Birding Moluccas: Halmahera island
Standardwings and Invisible Rails
Ferry is one of water transportation who can be choiched to this island, the view to the left is of a crane in the Barito Pacific log-pond, loading a barge destined for the plywood factory on Ambon. But to the right is scene as pristine and beautiful as any you will find in Indonesia: a creek winds away through mangrove forest towards a backdrop of forested hills.
This is Halmahera, in shape a Celebes in miniature, with few people, few roads and vast forests, where logging has yet to make a significant impact. For birders it is home to 24 species of bird found nowhere else in the world, including the aptly named invisible rail and Wallace’s greatest find-the standardwing bird of paradise. For decades an island so far off the beaten track that only one ornithologist ventured there between 1932 and 1986 Halmahera is now a surprisingly easy place to see some very special birds.
Source: Birding Indonesia. Periplus Publishing. Singapore
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Australian Little Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae)
Australian little grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae)
Indonesian – Titihan AustraliaDescription: medium-sized (25 cm ) small. Diving duck-like waterbird with lobed feet and a pointed beak, very similar to little grebe but differs in having white underparts and breeding season a black rather than red throat. A chestnut brown stripe behind the eye separates the black crown and nape from the black chin and throat. Iris –white to red; bill –black; feet – olive.
Voice: shrill chattering ‘chee-ee-ee-ee’ similar to little grebe
Distribution and status: from java and bali through lesser sundaes to new Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. A rare local resident in Java and Bali from lowlands to montane lakes.
Habits: frequents lakes, swamps, flooded ricefields etc. where there is clear water and plenty of water plants. Dives under water to feed and at the slightest provocation. Generally single or in small disperse groups. In breeding season birds chase each other, rushing over the water and calling.
Diet: aquatic insects, tadpoles, fish, prawns and the seeds and shoots of aquatic plants.
Breeding: the nest is a floating mass of water plants attached to the surrounding vegetation. Three to five, usually four, whitish eggs are laid. Breeding in west java is recorded for november, for central java in November, March and April. When off the nest the parent covers the eggs with weeds. Young birds ride on the parent’s back.
Race: T.n. javanicus is the western race of the species
Indonesian – Titihan AustraliaDescription: medium-sized (25 cm ) small. Diving duck-like waterbird with lobed feet and a pointed beak, very similar to little grebe but differs in having white underparts and breeding season a black rather than red throat. A chestnut brown stripe behind the eye separates the black crown and nape from the black chin and throat. Iris –white to red; bill –black; feet – olive.
Voice: shrill chattering ‘chee-ee-ee-ee’ similar to little grebe
Distribution and status: from java and bali through lesser sundaes to new Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. A rare local resident in Java and Bali from lowlands to montane lakes.
Habits: frequents lakes, swamps, flooded ricefields etc. where there is clear water and plenty of water plants. Dives under water to feed and at the slightest provocation. Generally single or in small disperse groups. In breeding season birds chase each other, rushing over the water and calling.
Diet: aquatic insects, tadpoles, fish, prawns and the seeds and shoots of aquatic plants.
Breeding: the nest is a floating mass of water plants attached to the surrounding vegetation. Three to five, usually four, whitish eggs are laid. Breeding in west java is recorded for november, for central java in November, March and April. When off the nest the parent covers the eggs with weeds. Young birds ride on the parent’s back.
Race: T.n. javanicus is the western race of the species
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