albatross taxonomy - tropical birdingalbatross taxonomy the meaty article on december 20 last year i...

www.tropicalbirding.com [email protected] 1-800-348-5941

Albatross Taxonomy

The Meaty Article

On December 20 last year I added anew Ecuadorian bird to my life list, theamazing Andean Motmot. It was an in-credible day of birding, kicking off at9am as I boarded the boat at Kaikourain New Zealand for the world famouspelagic trip. Within minutes of leavingthe harbour we were drifting over thecontinental shelf, and during the nexttwo hours I picked up five species of al-batross, five species of petrel and threespecies of shearwater. So where did Iget the motmot? The keen listersamong you will know already; on De-cember 20 the new Clements checklistupdate was released, elevating the wellknown ‘Highland’ subspecies of Blue-crowned Motmot to full species status.Because I’d already seen that sub-species in Ecuador, I could now add itto my life list.Sometimes this is called an ‘armchair’tick, one you don’t have to leave thehouse to get, but how many of us reallyunderstand the process behind it? Whywasn’t it always a full species? I wasthinking about that process on Decem-ber 20, because according to ClementsI saw five species of albatross that day.A few years ago it would have onlybeen four species. In a few more yearsit might be as many as seven. If I usedthe current International Ornithologi-cal Congress (IOC) checklist, it wouldhave been seven. Why the differences?If you are not a taxonomist (and I amnot!), this topic can be a confusingmess, but I’ll do my best to explain thebasics.It all starts with this question – whatdefines a species? You would think theanswer is simple, but when it comes tobirds, there are actually two basicschools of thought. One is termed theBiological Species Concept (BSC), whilethe other is called the PhylogeneticSpecies Concept (PSC). Most of the re-search on bird speciation and classifi-cation throughout history has used theBSC, and it is largely responsible fortoday’s lists. The main criteria for defin-ing a species under the BSC, is repro-ductive isolation. That means a group

of organisms must breed only amongstthemselves to be considered a sepa-rate species. By strict definition, if twodistinct groups of birds with largelyseparate ranges had a small zone ofcontact and interbred with each other,the BSC classified them as a singlespecies.This has been adjusted in some casesto allow recognition of separatespecies when interbreeding betweenpopulations is limited. Where the BSCfaces challenges though, is when thereare two groups of birds we think arethe same, but which have completelyseparate ranges. If the birds don’t comeinto contact, we can’t determine if theywouldn’t interbreed, and are thereforeseparate species. When this happens,we study the organisms themselves tosee how ‘different’ they are. We studyobvious characters such as plumageand voice, through to more crypticclues like behaviour and morphology.If we decide the level of differencewould preclude interbreeding, eachgroup is ranked as separate species.The problem is, such judgement in-volves subjectivity. In some cases, sci-entists disagree on the significance ofdifferences between populations, andwhether each population is a fullspecies.For a practical example, let’s look at thealbatrosses. The Shy Albatross complex

was made up of three well recognisedsubspecies, each with quite distinctiveadult plumage that allowed them to beeasily separated. Each subspeciesbreeds on separate islands south ofNew Zealand and Australia, and al-though they mix on the open ocean,for breeding purposes they are consid-ered to have separate ranges. The sci-entists decided that although eachsubspecies was distinctive morpholog-ically, they were similar enough that in-terbreeding could occur, so they wereconsidered one species. Recentlythough, isolated pairs of each sub-species have been recorded breedingin colonies of the other subspecies. Be-cause no interbreeding occurred, thiswas deemed sufficient evidence bysome, to separate the complex intothree species.Let’s now consider the other conceptused to define species, the Phyloge-netic Species Concept, or PSC. Underthe PSC, the smallest identifiable groupof individual organisms is defined as aspecies. If followed strictly, at leastevery known subspecies of bird wouldbe immediately elevated to speciesstatus. Whether or not they interbreedwith similar ‘species’ does not matter;the fact they are distinguishable as agroup of organisms is what makesthem a ‘species’. Like the BSC though,there is subjectivity here. What consti-

Nick Leseberg

White-capped Albatross / Nick Leseberg


Albatross Taxonomy

The Meaty Article

tutes an identifiable difference can beargued, and creates confusion. The riseof genetic studies has contributed tothis confusion.While previously relying on factorswhich could be easily measured andunderstood such as plumage charac-teristics or behaviour, procedures likeDNA sequencing have shown thatthere are sometimes differences be-tween populations we can’t ‘see’ or did-n’t even know about. In a verysimplified summary, these techniquesmeasure the difference between thesame sections of DNA of two differentspecies. By assessing the magnitude ofthis difference, taxonomists are able todetermine how closely related differ-ent species are. Using genetics, scien-tists are now discovering that birdpopulations considered one speciesunder the BSC, may actually consist ofmany different species if the PSC is ap-plied. Again, we’ll turn to the albatrosses foran example. The Wandering Albatrosscomplex is currently considered byClements to consist of five subspecies.Unlike the Shy Albatross complex,these subspecies are not always easilyidentifiable in the field, but each sub-species breeds on particular islands orin particular areas, with no overlap.Some consider the slight differences inmorphology to represent valid reasonsfor splitting the complex, while othersargue the differences may just be the

result of environmental factors. DNA sequencing has shown some in-teresting results. Apparently the fivesubspecies of Wandering Albatross aregenetically distinct but, two of thesesubspecies, antipodensis and gibsoniare very closely related (i.e very littledifference in the sections of DNA stud-ied), as are another two subspecies, ex-ulans and amsterdamensis. There ishowever, a significant difference be-tween these two groups. The fifth sub-species, dabbenena, was also shown tobe equally distinct from both thesegroups. So there are five distinct pop-ulations and three distinct groups. De-pending on what species concept youuse, there could be one, three or fivespecies!Where does that leave the people de-ciding how Wandering Albatross ap-pears on our lists? It is difficult to relyjust on the genetic data. There areother populations of birds that havemore genetic divergence than theWandering Albatross complex, but in-terbreed freely and are considered asone species. There are also populationswhich have less genetic divergence,but behave as separate biologicalspecies. The newly split Shy Albatrosscomplex is an example. Two of the newspecies in that group (Chatham andSalvin’s Albatross) have less genetic di-vergence than groups within the Wan-dering Albatross complex, yet theybehave as separate biological species.

The split is widely accepted by the au-thorities, but some still say the geneticevidence suggests they should belumped again.So, without a widely accepted determi-nation on what defines a species, weare relying on arguments which arepersuasive for both cases. When a de-cision is made, it is not because weknow, it is because the evidence onone side of the scale makes that argu-ment stronger than the other. Itdoesn’t mean the decision is unequiv-ocally correct. Particularly as speciesevolve, there will always be a grey area.What we do know, is that among thealbatrosses we are watching speciationoccurring in front of our eyes. Perhapsin a million years the picture will beclearer!Still, in spite of the confusion, we clutchour lists like bibles. I recorded fivespecies of albatross off Kaikoura on De-cember 20 only because I useClements as my guide. Clements hasproven to be conservative when ac-cepting new taxonomic arrangements,waiting for considerable evidence tobe gathered before accepting a split.The IOC seems more progressive,which is why some birders recordedseven species of albatross that day. Thetruth is, no one knows how manyspecies of albatross there are, becausethe definition of a species will alwaysremain arbitrary and subject tochange. In the mean time, keep a listbased on whatever arrangement youfeel comfortable with. Also make sureyou record all the different species andsubspecies you see. At least that waythe armchair ticks will keep on coming!

