This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
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.
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.
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.
’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
Whereas most of Fiji shares the Streaked Fantail with New Caledonia and Vanuatu, Kadavu has its own species, the Kadavu Fantail. The remainder of Fiji’s whistlers are in the Fiji Whistler, and it seems that Fiji was invaded by whistlers on two occasions. Another biogeographical oddity is the local fantail.
He is a writer and communicator whose day jobs have taken him to six continents and more than 25 countries, including Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Kenya, and Cameroon. His fascination with birds and nature began at the age of four or five, and he now works full time in conservation of Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River birds and ecosystems.
The closest I came to exploring a cave was diving in a wreck in Vanuatu a few years ago, and while I found the experience nerve-wracking, a combination of sheer fascination and nitrogen narcosis (the effect while diving of compressed nitrogen acting like alcohol – particularly to the decision making processes) kept me sane.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 30+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content