Papua
Western New Guinea, also known as West Papua, is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly Dutch and granted to Indonesia. It is one of the seven geographical units of Indonesia. Lying to the west of Papua New Guinea and geographically a part of the Australian continent, the territory is almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere and includes the Biak and Raja Ampat archipelagos. The region is predominantly covered with rainforest where traditional peoples live. A large proportion of the population live in or near coastal areas. The largest city is Jayapura.
Papua is a province rich in natural resources and cultural diversity. The government’s focus on empowering indigenous communities and promoting sustainable development is bringing economic and social benefits to the region. Despite the challenging terrain and climate of New Guinea, major infrastructure projects are being implemented, connecting remote areas and fostering economic growth. The expansion of telecommunications services and renewable energy projects are further accelerating development in rural areas. The interior is predominantly populated by ethnic Papuans while coastal towns are inhabited by descendants of intermarriages between Papuans, Melanesians and Austronesians, including other Indonesian ethnic groups. Migrants from the rest of Indonesia also tend to inhabit the coastal regions. The province is also home to some uncontacted peoples.
The region is 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) from east to west and 736 kilometres (457 miles) from north to south. It has an area of 412,214.61 km2 (159,157 square miles), which equates to approximately 22% of Indonesia’s land area. The northern part of the border with Papua New Guinea follows the 141st meridian east until it reaches the Fly River.
Anggi Giji Lake – ©Dewipramanik CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The population is around 5.7 million people. It is currently governed as six autonomous provinces of Indonesia. The official language is Indonesian, with Papuan Malay the most used lingua franca. Estimates of the number of local languages in the region range from 200 to over 700, with the most widely spoken including Dani, Yali, Ekari and Biak. The main industries include agriculture, fishing, oil production, and mining. The province has a large potential in natural resources, such as gold, nickel, petroleum, etc.
The island of New Guinea lies to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago. Geologically it is a part of the same tectonic plate as Australia. When world sea levels were low, the two shared shorelines (which now lie 100 to 140 metres below sea level), and combined with lands now inundated into the tectonic continent of Sahul, also known as Greater Australia. The two landmasses became separated when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the end of the Last Glacial Period. The collision between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate resulted in the formation of the Maoke Mountains, which run through the centre of the region and are 600 km (373 miles) long and 100 km (62 miles) across. The range includes about at 15,620 feet and Puncak Trikora at 15,580 feet. This range ensures a steady supply of rain from the tropical atmosphere. The tree line is around 13,100 feet and the tallest peaks feature small glaciers and are snowbound year-round. Both north and west of the central ranges, the land remains mountainous – mostly 3,300 to 6,600 feet high with a warm humid climate year-round. The highland areas feature alpine grasslands, jagged bare peaks, montane forests, rainforests, fast-flowing rivers, and gorges. Swamps and low-lying alluvial plains with fertile soil dominate the southeastern section around the town of Merauke. Swamps also extend 300 kilometres around the Asmat region.
Mamberamo River – ©Benfrizsmalau CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Mamberamo River is the region’s largest and runs through the length of Papua. The result is a large area of lakes and rivers known as the Lakes Plains region. The southern lowlands, habitats of which included mangrove, tidal and freshwater swamp forest, and lowland rainforest, are home to populations of fishermen and gatherers such as the Asmat people.
Papua, like most parts of Indonesia, has two seasons, the dry season and the rainy season. From June to September the wind flows from Australia and does not contain much water vapour resulting in a dry season. On the other hand, from December to March, the wind currents contain a lot of water vapor originating from Asia and the Pacific Ocean creating the rainy season. The average temperature in Papua ranges from 19 °C to 28 °C and humidity is between 80% and 89%. The average annual rainfall is between 1,500 mm and 7,500 mm. Snowfalls sometime occurs in the mountainous areas of New Guinea, especially the central highlands region.
Various other smaller mountain ranges occur both north and west of the central ranges. Except in high elevations, most areas possess a hot, humid climate throughout the year, with some seasonal variation associated with the northeast monsoon season. Another major habitat feature is the vast northern lowlands. Stretching for hundreds of kilometres, these include lowland rainforests, extensive wetlands, savanna grasslands, and some of the largest expanses of mangrove forest in the world. The northern lowlands are drained principally by the province’s largest river, the Mamberamo River and its tributaries on the western side, and by the Sepik on the eastern side.
