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NEW CALEDONIA:
The Quest for Kagu
The very, very odd KAGU. Here seen giving his great
'punk-hair do' display to his mate.
THE main reason for visiting New Caledonia is to see this incredible bird.
4th - 8th July 2007
a TROPICAL BIRDING custom tour
Report written by Sam Woods
ALL photos in this report were taken on this tour
New
Caledonia makes a superb short break, as an add-on to a longer more demanding
trip elsewhere (New Guinea or Australia for example). The reason for this
is simple: the birding is easy, with the possibility of getting most of the
endemics even at a relaxed birding pace by visiting only a few close sites;
the place itself is very relaxing and very easily accessible from Australia,
just a few hours away by plane. The few main birding sites are all under two
hours drive from the modern capital city of Noumea on the main island of La
Grande Terre, that is more of a chilled-out beach resort than a bustling capital
city. Therefore all the sites can be visited by staying in a good comfortable
hotel in the relaxed atmosphere of the islands relaxed capital Noumea. With
around 20 endemics to New Caledonia and surrounding islands readily available
there is plenty to keep the avid listers happy, and almost all of these are
fairly easy to come by by visiting only a few easily accessible sites. Of
course most birders have only one real motivation for coming here - Kagu.
If you are after something a little bit different, then this truly unique,
flightless, semi-nocturnal, monotypic and endemic family fits the bill perfectly.
This quirky bird is worth the entrance fee alone, although to ignore some
of the other avian attractions is to do New Caledonia an injustice, as although
the bird list is small a high proportion of the birds are endemic, and many
of these are very cool birds in their own right. On top of that many of them
are fairly common on this thin strip of an island, making getting repeated
views of them likely and this also leads to another great aspect to a New
Caledonian birding trip - good photographic opportunities are often available
of many of these island specialties.
On this trip we spent three very enjoyable days covering the three main sites
on La Grande Terre: Parc de la Rivière Bleue (Blue River Park), Mont
Khogi and Farino. We managed to find all but one of the endemics, including
two of the especially tricky ones - Crow
Honeyeater and
New Caledonian Grassbird.
On top of this we ran into Kagus
on three separate occasions, and were treated to an amazing courtship ritual
on one occasion that was filmed, photographed and never to be forgotten.
 YELLOW-BELLIED ROBIN A very 'cute' common endemic in Parc de la Rivière Bleue |
 RED-THROATED PARROTFINCH Parc de la Rivière Bleue |
Day
1
We
began by visiting Parc de la Rivière Bleue, that has all but
one of the endemics, and more importantly is the best place in the
world to see the Kagu. As this is many people's raison detre for coming to
New Caledonia we decided to head for after New Caledonia's flagship bird first
to ease the pressure. Shortly after arrival we were boarding the park bus,
(the only vehicle permitted into this key area of the reserve), that runs
along a tranquil rainforest road in the park that is within the core breeding
range of the Kagu. As it turned out we literally almost ran into our main
target bird, as we were greeted with the site of a pair of Kagus sitting
slap bang in the middle of the deserted forest road. We quickly jumped off
the bus and feasted on these incredible close up views of Kagu. Literally
our first endemic and virtually the first bird of the trip turned out to be
this awesome target bird. After we had well and truly soaked them up, (getting
some nice flashes of their black-barred ash- gray wings in the process), we
carried on a little further in the park and ventured onto a short forest trail.
At first all was quiet and then suddenly we hit a flock and a flurry of endemics
ensued. First a Streaked Fantail was found, and then a little higher
in undergrowth a bright male New Caledonian Whistler appeared. Way
up in the canopy this varied flock was dominated by an inconspicuous warbler,
Fan-tailed Gerygone, while a flash of red in the understorey had us
homing in our first very smart Red-throated Parrotfinches. The flock
lingered for a while, allowing the parrotfinches to settle in by a stream
and start bathing in the open in front of us, and just long enough for us
to pick out a beautiful ivory-billed Southern Shrikebill that tried
to sneak quietly by.
 SOUTHERN SHRIKEBILL Parc de la Rivière Bleue |
 NEW CALEDONIAN WHISTLER Parc de la Rivière Bleue |
The
flock was soon on the move again and the 'deathly' quiet returned once more.