Northern Royal Albatross / Nick Leseberg

Southern-Royal-Albatross


What’s New at TB?

Tucson Bird and Wildlife Festival(Tucson, Arizona): 17 – 21 August 2011Join Iain Campbell, Kenn Kaufman andothers at the very first Bird and WildlifeFestival in Tucson, and visit the famoussky islands during the famous secondspring that hits the desert at this excit-ing birding time of year brought on bythe new flush of life after the monsoonhits southeast Arizona.

Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival(Harlingen, Texas): 9 - 11 November 2011Join Iain Campbell, Sam Woods, andthe Great Kiskadees at this long-estab-lished birding festival in south Texas. Ifyou are interested in catching up withsome of those southern specialties andMexican rarities head down to the RioGrande this November.

24th Annual Festival of the Cranes(Bosque del Apache, New Mexico): 15 – 20 November 2011Iain Campbell and Sam Woods couldresist the staggering concentration ofSandhill Cranes and Snow Geese nolonger! If you want to join a festival forspectacular photographic opportuni-ties this is the one, where you canshoot huge cranes coming into roostwith a fiery red sun behind, and takeshots of clouds of ghostly white snowgeese falling around you. Iain and Sancan also introduce you to many othergreat places around the globe for na-ture photography.

Falklands, South Georgia, and theAntarctic Peninsula

Resistance was futile! These are simplyplace that have to be seen to be be-lieved. The sight of hundreds of thou-

sands of King Penguins sprawledacross Salisbury Plain in South Georgia,or watching Leopard Seals float by onan ice floe, and walking among thou-sands of penguins on the Falklands, areall some of the greatest wildlife experi-ences on Earth, and all can be experi-enced on this mega tour that offersbirders some remote endemics andspecialties like South Georgia Pipit,Falkland Steamerduck, StriatedCaracara, among many others, andsome phenomenal pelagic birding fora wealth of albatrosses, petrels, andshearwaters, that could even includethe delicate white Snow Petrel. It offersany form of photography enthusiastsome of the greatest photo shoots onthe planet. If there is one place in theworld you ought to buy a camera for,this is it. The animals of Antarctica areincredibly tame and confiding allowingfor a Galapagos like experience withthe wildlife that coupled with thebreathtaking scenery of the AntarcticPeninsula makes for a true trip of a life-time.

UPCOMING TB EVENTS

What’s Changed at TB?

Sam Woods

Sam Woods

Sam Woods


What’s New at TB?

2011 Tour UpdatesThe following tours currently havepeople already booked on them, al-though have a few more spaces avail-able:

Photo Safaris:Our new photo safaris are alreadybooking up fast and we have two thatare set to run for later this year:Australia Photo Safari (13 – 30 Sept.)Ecuador Photo Safari (27 Nov. – 6Dec.)Please note: even without furtherbookings these tours will run, althoughfurther spaces are currently available.

Africa: Rwanda and Uganda: Shoebills andAlbertine Rift Endemics (1 – 17 June)

Namibia and Botswana: The LivingDesert to the Okavango (8 – 23Sept.)

South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger(23 Sept. – 9 Oct.)

Madagascar: The Eighth Continent (3 – 19 Nov.)

Asia: Borneo: Broadbills and Bristleheads(24 June – 6 July)

South America: Peru: Manu and Machu Picchu (12 – 29 August)Chile: Atacama to Tierra del Fuego (5 – 18 Nov.)

Brazil: The Atlantic Forest Introtour(16 – 23 July)

Brazil: Southeast. Atlantic Rainforestand Savanna (17 Sept. – 5 Oct.)

Australasia:Eastern Australia: From Top to Bot-tom (12 – 30 Oct.)

Tandayapa Bird Lodge (Ecuador): Low Season SpecialsAs this is now the quiet season in Ecuador there are special packages being of-fered for those wishing to stay at this very special hummingbird lodge that is inthe rich Mindo bird region. If seeing some of Ecuador’s most extraordinary birdslike Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan and Toucan Barbet appeals, or getting a quickhummingbird fix is required then log onto http://www.tandayapa.com to findout more… A variety of packages are available including with an experiencedprivate bird guide and driver to explore the many local birding spots.It may be the low season for tourists, although no one told the birds: they arestill there and still waiting for you!

Latest TB Developments

Pablo Cervantes

Purple-Bibbed Whitetip / Pablo Cervantes


Tales from the New

Far East Office

One Off Article

Keith Barnes

Keith Barnes talks of his life-changingmove from the west coast of South Africato the east coast of Taiwan in the Far Eastto set up a new Asian office for TB

“OK, lets go to Taiwan”. I said this to Yi-fang, my wife, with a mild bit of hesita-tion in my voice. If you think of themost diametrically opposite culturaland philosophical place on Earth toSouth Africa, a land of open spaces,barbeques and blue skies, Taiwan isprobably pretty close to it. Over theyears of travel I have become quite ac-customed to the East, where I havespent loads of time and loved it, but liv-ing there was always going to be de-cidedly different. Yi-fang is Taiwanese,and our son Joshua speaks fluent Man-darin, and they both take to the placelike fish to water, but for me, this wasgoing to take a massive mind-shift. I

was determined not to become an ex-patriate-addict, hanging out with abunch of English-speaking expats andtalking forlornly about home. The onlyway to get to know and understand aplace is to speak to it’s people, and sostarted Mandarin lessons immediately.It’s a tough language to get to gripswith, but after about 6 weeks I startedto feel it was really doable!

Tropical Birding has had both Africanand South American bases since theday we opened shop. We have success-ful projects and presences in the USA,including our seasonal office in High Is-land, Texas, and a small base in the UK,but the Far East is the one place wehave really needed an office for twomain reasons. Much of our interna-tional success over the last decade isdown to the fact that we live where the

birds are. Our bases in Quito (Ecuador)and Cape Town (South Africa) act ashubs for our guides to live and opera-tions to be co-ordinated from. We alsorun recon trips from these places, andguides living there regularly spendtheir time in the field in these placeswhen not guiding. As a result, we knowthe birds of Africa and South Americabetter than anyone else, and that is notrhetoric, our trip reports prove it! Al-though our operations in Asia havebeen very successful, we needed abase like this in Asia if we are to pushon and grab the mantle of “The best In-ternational Bird Tour operator theWorld has ever seen”, and that is ourgoal.