West Papua’s fauna include Asiatic, Australian and endemic species. The region is 75% forest and has a high degree of biodiversity. The island has an estimated 16,000 species of plants, 124 genera of which are endemic. The mountainous areas and the north are covered with dense rainforest. Highland vegetation also includes alpine grasslands, heath, pine forests, bush and scrub. The vegetation of the south coast includes mangroves and sago palms and in the drier southeastern section, eucalypts, paperbarks, and acacias.
Marsupial species dominate the region; there are an estimated 70 marsupials (including possums, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, and cuscus), and 180 other mammal species (including the endangered long-beaked echidna). The region is the only part of Indonesia to have kangaroos, marsupial mice, bandicoots, and ring-tailed possums. The more than 700 bird species include cassowaries (along the southern coastal areas), bowerbirds, kingfishers, crowned pigeons, parrots and cockatoos. Approximately 450 of these species are endemic to New Guinea including over 60 endemic just to West Papua. Birds-of-paradise can be found in Kepala Burung and Yapen. The region is also home to around 800 species of spiders, 200 frogs, 30,000 beetles, and 70 bats, as well as one of the world’s longest lizards – the Papuan monitor – and some of the world’s largest butterflies. The waterways and wetlands of Papua provide habitat for salt and freshwater crocodiles, tree monitors, flying foxes and other animals, while the equatorial glacier fields remain largely unexplored. In February 2005, a team of scientists exploring the Foja Mountains discovered numerous new species of birds, butterflies, amphibians, and plants, including a species of rhododendron that may have the largest bloom of the genus. Environmental issues include deforestation, the spread of the introduced crab-eating macaque, which now threatens the existence of native species, and discarded copper and gold tailings from the Grasberg mine.
Lorentz National Park – ©Ufhii22 CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Protected areas within Papua include the World Heritage Lorentz National Park, and the Wasur National Park, a Ramsar wetland of international importance. Birdlife International has called Lorentz Park “probably the single most important reserve in New Guinea”. It contains five of World Wildlife Fund’s ‘Global 200’ eco-regions: Southern New Guinea Lowland Forests; New Guinea Montane Forests; New Guinea Central Range Subalpine Grasslands; New Guinea mangroves; and New Guinea Rivers and Streams. Lorentz Park contains many unmapped and unexplored areas, and is certain to contain many species of plants and animals as yet unknown to Western science. Local communities’ ethnobotanical and ethno-zoological knowledge of the Lorentz biota is also very poorly documented. On the other hand, Wasur National Park has a very high value biodiversity has led to the park being dubbed the ‘Serengeti of Papua’. About 70% of the total area of the park consists of savanna (see Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands), while the remaining vegetation is swamp forest, monsoon forest, coastal forest, bamboo forest, grassy plains and large stretches of sago swamp forest. The dominant plants include Mangroves, Terminalia, and Melaleuca species. The park provides habitat for a large variety of up to 358 bird species of which some 80 species are endemic to New Guinea.
Wasur National Park – ©Arifrudiana 011213 CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Bird’s Head Peninsula, also known as the Doberai Peninsula, is covered by the Vogelkop montane rainforests ecoregion. It includes more than 22,000 km2 of montane forests at elevations of 3,300 feet and higher. Over 50% of these forests are located within protected areas. There are over 300 bird species on the peninsula, of which at least 20 are unique to the ecoregion, and some live only in very restricted areas. These include Grey-banded Munia, Vogelkop Bowerbird and the King Bird-of-paradise. The southeastern coast of the Bird’s Head Peninsula forms part of the Teluk Cenderawasih National Park.
Birding Western New Guinea
West Papua is a singularly unique tropical wilderness area and a birdwatcher’s paradise. In fact, the vast and lush frontier forests of Papua are home to some of the most glorious birds on Earth. Anyone who watched the nearly mythical birds of paradise doing their intimate thing in the highly-acclaimed BBC nature documentary ‘Attenborough in Paradise’ is destined to long ever beyond to see the real stuff. But Papua has so much more to offer than BOP’s alone. The cliché-ridden examples of spectacular avian diversity from many an ornithology textbook all occur here: from the man-high, flightless cassowaries and the fascinating megapodes or incubator birds, to the glorious crowned-pigeons and amazing bowerbirds. More than 700 bird species have now reliably been recorded from the territory, most of those found in the entire New Guinea faunal region. Knowledge of the birdlife of Indonesian Papua, however, is far less comprehensive than that for adjacent Papua New Guinea, and the intrepid and careful observer is bound to make significant observations just about anywhere.