A pause by the entrance to the trail and a sudden movement on the ground saw
us picking up our first Yellow-bellied Robins, an endemic species that
was common and conspicuous in the park. Although we also heard our first New
Caledonian Imperial Pigeons we would have to have a little patience on
this one, as they steadfastly remained hidden on this day. A little later
in the morning a large dark bird was seen moving furtively in the undergrowth
and so we quickly focused our attention on it, and soon after were happily
taking in our only sighting of Crow Honeyeater of the trip. This massive
and strange honeyeater is like no other and definitely rates as one of Caledonia's
real oddities. There are estimated to be only around 400 birds left, almost
all of which are found in this large park. This was undoubtedly the rarest
bird we saw in our time there, and is never a guaranteed species due to its
unretiring nature and genuine rarity. The performance of the day occurred
late in the afternoon when we again ran into the same confiding pair of Kagus
we had seen in the morning. However, on this occasion they outdid themselves
by treating us to the amazing full range of display behavior when we could
really begin to appreciate to the full how fantastic, bizarre and truly unique
this weird endemic really is. One bird would walk in chest pumped out and
flare up his huge white crest in the face of the other individual - just superb
to see again and again over the course of a really magical half an hour. Birding
some edge habitat later brought us many of the common endemics to the more
open habitats, Barred and Dark-brown Honeyeaters and a fine perched
White-bellied (New Caledonia) Goshawk, in addition to some further
Red-throated Parrotfinches, Rufous Whistler and several Long-tailed
Trillers . While on the way out of the park a pair of cuckoo-shrikes turned
out to be beady-eyed Melanesian Cuckoo-shrikes.
 |
 Because you can simply never have enough photos of KAGU can you! |
Day
2
We began the day by returning to Parc de la Rivière Bleue
for a little while to pick up a further couple of species that had eluded
us the previous day. Sure enough the distinctive calls of New Caledonian
Cuckoo-shrike were heard early on and we soon enjoyed good looks at this
rusty-vented endemic cuckoo-shrike. And a little later some monarch-like sounds
brought us onto a fine pied male Melanesian Flycatcher, with another
red-breasted female bird being picked up later that morning. Most interesting
sighting of the morning though was getting our first good looks at New
Caledonian Crow. This uninspiring crow initially has little obvious appeal.
However, this species is one of very few species in the world that actually
uses tools. On this morning we watched fascinated as this corvid carried around
his 'comfort stick', that he tucked away under his foot when not being used
to attack a branch in search of some unseen prey item. We also saw another
group of Kagus, this time three very shy birds that crossed over the
road, nervously ran back into the forest and promptly vanished.
 The breathtaking CLOVEN-FEATHERED DOVE Mont Khogi |
|
In the afternoon we focused our attention on Mont Khogi, specifically to try and get some of the parrots and pigeons we were missing as this site, with its scenic views over the canopy of the rainforest, can be a better bet for those species. Sure enough Khogi did not let us down. First off a group of three Horned Parakeets spent the best part of an hour feeding in a fruiting tree right beside where we'd parked the car. This eye-catching parrot turned out to be bird 5000 for Nick, who was hoping that he could 'warp' the Kagu into number 5000, although had to concede he was still shy 10-15 birds at that point! In any case this attractive parrot was a deserving species for that special landmark, with its beautiful bright red 'horns'. A little later on we ran into a garden that held a few welcome fruiting trees that attracted first up to 3 separate New Caledonian Imperial Pigeons - the largest arboreal pigeon in the world and one that is increasingly under threat from hunting and habitat loss; and secondly one of the most attractive of the melanesian pigeons - the gorgeous Cloven-feathered Dove. So-called as it has some clove-like feathers on the wings that give this bird a very distinctive whistling sound when it takes off, a convenient aid to finding this species when it's around. Other notable birds in the area included several very handsome scarlet-and-white male New Caledonia Myzomelas, a few New Caledonia Friarbirds in the local gardens, and several Metallic Pigeons perched on roadside wires.
 LONG-TAILED TRILLER Mont Khogi |
 HORNED PARAKEET Mont Khogi |
Day
3
Our final day also brought us the longest day trip of the tour, as we made
the one and half hour ride to Farino. The main reason for making this journey
was for arguably the toughest of the New Caledonian endemics. Trawling along
the road in Lantana gulleys and around the grassy verges brought little reward,
until suddenly and quietly a bird responded with a single note. The i-pod
was swung into action and soon tempted a New Caledonia Grassbird into
view, only a few meters away. Mission accomplished, that hardest of the endemics
was in the bag. We also enjoyed further looks at the strange tool-carrying
New Caledonian Crow, handsome Horned Parakeets and several Melanesian
Cuckoo-shrikes.
 The strange, tool-using crow species NEW CALEDONIAN CROW Parc de la Rivière Bleue |
 |
We also picked up some other trip ticks like Swamp Harrier and Brown Goshawk near there.. It was a fairly relaxed day as we'd seen most of our target birds now so we simply enjoyed some great views of some of the cooler endemics we had seen before, like brilliant red New Caledonia Myzomelas, a clean-cut White-bellied (New Caledonia) Goshawk a few New Caledonia Whistlers and Long-tailed Trillers, and a bunch of Fan-tailed Gerygones, Streaked Fantails and Gray Fantails. We then returned to the quiet capital, Noumea for a final farewell dinner in this chilled-out beachside resort.