In addition, there exists a massiveclientele in the Far East that is worthgetting exposure to, particularly for our

Keith and Joshua Barnes


One Off Article

new line of dedicated photographictrips. So on 25 January 2011, Keith andJoshua (his son) climbed on an airplaneand flew to Taipei: a natural airport hubin East and South East Asia. Taipei hasmany easy and cheap flights to myriadcities throughout China, Japan, thePhilippines, South Korea, Malaysia,Thailand and Indonesia. From here wewill focus on offering many new andexciting trips to this culturally diverse,food extravaganza and bird rich region.With our new base we will be able tooffer excellent value for money Set De-parture trips to places like SE China fordelectable species like Reeve’s Pheas-ant and Cabot’s Tragopan. But also, ourbase will mean that custom trips to theentire Asian region will now becomeaffordable. We hope that this is excitingnews for long time TB followers, and fornew people who have always wantedto travel to the more remote and diffi-cult to access parts of the Asian region.So if you are interested in a trip to anout of the way Asian destination,please give us a shout.

Taiwan itself is a pretty misunderstoodplace. I’ll admit that when I first met mywife-to-be (truth be told I was taken in

by her typically outrageous Taiwanesehospitality when I responded to an ad-vert for CD sales and she immediatelyoffered me a beer and food when Iwalked through the door!), my idea ofthis place was a concrete jungle of in-dustrial factories and crowds of peopleimpossible to cope with. I had no de-sire whatsoever to visit the place. Ofcourse, as one thing led to another itbecame apparent that I would visit Tai-wan one day and so my inaugural visitwas to get married! In that time I madesure I educated myself, and discoveredthat although part of my initial percep-tion was true, this “industrial” version ofTaiwan is pretty much restricted to thenarrow western coastal plain. About70% of Taiwan comprises massive andimpressive mountains (Yushan or JadeMountain at 3952m/12,966ft is thehighest peak in East Asia) and propor-tionally more forest cover than remainsin most of the western world. Loadedwith an array of fabulous endemicspecies, Taiwan really is a magical bird-ing destination. Who would not wantto spend time watching the spectacu-lar Swinhoe’s Pheasant, or the gracefulTaiwan Sibia. Our office will be basedon the spectacular East Coast, in a

small town of Hualien at the mouth ofthe amazing Taroko Gorge, stated asone of Asia’s seven natural wonders forgood reason.

Since my arrival I have experiencedtwo important things, some of themost friendly people I have ever met,and also the best day’s birding I havehad in the last two years. The morningincluded a single Iredia tree packedwith seven different Taiwanese en-demics and a spectacular male Swin-hoe’s Pheasant that clearly had notlearnt the meaning of the word “shy”. Ihave also felt more invigorated than Ihave in some time, loving practicingmy very poor, but improving, Man-darin, on the hapless and incrediblypolite local people, as well as revellingin the challenge of setting up opera-tions here, to take TB to new levels inAsian birding.

I hope to keep you updated onprogress from the Asian office as thingsdevelop and new trips and opportuni-ties open up.

Humor

from the

office

Sam Woods Pablo Cervantes


REGUA, SE Brazil

Nick Athanas

When Sam asked me to write an articleabout my favorite birding spot, I had tolaugh. That’s an impossible questionfor a bird guide to answer; we travel somuch and see so many different amaz-ing places during our careers… Wehave lots of favorite places! That’s oneof the reasons why we love the job. SoI had to pick one of many, and sincelately I have been making the arrange-ments for Tropical Birding’s upcomingBrazil tours, one place in particularjumped out at me, an extraordinary lo-cation I have spent several months atover the last seven years.

Just two hours drive outside the beau-tiful city of Rio, you reach the ReservaEcologica de Guapiassu, or “Regua” forshort, one of the coolest wildlife sanc-tuaries anywhere in the world. As youapproach the reserve, you’ll see thejagged pinnacles of the Serra dos Or-gaos mountain range, draped in emer-ald green forest, and you know you’reheading to a special place. Not only isit the premier forest reserve in South-east Brazil, it also has the best wetlandsin the state of Rio and one of the nicestlodges anywhere in Brazil. It’s a con-verted villa that is open, bright, and

airy, perched up on a hill overlookingthe restored wetlands with the 8500 ftmountains looming overhead. Mealsare family-style affairs at a huge tablecovered with hearty Brazilian cuisine.The hosts, Nicholas and Raquel Locke,who are also the managers of the re-serve, have a contagious enthusiasmthat gets you excited about everythingthat is going on at the reserve. Theyalways have news about ongoing

research projects, new additions to thereserve, the latest sightings, or evenjust a good joke, as they chat with youover a round of complimentary caipir-inhas, Brazil’s addictive and refreshingnational cocktail.

A leisurely afternoon wanderingaround the wetlands can easily get you50 or more bird species. The ponds arepacked with waterfowl like MaskedDuck, Brazilian Teal, and White-facedWhistling-Duck. Herons stand watchover the shore; the handsome CappedHerons are always a favorite among themore familiar species. Water-lovingpasserines like chattering Yellow-chinned Spinetails, endemic Wing-banded Horneros, and smart MaskedWater-Tyrants strut and flit around thedikes. A successful reforestation projecthas enticed native trees to spring uparound the edge of the swamp, andafter only a few years some verysought-after Atlantic Rainforest en-demics have already moved it. You canbe looking at Masked Ducks in yourscope while a mixed flock of tanagersmoves above you and a Crescent-chested Puffbird stares stoically at youfrom a low perch. During your walk,you will also encounter nervous herds

Where we like to Bird

Spot-billed Toucanet

Green-headed Tanager


REGUA, SE Brazil

of Capybara, which look a lot like gi-gantic guinea pigs, and even a fewfierce-looking caimans. All this doesn’teven count the birds that come in tothe feeders by the lodge, like the ag-gressive Swallow-tailed Hummingbird,iridescent Glittering-throated Emerald,and handsome Black Jacobin (in springand summer). Fruit feeders bring in afew tanagers, and shy Rusty-marginedGuans often come in right at sunset tofeast on the bananas.

An extensive trail system penetratesthe forest, and give access to most ofthe possible lowland forest species inSoutheast Brazil. Even shorter walksshould get you a bunch of neat re-gional endemics, like Bare-throatedBellbird, Spot-billed Toucanet, Black-

cheeked Gnateater, Scaled Antbird,Pin-tailed Manakin, Green-headed Tan-ager, and Swallow-tailed Manakin, tomention only a few. The reserve is sohuge that parts of it have never beenvisited, and some trails are so long thatyou really would have to camp to birdthem properly. A lot of people believe,myself included, that the rarest bird inSouth America, the miniscule KingletCalyptura, must occur in the remotereaches of the reserve. This tiny cotingahas only been seen once in the last 100years, at a spot about 20 miles from thereserve. Until a lucky birder finds thisnear-mythical species, it’s anothercotinga that the reserve has becomerenowned for, the Shrike-like Cotinga.Even though it is not an endemic andoccurs in at least six countries, it is very

rare throughout its range, and I knowof nowhere else in the world where itis easier to see. During the springmonths (September-November) whenmales are singing on territory, you cansee it almost any day, and even duringthe rest of the year you stand a fairchance of finding one.