Wilson’s Bird of Paradise Diphyllodes respublica – ©JJ Harrison, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
It is the breeding land birds and freshwater avifauna that adorns Papua with a nearly mythical status, comprising over 550 species including 279 widespread regional New Guinea endemics and at least 60 currently recognised species who’s distribution is entirely confined to Papua alone. Species richness is high, lowland forests typically sporting close to 200 different resident breeding birds. New Guinea forest bird communities differ markedly from elsewhere, however, in featuring an unusually high proportion of fruit- and nectar-eaters as well as ground-dwellers, but no wood-borers. Australo-Papuan passerines including fairywrens Malurini, warblers Pardalotidae, robins Eopsaltriidae, honeyeaters Meliphagidae, and the diverse corvid assemblage radiated to fill all niches. Obviously, of prime interest, are the 29 birds of paradise (here including Melampitta but discounting Macgregoria) scattered across the territory. Among these, the Wilson’s Bird of Paradise Diphyllodes respublica of Waigeo and Batanta in the fabled Raja Ampat archipelago, has widely been claimed by seasoned world birders to be one of the best birds roaming the face of this planet! Finally, some 115 Palearctic and Australian migrants, including vagrants and seabirds, have also been recorded from Papua, and its southeastern Trans-Fly zone, which includes the famed Wasur National Park, is a globally significant staging and wintering ground for waders and waterfowl. You can see a list of the endemic species below.
Where to go birding in Papua?
The paramount centres of avian endemism in Papua (in declining order of importance) are the isolated Arfak Mountains on the Bird’s Head Peninsula, the oceanic twin islands of Biak-Supiori plus nearby Numfor in Geelvink Bay, the Snow Mountains along the central cordillera, and the Waigeo ophiolitic suite comprising the islands of Waigeo, Batanta and Kofiau in the Raja Ampat archipelago. Moreover, the vast lowland forests effectively isolated to the north and south of the central dividing range, harbour a presently still underestimated endemism component on a much grander scale. See the ‘Top Sites’ section below for details – they are in alphabetical order, not order of importance.
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Arfak Mountains
Satellite ViewSince Dutch colonial times these mountains are one of the most frequently explored and best known regions of western New Guinea. They support all of the 10 presently described, so-called 'Vogelkop' endemics and provide straightforward access to largely untouched foothill, hill and montane forests that support a wonderfully diverse avifauna. Among the Vogelkop endemics are the Vogelkop Bowerbird Amblyornis inornatus, which surely builds the most complex avian structure on Earth, the little-known Arfak Astrapia Astrapia nigra, the highly-prized Long-tailed Paradigalla Paradigalla carunculata, and the wacko Western Parotia Parotia sefilata, who's ballerina dance almost has to be seen to be believed. In addition, 15 of the 21 restricted-range species present in the Bird's Head region can be seen in the Arfak Mountains. -
Geelvink Islands
Satellite ViewThe deep-water twin islands of Biak and Supiori are only separated from one another by a narrow mangrove-lined channel and harbour the most highly endemic avifauna of any land area in the New Guinea region. In total, 11 endemic taxa have now widely become accepted at the species level, most notably including a megapode, a paradise-kingfisher, a regionally unique scops owl, and two parrots. Numfor Island lies approximately 60 kilometres to the southwest and further boasts its own endemic kingfisher, the glorious Numfor Paradise-Kingfisher Tanysiptera carolinae. In addition, another staggering 25, often morphologically highly distinctive, endemic subspecies exist on the islands. -
Kofiau
InformationSatellite ViewThis oceanic Raja Ampat island features a generally rather depauperate avifauna with a decidedly Moluccan element, but importantly includes two endemic allospecies: Kofiau Paradise-Kingfisher Tanysiptera ellioti and Kofiau Monarch Monarcha julianae. Both are readily seen, as are a limited selection of restricted-range and more widespread goodies. -
Northern lowlands
Satellite ViewThe vast alluvial lowland forests just west of the Cyclops Mountains near Jayapura are an excellent place to secure a great selection of New Guinea's northern lowlands specialties, including the Victoria Crowned-Pigeon Goura victoria, and the little-known Pale-billed Sicklebill Epimachus bruijnii. -
Snow Mountains