 NEW CALEDONIAN CUCKOO-SHRIKE Parc de la Rivière Bleue |
 MELANESIAN CUCKOO-SHRIKE Parc de la Rivière Bleue |
Bird
List
Taxonomy
and nomenclature follow Clements, J. (5th ed. updated 2004) Birds of the
World. A Checklist. Pica Press.
Birds that
are endemic to the sub-region (that includes the island of Vanuatu) are marked
as ENDEMIC.
CORMORANTS: Phalacrocoracidae
Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
A few were seen in Parc de la Rivière Bleue.
HERONS,
EGRETS AND BITTERNS: Ardeidae
White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae
A few were seen in Parc de la Rivière Bleue.
HAWKS,
EAGLES AND KITES: Accipitridae
Whistling Kite Haliastur sphenurus
Fairly commonly seen in a few areas on New Caledonia, including Parc de la
Rivière Bleue.
Swamp Harrier
Circus approximans
Only recorded on the one day when two or three birds were seen on
our trip to the Farino area.
Brown Goshawk
Accipiter fasciatus
Again only seen on our one day in the Farino area.
New Caledonia
Goshawk Accipiter haplochrous ENDEMIC
This is one very smart endemic accipiter, that we ran into twice in
our time in Parc de la Rivière Bleue, and also once around Farino.
RAILS, GALLINULES AND COOTS: Rallidae
Buff-banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis
One ran across our path in the Farino area.
Purple Swamphen
Porphyrio porphyrio
Two were seen by the roadside near Farino.
KAGU:
Rhynochetidae
Kagu Rhynochetos jubatus ENDEMIC
The undisputed highlight of this (or any) New Caledonia trip is getting
to grips with this cool endemic bird and family. Very much Caledonia's flagship
bird donning their currency notes and also readily displayed on road signs
around Noumea, frankly a must-see bird. We almost ran into our first pair
that were literally standing in the middle of a quiet rainforest road in Parc
de la Rivière Bleue. This same friendly pair were hanging around in
the same area on our return journey the same day. However on this occasion
they put on the full Kagu show, with a full-on display seen involving one
bird pumping out his chest aggressively and approaching the other with his
huge crest raised. Absolutely superb and the unquestionable trip highlight.
On another day three much shyer birds in another area of the park were seen
nervously crossing the road and soon disappeared into the forest. The,
completely predictable, BIRD OF THE TRIP.
GULLS:
Laridae
Silver Gull Larus novaehollandiae
A few were seen
hanging about on wires right in the heart of Noumea.
TERNS:
Sternidae
Great Crested Tern Sterna
bergii
A few were seen
off the coast close to Farino.
PIGEONS
AND DOVES: Columbidae
Metallic Pigeon Columba vitiensis
A strangely difficult bird in much of its range (e.g. in the Philippines),
these birds were shockingly easy around Mont Khogi, where they were found
perched on roadside wires and feeding on fruiting shrubs in the local gardens.
Another was also seen at Parc de la Rivière Bleue.
Cloven-feathered
Dove Drepanoptila holosericea ENDEMIC
A stunningly-colorful dove, with bright lemon-yellow breast and vivid emerald
green upperparts, a real 'cracker'. One was found feeding in a fruiting tree,
in a garden that also held several New Caledonian Imperial Pigeons enjoying
the same feast.
New Caledonian
Imperial Pigeon Ducula goliath ENDEMIC
As implied by the scientific name this is one very big pigeon. Not
quite the biggest in the world (that title goes to the breathtaking Southern
Crowned Pigeon of New Guinea), although it is the largest arboreal pigeon
species in the world. Their distinctive deep calls were first heard around
Parc de la Rivière Bleue, although had to wait to pick them up on Mont
Khogi, where three birds were found feeding in a garden that was loaded with
fruiting trees.
PARROTS:
Psittacidae
Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus
A common and conspicuous bird at many sites, including in the capital Noumea.
Horned Parakeet
Eunymphicus cornutus ENDEMIC
Another stunning endemic, that was seen at all the main sites on the island.
When first picked up on Mont Khogi this species became the landmark 5000th
bird for one person in the group. This odd-looking parakeet with its flashy
red horns was a very worthy species to take that significant position on his
world list.
Red-fronted
Parakeet Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae (H) ENDEMIC
Our undoubted one disappointment of the trip was only hearing this bird distantly
on one occasion on Mount Khogi.
SWIFTS:
Apodidae
Glossy Swiftlet Aerodramus esculenta
A common daily bird on New Caledonia.
KINGFISHERS:
Alcedinidae
Sacred Kingfisher Todirhamphus sanctus
Two were seen in the Farino area.
CUCKOO-SHRIKES:
Campephagidae
Melanesian Cuckoo-shrike Coracina caledonica
This beady, yellow-eyed cuckoo-shrike is also found in the Solomons.