Day trips in a car from the lodge canget you up into the mountains muchmore quickly than taking very longhikes up the trails. There are a wholebunch of nice spots that are easy to getto where you can add numerous birdsto your list like Three-toed Jacamar,Red-legged Seriema, Black-and-goldCotinga, Brassy-breasted Tanager, andPlovercrest. Heading the other direc-tion, you can reach the ocean in abouttwo hours, where the beachside scrubholds one of Brazil’s rarest birds, theRestinga Antwren. You can see theantwren at the same time as BrownBoobies, terns, and even the oddpelagic, wing their way above the surf.

Our Brazil Introtour and SoutheastBrazil tours both visit Regua, and the2011 departures still have space avail-able. Independent visits can bearranged any time of the year, and ifyou are just passing through or in thecity on business, even one night spenthere would be an unforgettable expe-rience.

Where we like to Bird

Black-cheeked Gnateater

Regua Forest


Tour Summaries

ANTARCTICA: The Awe-inspiring Peninsula

Any mention to someone that you aregoing to Antarctica instantly inspiresjealous sideward glances. It is a clichéto say that it is many people’s dreamdestination, birder or not. And it is nothard to see why: awesome icescapes,extremely confiding birds and animals,and some of the greatest wildlife spec-tacles on Earth. On top of that it issomewhere that can truly be describedas unique. If you want to experiencethe kind of experiences that Antarcticahas to offer these can only be found onthe White Continent.

However, I should also mention that asour cruise was departing from SouthAmerica’s southernmost city, Ushuaia,we also had the chance to do somepre-cruise birding. Ushuaia is situatedright at the “End of the World”, (that iswell-noted all around this small city!),on Tierra del Fuego, that offers somehigh class birds in its own right. Withjust a few extra days we managed toadd some highly-coveted South Amer-ican birds, including the mighty Mag-ellanic Woodpecker in the southernBeech forests of the scenic Tierra delFuego National Park that also hostedthe nuthatch-impressionist, the White-throated Treerunner, and the oddThorn-tailed Ryadito. Less scenic than

the park maybe, although arguably noless productive was the town tip, orrubbish dump in Ushuaia. An earlymorning visit saw us run into a numberof the most highly-prized avian resi-dents sitting around at the edge of theproperty waiting for the tipping (andtheir feeding options) to begin. Amongthe common Chimango and SouthernCaracaras were a few of the localWhite-throated Caracara, and also sev-eral Black-chested Buzzard-Eagleswere also in attendance. A few hikes onthe surrounding mountains in andaround Ushuaia produced the biggestavian trophy of all on Tierra del Fuego,with a “covey” of White-bellied Seed-

snipes, in addition to a small party ofYellow-bridled Finches foraging in thesnow, with the large Martial Glacier asa backdrop!

Finally, and with some poorly-con-tained excitement, we boarded ourPolish vessel that would take us acrossthe often inhospitable Drake Passage,and onto Antarctica. We had to temperour excitement somewhat as the jour-ney would take us two days before wereached the incredible scenery of theWhite Continent. However, all was notlost for two days at sea also held thepromise of notable pelagic lifebirds.Our first day, indeed our first few hours

Recent Updates From the Field

Crab-eater Seal, specialist of the Ice packs / Pablo Cervantes

Gentoo Penguin / Pablo Cervantes


Tour Summaries


after awaking in the Drake Passage sawus find some of the great oceanic jour-neymen: Wandering and Royal Alba-trosses, that stood out among thesmaller, and distinctly more commonBlack-browed and Gray-headed Alba-trosses. All of these graceful oceanwanderers gave us spectacular looks asthey effortlessly cruised past our bowand lingered off the starboard. One ofthe most magical moments of thecrossing though was when a safetybriefing had to be hastily rescheduledas a pod of Killer Whales or Orcas werespotted by our Russian captain off thebow. The meeting was adjourned, theboat brought to a halt, and the bowwas soon lined with an appreciativecrowd of onlookers. As if that was notenough, during the forty minutes or sothe Orcas graced us with their promi-nent presence another huge Wander-ing Albatross chose to show up atextreme close quarters, while thebeautiful Light-mantled Sooty Alba-tross cruised by behind. A truly magicalscene. Other notable finds on thecrossing included a healthy dose ofPintado and White-chinned Petrels, nu-merous Northern and Southern GiantPetrels, and plentiful Antarctic Prions,

as well as the odd Sei Whale.

Finally we arrived on the Peninsula,and awoke to a channel littered with

massive faded blue icebergs, dottedwith loafing seals. Huge snow-cloakedmountains flanked the waterway, andthe glassy surfaces of the waters were

Port Lockroy, scenery in the bay / Sam Woods

Macaroni Penguin / Sam Woods


Tour Summaries

broken regularly by passing MinkeWhales. What a start! No one was keenon breakfast that morning!

Our five days in and around the Penin-sula were nothing short of breathtak-ing. Numerous landings brought us upclose with hundreds if not thousandsof penguins. We walked among Gen-too Penguins, and watched their fasci-nating antics, from chasing awaybothersome Snowy Sheathbills tryingto steal their food or stalk their youngchicks, to older fluffy youngsters beg-ging their mothers for yet anotherfeed, these dapper birds were infinitelyentertaining. And of course, like every-thing in Antarctica, this all happenedjust a few feet away. We tried hard toobey the five meter rule, although it isa little difficult when the ever-curiouspenguins simply wander right up toyou! As well as the comical Gentoos wealso walked among, lay beside, and justgenerally awed over some vast Chin-strap Penguin colonies too. Not leastthe one overlooking Orne Bay, that weneeded to hike up to the top of moun-tain in order to be among these im-maculately-dressed birds. It was hardto conceive of these short-legged crea-tures finding their way up to the top ofthis craggy outcrop, as we looked

down on our ship dwarfed downbelow!

In Antarctica though the birds oftentake a backseat, even for the most-hardened birder, as the scenery rightlysteals top billing. No brochure, descrip-tion, or coffee-table book can prepareyou for the awe-inspiring scenes andlandscapes that this magical continenthas to offer. Hundreds of shots weretaken of the beautiful blue icebergs,the towering Antarctic peaks, the pow-dery-white snowscapes. Although ofcourse none of these capture the cleanair and wonderful smells of the clean-est continent on Earth.

Many zodiac outings were taken tocruise amongst the ‘bergs, and weresidetracked by Crabeater Seals loafingunconcernedly on the ice just a fewfeet away, or to marvel at anotherAntarctic Minke Whale that showed nosigns of fear as it cruised slowly rightunderneath the boat, where every fea-ture could be admired in the crystalclear waters of the peninsula. Indeedsome days we experienced this all in asingle cruise: whales breaching, that in-cluded both Minkes and the hulkingHumpbacks, bergs, seals, and penguinsgracefully porpoising around the boat

that provided endless photo opportu-nities and many unforgettable memo-ries.

