birding...

Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio ©Ian Montgomery http://birdway.com.au

Ten of the region`s endemic birds can be seen in Tonga and these include two of it`s own endemics, the Tongan Megapode which is restricted to the isolated Nuiafo`ou and the Tongan Whistler which is found only in the Vava`u Group.

The Kingdom of Tonga consists of about 170 islands of which only 36 are inhabited; four main island groups, the outlying northern Nuias`; Vava`u; Ha`apai and the southern Tongatapu Group. Running almost the length of the archipelago on the western side is a string of active and dormant volcanoes such as Nuiafo`ou, Toku, Fonualei, Late, Kao, Tofua and `Ata. To the east are the older, coralline limestone covered islands.

The original vegetation of Tonga was tropical rain forest – today this has been almost completely lost, throughout the Kingdom. Only small remnants remain on Tongatapu, some of the Vava`u islands and on `Eua. The 449 ha `Eua National Park is the sole terrestrial biodiversity protected area in the Kingdom. The Tongan Government is currently considering a proposal to declare the islands of Maninita and Taula in the Vava`u Group as protected areas as both these islands are important seabird nesting sites.

Species likely to been seen depending on time of year

Wandering Albatross, Southern Giant Petrel, Cape Petrel, Tahiti Petrel, Phoenix Petrel, White-naped Petrel, Herald Petrel, Kermadec Petrel, Mottled Petrel, Black-winged Petrel, Collared Petrel, Audubon`s Shearwater, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, Buller`s Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Polynesian Storm-petrel, Red-tailed Tropicbird, White-tailed Tropicbird, Masked Booby, Brown Booby, Red-footed Booby, Greater Frigatebird, Lesser Frigatebird, Eastern Reef Heron, White-faced Heron, Mangrove Heron, Pacific Black Duck, Northern Pintail, Tongan Megapode, Junglefowl, Pacific Harrier, Banded Rail, Spotless Crake, Purple Swamphen, Pacific Golden Plover,Bristle-thighed Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Wandering Tattler, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Pomarine Skua, Artic Skua, South Polar Skua, Crested Tern, Black-naped Tern, Sooty Tern, Grey-backed Tern, Bridled Tern, Blue Noddy, Grey Noddy, Brown Noddy, Black Noddy, White Tern, Feral Pigeon, Friendly Ground-dove, Pacific Pidgeon, Many-coloured Fruit-dove, Crimson-crowned Fruit-dove, Blue-crowned Lory, Red Shining Parrot, Long-tailed Cuckoo, Barn Owl, White-rumped Swiftlet, White-collared Kingfisher, Pacific Swallow, Polynesian Starling, European Starling, Jungle Mynah, Red-vented Bulbul, Lesser Shrikebill, Tongan Whistler, Polynesian Triller and Wattled Honeyeater.