We first saw a pair in Parc de la Rivière Bleue, with another pair
there later; and also saw one at Farino.
New Caledonian
Cuckoo-shrike Coracina analis ENDEMIC
Several very vocal birds were seen in the
Parc
de la Rivière Bleue.
Long-tailed
Triller Lalage leucopyga
This bird was seen on all of our days in New Caledonia, and at all
the sites visited.
OLD
WORLD WARBLERS: Sylviidae
New Caledonian Grassbird Megalurulus mariei ENDEMIC
Arguably New Caledonia's
toughest bird. We found it quickly in our focused search for it in the Farino
area, although it was typically skulking even then. However, we did get good
close-up views with a little help from our recorder in the end.
FANTAILS:
Rhipiduridae
Gray Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa
Both the fantails were very common and conspicuous being recorded
a number of times at all the sites on the tour.
Streaked
Fantail Rhipidura spilodera
Also found on Fiji this near-endemic is a very regular member of the regular
mixed flocks in the forests of New Caledonia.
MONARCH
FLYCATCHERS: Monarchidae
Southern Shrikebill Clytorhynchus pachycephaloides ENDEMIC
This subtly handsome, endemic flycatcher
was seen twice in passing flocks in Parc
de la Rivière Bleue. A much cooler bird
than implied by the field guide illustration.
Melanesian
Flycatcher Myiagra caledonica
Two separate sightings (of a male and a female bird) of this monarch in Parc
de la Rivière Bleue.
AUSTRALASIAN
ROBINS: Petroicidae
Yellow-bellied Robin Eopsaltria
flaviventris ENDEMIC
This cute endemic was very common in Parc de la Rivière Bleue, often
hopping down to catch insects just a few meters away from us.
WHISTLERS: Pachycephalidae
New Caledonian Whistler Pachycephala caledonica ENDEMIC
This was a fairly commonly recorded bird in the many mixed feeding flocks
found in forested areas in the Parc de la Rivière Bleue; and also recorded
around Farino too.
Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris
Also commonly recorded in the Parc de la Rivière Bleue, although
this species seems to favor the open edge habitat compared to the New Caledonian
Whistlers.
THORNBILLS
AND ALLIES: Acanthizidae
Fan-tailed Gerygone Gerygone flavolatoralis
This near-endemic was a very regular flock member in the forests of
both Farino and Parc de la Rivière Bleue.
WHITE-EYES: Zosteropidae
Green-backed White-eye Zosterops xanthochrous ENDEMIC
A common bird at all sites visited on New Caledonia, frequently encountered
throughout the trip.
Silver-eye
Zosterops lateralis
Only recorded the once in the Farino area.
HONEYEATERS:
Meliphagidae
Dark-brown Honeyeater Lichmera incana ENDEMIC
A common endemic, especially in the open areas. Again recorded at all sites
on the tour.
New Caledonian
Myzomela Myzomela caledonica ENDEMIC
A very welcome daily feature on the tour, this cool red-and-white
honeyeater was seen at Farino, Mont Khogi and Parc de la Rivière Bleue.
New Caledonian Friarbird Philemon diemenensis ENDEMIC
Just a few individuals were recorded at all the sites covered on the tour.
Crow Honeyeater Gymnomyza aubryana ENDEMIC
This is another of
the tougher endemics to get to grips with, courtesy of the fact that it is
genuinely rare and thin on the ground. We picked one up feeding quietly in
the understorey on our first morning at Parc
de la Rivière Bleue.
Barred Honeyeater Philidonyris undulata ENDEMIC
This
is a very common endemic on the island and especially around Mont Khogi where
they were feasting on the flowering shrubs at the time.
WOODSWALLOWS:
Artamidae
White-breasted Woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus
Several were seen in the Farino area.
CROWS AND JAYS: Corvidae
New Caledonian Crow Corvus moneduloides ENDEMIC
This strange tool-using
crow, one of the few bird species in the world known to use tools, was seen
first in Parc de la Rivière Bleue and later in the Farino area where
they were decidedly more common.
STARLINGS:
Sturnidae
Striated Starling Aplonis striata
Recorded at all sites visited in the tour, with many especially in
the gardens on Mont Khogi.
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
A common introduced species around Noumea.
OLD
WORLD SPARROWS: Passeridae
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Very commonly seen on New Caledonia.
WAXBILLS
AND ALLIES: Estrildidae
Common Waxbill Estrilda astrild
This introduced African species was seen a couple of times in the
Noumea area.
Red-throated
Parrotfinch Erythrura psittacea ENDEMIC
This gorgeous endemic
finch was first seen in Parc de la Rivière Bleue where several showy
flocks were seen, including a pair that bathed in an open stream for several
minutes; and also recorded several times in Farino.