We finished all this with a side trip tothe South Shetlands, leaving icebergsbehind, and sampling a markedly dif-ferent landscape, characterized byblackish sandy beaches in sharp con-trast to the icescapes of the Peninsula.There were concerns that the exposedlandings may limit our opportunities,although these fears were allayed aslike with all areas on the trip the daydawned clear and bright and so for ourlast full day on land we crammed in asmany landings as possible, making adawn trip to one beach that bathed inearly morning sunlight, and waspacked with Antarctic Fur Seals and amass of Chinstrap Penguins nervouslyscuttling towards the water for theirearly morning dip, while overheadSouthern Giant Petrels cruised theazure skies above. At the close of theday we finished with the most spectac-ular show of all at our final landing.Minutes after dropping on the beachwe picked up some lonely lookingMacaroni Penguins doing a bad job ofhiding out in a Chinstrap colony, thensome grunts and a foul stench led ournoses and binoculars to a pile ofgrumpy Southern Elephant Seals rest-ing prominently on the beach. South-ern Giant Petrels glided regularlyoverhead and were a wonderful sightto finish with as with some regret weboarded our vessel and pointed northto South America once more. The jour-ney back produced the usual selectionof desirable pelagic views and also amuch-appreciated look at the south-ern tip of South America, Cape Horn,before we regrettably returned toUshuaia and reflected on what hadbeen a truly life-changing experiencethat will not fade for a long, long time.Now it is just set for the next “guidefight” over who will lead our next voy-age down to the Ice Continent!


Sam Woods


Tour Summaries

Costa Rica IntrotourAndrew Spencer

For a birder from the north, the draw ofthe tropics can be irresistible. And thefirst place many of them venture to isCosta Rica for good reason. This tinycountry, the size of West Virginia, packsquite a punch in the avian department,with such iconic species as Resplen-dent Quetzal and a horde of colorfultanagers on offer to name but a few.Not only is Costa Rica the perfect placeto dip your toe into the neotropics forthe first time, it’s also a perennial fa-vorite amongst veteran tropical bird-ers. This year we had to run twosimultaneous Introtours there due tohigh demand.

We began at Monteverde, in the cloud-forests of the north. While the weatherwas uncooperative, the birding wasbrilliant, with point blank views ofBlack-breasted Wood-Quail, Buff-fronted Quail-Dove, the charismaticand spectacular Long-tailed Manakin,and the crème de la crème of CostaRican birds, walk away views of a maleResplendent Quetzal!

Heading over the mountains, our nextstop was the lowland of La Selva andfoothills of Braulio Carillo NP. While not

the easiest birding on earth, the re-wards were substantial. We were richlyrewarded with a large antswarm thatheld a smart Ocellated Antbird, rareRuddy Woodcreeper, and Black-crowned Antpitta!

Working our way up into the moun-tains we spent a few days in the idyllicSavegre Valley. These highland oakforests provided a surreal mix of tem-perate and tropic, where we were en-tertained by cute Collared Redstarts,dapper Long-tailed Silky-Flycatchers,

and tiny Scintillant Hummingbirdsrounded out an allstar cast.

Coming full circle, our last location wasCarara, in the pacific lowlands. Fromprimary forest specialties such asStreak-chested Antpitta and Long-tailed Woodcreepers to drier northernspecies like the handsome Turquoise-browed Motmot, to mangrove obli-gates such as the plain but charismaticMangrove Vireo, the birding in CostaRica is hard to beat, and should be onevery birders “to do” list!


Scintillant Hummingbird / Michael Retter

White-throated Magpie-Jay/Michael Retter Bare-throated Tiger-Heron / Michael Retter


Tour Summaries

EthiopiaGuided by Ken Behrens

This custom tour started with a culturalpre-trip to the north of Ethiopia. Thisregion holds the richest archeologicaland historical sites in sub-SaharanAfrica: towering stone pillars, ancientrock tombs, and dozens of ancientchurches carved from live stone. Wespent our mornings birding and our af-ternoons at historical sites. Althoughthis isn’t a normal part of a birding itin-erary, we found some great birds likeArcher’s Francolin, Yellow-breasted Bar-bet, and White-fronted Black Chat.After a flight back to the capital ofAddis Ababa, we met two more tourparticipants and began birding inearnest, with an itinerary similar to ourset departure tour. In the northernhighlands, we quickly found almost allof the Abyssinian endemic birds, fromthe fruit-loving White-billed Starlingand pugnacious Rueppell’s Black Chatto the spectacular White-cheeked Tu-raco. One particular highlight of thissector of the tour was finding the en-demic and highly localized Harwood’sFrancolin within a few minutes of start-ing to search. We were drinking coffeeand enjoying a field breakfast with a

sweeping view downinto the Blue Nile shortlythereafter! Ethiopia’s por-tion of the Great Rift Val-ley is a different worldfrom the highlands, andhas a very differentbunch of birds. Our firstbirding in this region wasat Awash National Park, afine national park ofgrassland and savanna.Here we found severalbustard species includ-ing Hartlaub’s and Ara-bian, plus dozens of drycountry birds like Chest-nut-bellied and Lichtenstein’s Sand-grouse, Rosy-patched Bush-Shrike, andSomali Fiscal. Bale National Park lies onthe heights of Ethiopia’s southern high-land massif, and is another of the pre-mier natural sites in the country. This iswhere we headed after our runthrough the Rift. The highlight of anyvisit to Bale is the Abyssinian wolf, alanky, red, rodent-munching caninethat is more closely related to Euro-pean wolf than to any African jackal ordog. The birds of Bale are also excel-lent: dapper Spot-breasted Lapwing,incredibly extroverted Rouget’s Rail,and beautiful though cryptic Moorland

and Chestnut-naped Francolins. Ourtour concluded with a loop throughthe south of Ethiopia similar to the‘southern extension’ offered with ourset departure tour. Two people chosenot to join this portion due to the basichotels it entails, though those whomade the trip were richly rewarded!The best four birds of this region arefour extremely local endemics: Stresse-mann’s Bush-Crow, White-tailed Swal-low, Sidamo Lark, and best of all…Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco. In addition, wefound a large array of dry country birdslike crombecs, sunbirds, cisticolas, andcuckoos.


African Hawk Eagle / Ken Beherens

Ken Beherens


Tour Summaries

New ZealandNick Leseberg

New Year’s Day didn’t see me nursing ahangover this year. Instead I was up at5am and on my way to Aramoana, asmall beach on the rugged south-east-ern coast of New Zealand. It was thefirst morning of the tour, and we wereplanning to kick off the New Year witha lifer for everyone, the very loveableYellow-eyed Penguin. The penguinsperformed right on cue, and the fan-tastic morning continued with VariableOystercatchers, Spotted Shags, Para-dise Shelducks and nesting Royal Alba-tross. We spent the next ten dayscircumnavigating New Zealand’s SouthIsland, followed by a few days based inAuckland on the North Island, seeingmost of the fantastic endemics NewZealand has to offer. It was not allabout birds though. A highlight of anytrip to New Zealand is the amazingscenery; some days it’s hard to knowwhere to look!After getting the penguins we contin-ued north to Christchurch where anendemic shorebird, the quirky Wrybillwas our next target. The following daysaw us boarding a boat for a pelagictrip out of Kaikoura, one of the most fa-mous seabirding spots on Earth. Onlya few minutes off the coast we found

