Zealand, with the Cyanoramphus parakeets and New Zealand geckos originating there bringing a slightly tropical feel to the wildlife.

New Zealand 89

New Zealand Species Wildlife Vanuatu 89

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.

Fiji 90

Fiji Tonga Species Birds 90

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2014

While Australian birds migrate to New Guinea, New Zealand birds migrate to the Bismark Archipelago and the Solomon Islands (there are also resident populations in New Caledonia and Vanuatu). This makes them rather special birds here, and I can’t believe what a privileged look I got of this individual last weekend.

New Zealand 77

New Zealand Birds Sanctuary Solomon Islands 77

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 96

New Zealand Belize Fish Wildlife 96