ourselves overthe continentalshelf, and sortingthrough multiplealbatrosses: Wan-dering, Royal,Salvin’s, andWhite - capped.There was also amultitude of pe-trels, includingWestland, White-chinned, Cape,G r e a t - w i n g e dand NorthernGiant, plusBuller’s, Flesh-footed, Sooty andHutton’s Shear-waters and a pairof dainty FairyPrions to topthings off.Over the next fewdays we climbedthe majestic Southern Alps where wepicked up the endemic Kea, a parrotwhich is at home in these ruggedmountains. We were also very lucky tofind an obliging Blue Duck, a rare tor-rent specialist. A day exploring the pic-turesque Mackenzie Basin netted ouronly Black Stilt, one of the world’s rarestshorebirds, before we were on our wayto the beautiful Fiordland in the re-mote south-west. Here we cruised themagnificent Milford Sound and alsofound the very local South Island(Rock) Wren.The southern part of our adventure fin-ished with two days on Stewart Islandoff the far southern tip of New Zealand.The birding started on the boat tripacross the Foveaux Strait, with MottledPetrel, Common Diving-Petrel, andBuller’s Albatross, and continued thatnight with perhaps the high point ofthe trip as we visited Ocean Beach andfound the nocturnal Southern BrownKiwi. The following day Ulva Island, asmall sanctuary free of introducedpredators, produced a long list ofsought after birds: Red-fronted and Yel-low-fronted Parakeets, New Zealand

Kaka, Weka, and Yellowhead.Our final few days of the trip werespent on the North Island. A pelagictrip into the Hauraki Gulf was incredi-ble as we watched Cook’s Petrels arcingacross the gentle swell, White-facedStorm-Petrels bouncing across thewater and barrel-chested Parkinson’s(Black) Petrels fighting over scraps. Thehighlight though, was a visit by the re-cently rediscovered New ZealandStorm-Petrel – a lifer for the guide too!The next day we visited Tiritiri MatangiIsland, practically an ark for rare andendangered birds; over the course of afew hours we added Stitchbird, Saddle-back, Whitehead, and Takahe to ourburgeoning trip list. Our trip finishedwith a mad “twitch” to chase downNew Zealand Falcon, and in keepingwith our luck for the rest of the trip wefound two of these brilliant endemicraptors.So, it was a busy two weeks but a greatway to start the year. We found someawesome birds and also enjoyed someawe-inspiring scenery, and I am des-perate to return so please book soon!!!


Yellow-eyed Penguin / Nick Leseberg

South Island (Rock) Wren / Nick Leseberg


Tour Summaries

Recent Updates From the FieldNorthern Colombia

We started in the city of Barranquilla,and quickly found the endemic Chest-nut-winged Chachalaca. We alsostopped at some mangroves on theCaribbean coast, where we had Black-crested Antshrike and Russet-throatedPuffbird, and horde of wintering Pro-thonotary Warblers followed usaround; there were so many that it wassometimes tough to pick out otherbirds like Bicolored Conebill, PanamaFlycatcher, and Sapphire-throatedHummingbird.

Next we headed for the deserts of theGuajira Peninsula of far northernColombia. The ugly face of the draband dusty arid scrub belies the aviandelights that hide within! VermilionCardinal, Orinocan Saltator, White-whiskered Spinetail, Yellow Oriole, andChestnut Piculet are just a few of the

cool birds we saw,and the seafoodwas great too!

Next stop was Tay-rona NP, with tallsemi-humid forestright by the ocean.Here there weretwo clear favorites;the Lance-tailedManakins that wesaw in full lekkingdisplay stole theshow (it was voted“bird of the trip”),but a beautifuland rare littlemonkey called theC o t t o n t o pTamarin was ahuge hit as well.

While this was allgreat, the realdraw card for thistour is the SantaMarta Mountains.This range is to-

tally separate from the Andes and hasthe highest peaks in Colombia at19,000 ft. They are also the highestcoastal mountains in the world andhave a truly bizarre history and appar-ently originated in Northern Peru! Theheight and iso-lation of themountains letto a very highdegree of en-demism. 19 en-demic birdspecies are cur-rently recog-nized, andseveral of the50 or so en-demic sub-species willlikely be raisedto species level,

a remarkable number for such a smallarea on a continental landmass. Birdingthese mountains has gotten a lot easiernow that there is an excellent eco-lodge located in the heart of the forest.Three nights there were a joy withamazing birds coming to feeders in-cluding White-tailed Starfrontlet, SantaMarta Woodstar, Santa Marta Antpitta,and Black-fronted Wood-Quail. It alsohas one of the most astounding viewson this planet, looking down over theforest to the coastal plain andCaribbean Sea beyond, dotted withhuge ships that looked like toys theywere so far away.

Remarkable, our first Santa Marta en-demic was one of the rarest, a SantaMarta Sabrewing quite low down themountain long before reaching thelodge, and it was a lifer even for me. Weended up seeing all but a few of thepossible endemic species as well as alot of the races that will likely be splitin the future. Just to mention a few ofthem: Santa Marta Parakeet, SantaMarta Screech-Owl, Rusty-headedSpinetail, Yellow-crowned Redstart,Black-cheeked Mountain-Tanager,White-tipped Quetzal, and Gray-throated Leaftosser.

The complete trip report can be foundon the Tropical Birding website.

Cottontop Tamarin / Nick Athanas

Black-fronted Wood-Quai / Nick Athanas


Tour Summaries

PhilippinesKeith Barnes

The Philippines is home to some of themost incredible looking, and desirablebirds on Earth. It is also a place wherethe forests are disappearing at a rapidrate and the birding is some of themost challenging possible. Keith andNick participated in a recce trip beforeKeith led a custom tour shortly there-after. This summary will combine thehighlights of both trips. First of all, bothtrips had tremendous success with theA-list birds of the Philippines, seeingperched Great Philippine Eagle, ab-surdly close Palawan Peacock-Pheas-ants with fanned tail feathers that looklike a thousand eyes watching youfrom the forest interior, and enviableviews of the stellar, and increasinglyrare, Celestial Monarch.

The Philippines holds an incredible col-lection of fruit-doves and pigeons, butgetting decent looks at them seems tobe becoming increasingly more diffi-cult as more hunting and less foresttakes its inevitable toll. However, westill managed views of some of themost amazing-lookers such as Flame-breasted and the helmeted Yellow-breasted Fruit Dove, and Black-chinned

Fruit Dove. Raptors were plentiful, andin addition to the hulking “eagle” wehad great looks at the endemic Philip-pine Serpent-Eagle, Philippine Hawk-Eagle, and the dainty and diminutivePhilippine Falconet. Some more wide-spread, but still scarce raptors, like Ori-ental Hobby, Pied Harrier, and BarredHoney-Buzzard were nice extras on themain tour. The crepuscular BukidnonWoodcock appeared meticulously ontime on both trips, showing well in

flight and on the ground for the luckyfew. At a new site near Sabang we weretreated to fabulous scope views of thescarce and Critically EndangeredPhilippine Cockatoo, that decided toperch both times we needed goodlooks. One day we were lucky enoughto see 4 birds. The dainty racket-tails(parrots with ridiculous spatulate tailfeathers) did their level best to avoidus, but in the end we caught up withfour species. Some of most enjoyableencounters were saved for those aber-rant cuckoos, the malkohas and cou-cals. At Subic we saw a flock of eightRed-crested Malkohas travelling to-gether in a stellar spectacle, and Mak-iling delivered a Scale-featheredMalkoha that actually decided to sitstill, which was a real and unusualpleasure. Several parties of the odd Ru-fous Coucal, with their sniping squealcalls were also encountered after a lit-tle effort, and the smart Black-facedCoucal was easily seen at PICOP, whereit is amongst the most under-appreci-ated birds of this archipelago. Owls areanother notable feature of the Philip-pines and we got lucky with PalawanScops, Philippine Scops, Giant Scops,and the Mindanao subspecies ofPhilippine Hawk Owl. Other nocturnal


Chestnut-faced-Babbler / Nick Athanas

Palawan Peacock-pheasant / Nick Athanas


Tour Summaries


forays revealed the amazing PhilippineFrogmouth and Philippine Nightjar.The Philippines is a dream for King-fisher-hunters, as one spends ab-solutely hours looking for them. Thesearch can be fruitless, or occasionallyhighly rewarding. We netted the im-maculately spotted Silvery, glowing In-digo-banded, Philippine Dwarf,Oriental Dwarf, Stork-billed, and frus-tratingly elusive Rufous-lored andSpotted Wood Kingfishers. Hornbillsare another incredible group of birdsthat are getting more and more diffi-cult to find as the forest recedes, andwe lucked out with all possible specieson our itinerary including Luzon andMindanao Tarictic Hornbills, scarce

Writhed Hornbill, enormous and spec-tacular Rufous Hornbill and the strikingwhite-tailed Palawan Hornbill. Wood-peckers are another family with somestellar members including the endemicSooty and Philippine Pygmy Wood-peckers. The non-endemic but com-mon White-bellied, and assorted racesof Greater and Common Flamebacks,many of which are due to be split asnew Philippine endemics were alsowelcome. We had stellar views of sev-eral pittas, including the endemicazure-breasted Steere’s, fiery glowingRed-bellied and more widespreadHooded. One of the more “stand-out”flock birds was the smart Short-crestedMonarch. Although starlings are often

not priority species, the Philippines hastwo incredible species that were bothseen excellently, the punk-crested ApoMyna and silvery and sleek pink-facedColeto. One had to carefully watch thetrunks of trees for the wood-runningSulphur-billed Nuthatch, as well as formembers the endemic family of birds(Philippine Creepers), Stripe-headedand Stripe-breasted Rhabdornis. Flockson the different islands occasionallyheld the beautiful Palawan and ElegantTits. The flowing torrents of northernLuzon held the local Luzon Water Red-start, while a stakeout (thanks RobHutchinson), led us to the amazinglyconfiding Ashy Ground-Thrush. Mt. Kit-inglad revealed good looks at threestrange and enigmatic species, the Cin-namon Ibon, which looks more like aNew-world Furnariid than it does anOld World White-eye, and may be in it’sown family! Red-eared Parrotfinch wasfound in some scrub, and we also gotgreat views of the distinctly temperateWhite-cheeked Bullfinch, which wasfound in some distinctly tropical forest.Where they occur, the forests were en-ergised with the melancholic calls ofthe White-browed and White-ventedShamas. Canopy flocks were enlivenedwith Blue, Blue-headed and Black-and-cinnamon Fantails, and the startlingRufous Paradise-Flycatcher seldommade an appearance without rousinga gasp from participants! Other fami-lies where we did well included thecuckoo-shrikes, leafbirds, bulbuls,drongos, orioles, babblers, leaf-war-blers, tailorbirds, bush-warblers,whistlers, and the many endemic sun-birds and flowerpeckers. The Philip-pines is a must-visit place if you haveserious intentions of building a largeWorld list. The rapidly vanishing forestsare also another reason to consider thistour sooner rather than later, as even inthe last 5 years we have found that cer-tain species are tougher and tougherto see. So if you have ambitions, ele-vate the Philippines to somewherenear the top of your list.

Azure-breasted Pitta / Nick Athanas


Tour Summaries

Sri Lanka: Iain Campbell

I had been offered trips to Sri Lanka fornearly a decade, and it never reallypiqued my interest. I always thought,well it is a watered down India with afew endemics. I love India, so whybother settling for second best. Run-ning out of places laden with endemicsaround the world, we did a tour inMarch to Sri Lanka to chase the thirtysomething endemics and a bunch ofbirds only found there and in southernIndia. I have to admit never had I beenso far off the mark with a destination inmy inaccurate preconceptions. SriLanka surpassed all expectations, so letme tell you why I was wrong.

A country where there are no kidshunting with sling shots, guns arebanned, and people frown on hurtinganimals is going to have some tamebirds, but Sri Lanka is just ridiculous. Ofall the target birds, only the CeylonSpurfowl was shy; birding much of SriLanka is pretty much a matter of get-ting to the well-known stakeouts andfinding the birds. Once you have them,they frequently stick around for greatviews. For this reason Sri Lanka in myview is hands down, the ultimate place

in Asia for bird photography. Light is aproblem in the primary forest areassure (that are superb for many en-demics of course), but getting subjectsthrough the day is easy, and it alwaysfelt like there was a constant flow ofthings to shoot.

We started birding right out of the air-port, but tried to get to Kitulgala assoon as we could, as this was an areawhere we would start experiencing theflood of cool birds. A short canoe tripacross a river and a 15 minute walk gotus into some fantastic forest, and bythe end of this short venture we hadscored the recently discoveredSerendib Scops-Owl along with CeylonMyna, Chestnut-backed Myna and

Spot-winged Thrush.

The next site we visitedwas Sinharaja WildernessArea, where we started tofeel as though nothingcould go wrong on thistrip. Great food, accom-modation and birds justeverywhere. If anyoneever told me that I wouldwalk away from CeylonJunglefowl, Red-facedMalkoa or Ceylon Jay, Iwould not have believedthem; to say that I woulddo it in one morningalong with so many otherbirds, I would think they

were insane. Surely there must besome skulker in this country. Even theScaly Thrushes gave such good viewsthat they are a disgrace to the zootheraname genus.

After these forest sites, we took achange of pace and did some safarirides in more open savanna habitat toget up close with Asian Elephants, AsiaWater-Buffalo, monkeys and more In-dian Peafowl than I ever thought pos-sible. Throw in great looks atBlue-faced Malkoas, storks at closerange and shorebirds all over the place,and we had one hell of a day. To top itoff we went to a nearby reservoir tophotograph the handsome Pheasant-tailed Jacanas and scintillating IndianPittas. A quick trip into Yala NationalPark resulted in us scoping a maleLeopard just soaking in the afternoonsun on a granite outcrop, loads moresavanna birds and a real feeling that wehad well and truly seen all we could seein the open habitats.

So eat my words I must, as this fastidi-ously clean, easy paced, and absurdlyfriendly country does not deserve tobe compared with any other country.In my mind it is one of the most enjoy-able birding experiences possible inAsia and one of the very best bird pho-tography locations on our little planet.Anyway, don’t take my word for it, readthe trip report from tour participantRuth Miller on our website.


Ceylon Junglefowl / Iain Campbell

Malabar Hornbill / Iain Campbell


Tour Summaries

TaiwanKeith Barnes

With our new base in Hualien, Taiwan,the possibility of short, small groupcustom trips and ground agency oper-ations across the region has openedup. This was the first of many such cus-tom trips we expect to be doing in theSino-Asian region in the near future.Targeting endemics and a bevy of EastAsian specialty species, we only had 5days and no time to waste. We took offfrom Taipei on rapid whiz-around ofthe island. Now February is a prettybad time to be looking for endemicsand other resident species in Taiwan,but there is a supplement of loads ofwintering birds to be had, as well asmany great fruiting trees, which makesup for the lack for song in the forests.We immediately made for the foothillsof the high mountains of the interior.Our first afternoon yielded the spectac-ular Taiwan Barbet, and face-paintedTaiwan Sibia, both endemics andsnazzy-lookers. After a considerablesearch the following day we finallyscored a party of the electric FormosanBlue Magpie. Four birds eventuallycame flying into the tree overhead andshowed magnificently. We immedi-ately headed for the high mountainswhere most of Taiwan’s special birdsare to be had, and with so little timeavailable clearly made the coolest of

them all, the pheasants, our primarytargets. First thing the next morningwe were on site to look for Swinhoe’sPheasant. No sooner had we stoppedthe car and a spectacular Royal-blueand white, Red-faced beast of a malebird strolled across the road. Heseemed oblivious to the barrage ofclicking from the photographers onsite there to capture this splendidimage. A White-tailed Blue Robinshared the limelight but was clearlyeclipsed. A nearby fruiting tree was areal treat. It was laden with birds in-cluding many migrant Pale and ScalyThrushes, and a couple of delightfulwhite-headed Taiwan Thrush, one ofthe scarcer endemics and surely one ofthe best looking Turdus thrushes onEarth. Our desires were fulfilled when

an amazing Mikado Pheasant strolledonto the roadside verge higher up themountain, completing our endemicpheasant haul on our first day! Ournext stop was at the inimitable Alishan.Here we caught up with dapper road-side Collared Bush-Robin, Steere’s Lio-cichla, the cute Taiwan Pygmy-Babbler,amazing Taiwan Yellow Tit, White-whiskered Laughing-thrush and Tai-wan Fulvetta, which all performed oncue. However the birds were almosteclipsed by the amazing scenery thatthis region is famous for. Stark high-al-titude mountains and deep incised val-leys blanketed in pristine forest is whatmake Taiwan’s interior such a joy, andsurprise to all visitors who generallyhave no idea how wild most of Taiwanstill is. Making our way back towardsWushe we spent our last few days inthis area mopping up the remainingendemics including Taiwan Barwingand Taiwan Partridge. Soon this shortcustom trip was over and we wereheading back for Taipei. Despite itbeing the wrong time of year we en-joyed some great birds, some incredi-ble food, and startling scenery. Pleaseremember that with our new base inthe coastal hamlet of Hualien, Taiwan,Tropical Birding now can offer a varietyof custom trips and ground agency onthe island, and elsewhere in Asia.


Vivid / Keith Barnes

Johnstone's Bush-Robin / Keith Barnes


Spotlight On…..Southern

Ground HornbillCharley Hesse

Whenever I am asked to choose afavourite bird anywhere, I always endup choosing one that wasn’t easy tofind. Before coming to Africa, one birdthat I really wanted to see was theSouthern Ground Hornbill, which I wasassured wasn’t too difficult to see inKruger National Park. My first trip therewas in December, the middle of sum-mer. The rains had already started andthe grass was quite high. Despite 5days in the park, birding every dayfrom dawn to dusk, I couldn’t find oneanywhere. In the subsequent months Ivisited several other reserves wherethey occur but again failed to find myincreasingly frustrating quarry. I re-signed myself to seeing them when Isaw them, and stopped looking.On my first full tour around SouthAfrica as a guide, I found myself back inKruger. We had been birding all overthe country already and had seen ahuge number of birds, but during thefirst couple of days in the park thenumber of new birds was quite over-whelming. On our second day we wereheading north from Skukuza to Satararest camp and passing through an areaof open grassland. We had just seen

the majestic Saddle-billed Stork (anotherclose contender forfavourite African bird)and were still on ahigh from this multi-coloured wader, whenall of a sudden wespotted 2 great, hulk-ing black figures stalk-ing through themercifully short grass.We had great views ofmy very first SouthernGround Hornbills, anda wonderful opportu-nity to observe theirabsorbing behavior. As well as the strangeappearance of thebirds and the mys-tique that surroundsthem, I was also fasci-

nated by their vocalizations: A loud,booming “ooomph oomph” call. There-after, whenever I was in a reservewhere they occur, I always had an earopen for the distinctive sound of thehornbills. Later on the same tour whereI had seen my first, we visited the won-derful Ongoye Forest, the only place inSouthern Africa where the Green Bar-bet occurs. In the early morning, wewalked up to a hillside overlooking theforest to listen out for the barbet’s dis-tinctive calls. We didn’t hear any bar-bets, although did hear a very strangebooming soundwhich puzzled me.After finishing ourmorning’s birdingthere, we begandriving out of thereserve when wewere stopped inour tracks by fourhuge figures thatproceeded to crossthe road in front ofthe car: another“showstopping”group of ground-hornbills. I was so

shocked and unprepared to see themat that particular spot that I watchedtransfixed as the birds walked casuallyacross in front of us and completelyforgot to reach for my camera. It thenoccurred to me that these were thesource of that odd booming sound wehad heard earlier that morning.Ground Hornbills have a very weirdand sinister look to them and it is un-surprising that they feature strongly inAfrican folklore and traditional medi-cine. The Masai in East Africa believethat they should never be killed be-cause it will bring bad luck. If one landson the roof of a house, the occupantsmust move at once or they believedeath will ensue. Others in Africa be-lieve that the hornbill is a rain prophet.However , one story I heard from myhome in Zululand is that in ‘Muti’ (tribalmedicine) the bones of the groundhornbills can be ground into a pasteand spread between the shoulderblades to stop one from being hit bylightning. With such superstitions, it isunsurprising that ground hornbills arenow mainly found within large re-serves or in more remote areas. Almosthalf of the 1500 birds in South Africaare found in Kruger, and since my first,life-changing encounter with them, Ihave never missed them there again.However, now I make sure that I neveractually go looking for them!

Spotlight on

Southern-Ground-Hornbill / Sam-Woods

Southern-Ground-Hornbill / Sam Woods

albatross taxonomy - tropical birdingalbatross taxonomy the meaty article on december 20 last year i...

Documents