InformationSatellite ViewThe discovery in 1938 of the densely populated and agriculturally advanced Balim Valley in the heart of the Snow Mountains by American mammalogist, explorer and millionaire, Richard Archbold, may well have been the last great feat of the age of exploration. Following in Archbold's footsteps, an exquisite selection of the wonderfully diverse montane Papuan avifauna can be seen when hiking through cultivation and upper montane forests up the Ibele Valley onto the Lake Habbema alpine plateau at 3,200 m elevation above the timberline, in the shadow of Mount Trikora or Wilhelmina, New Guinea's second peak. Getting to grips with the MacGregor’s 'Bird of Paradise' Macgregoria pulchra here, in some of the most splendid mountain scenery this side of the Himalayas, is quite simply 'over the top', regardless of whether this is a bird of paradise or a member of the honeyeater family. While only three bird species are genuinely confined to the Snow Mountains, a staggering 33 montane restricted-range species occur. -
Trans-Fly and Wasur National Park
InformationSatellite ViewMany key species of New Guinea's southern lowlands, including Southern Crowned-Pigeon Goura scheepmakeri and Greater Bird of Paradise Paradisaea apoda, can still be seen in and around the famed Wasur National Park near Merauke within the so-called Trans-Fly zone. This is an extensive plain of seasonally flooded grassland, marshes, reedbeds, savanna, woodland and monsoon forest, bordered by the Digul, Fly and Aramia rivers: in essence, a little piece of Australia, isolated within New Guinea. Not surprisingly therefore, the area harbours the most distinctive avifauna within New Guinea with four endemic species and heaps of Australian specialties. Wasur is also a globally significant staging and wintering ground for water birds from both the Palearctic and Australia. -
Waitanta
Satellite ViewAt the northern end of the Raja Ampat archipelago off New Guinea's westernmost tip, Waigeo and Batanta, once fused to a single landmass 'Waitanta', support a varied lowland and hill forest avifauna with a 'peculiar' endemism component, to say the least. In fact, every self-respecting world birder is bound to at least once in a lifetime undertake the pilgrimage to Waitanta's endemic avian delights, which include the endangered Bruijn’s Brush-turkey Aepypodius bruijnii, and the nearly mythical Wilson's Cicinnurus respublica and Red Bird of Paradise Paradisaea rubra. The brush-turkey only occurs on Waigeo, and then quite likely only east of the visually stunning Mayalibit Bay that divides the island in roughly two equal halves. Furthermore, Waigeo boasts the highest number of land and fresh water bird species of any island in the Raja Ampat group, including the delightful Western Crowned-Pigeon Goura cristata and mysteriously distributed Brown-headed Crow Corvus fuscicapillus.
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Mrs. Like Wijaya
Papua Expeditions
https://www.bird-watching-papua-adventure-travel.com/birdingexpeditions.html
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Number of bird species: 721
(As at May 2025)
Number of endemics: 64
Bruijn's (Waigeo) Brushturkey Aepypodius bruijnii
Red-billed Brushturkey Talegalla cuvieri
Biak Megapode Megapodius geelvinkianus
Snow Mountain Quail Anaurophasis monorthonyx
White-striped Forest Rail Rallicula leucospila
Western Crowned Pigeon Goura cristata
Geelvink Imperial Pigeon Ducula geelvinkiana
Biak Coucal Centropus chalybeus
Biak Scops Owl Otus beccarii
Vogelkop Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles affinis
Kofiau Paradise Kingfisher Tanysiptera ellioti
Biak Paradise Kingfisher Tanysiptera riedelii
Numfor Paradise Kingfisher Tanysiptera carolinae
Geelvink Pygmy Parrot Micropsitta geelvinkiana
Papuan Lorikeet Charmosyna papou
Black Lory Chalcopsitta atra
Black-winged Lory Eos cyanogenia
Biak Lorikeet Trichoglossus rosenbergii
Salvadori's Fig Parrot Psittaculirostris salvadorii
Blue-fronted Fig Parrot Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii
Biak Hooded Pitta Pitta rosenbergii
Arfak Catbird Ailuroedus arfakianus
Vogelkop Bowerbird Amblyornis inornatus
Golden-fronted Bowerbird Amblyornis flavifrons
Rufous-sided Honeyeater Ptiloprora erythropleura
Brass's Friarbird Philemon brassi
Western Smoky (Arfak) Honeyeater Melipotes gymnops
Wattled Smoky Honeyeater Melipotes carolae
Biak Myzomela Myzomela rubrobrunnea
Orange-cheeked Honeyeater Oreornis chrysogenys
Vogelkop Melidectes Melidectes leucostephes
Vogelkop Scrubwren Sericornis rufescens
Biak Gerygone Gerygone hypoxantha
Western Crested Berrypecker Paramythia olivacea
Satin Berrypecker Melanocharis citreola
Wthick-billed Berrypecker Rhamphocharis crassirostris
Biak Triller Lalage leucoptera
Vogelkop Whistler Pachycephala meyeri
Baliem Whistler Pachycephala balim
Waigeo Shrikethrush Colluricincla affinis
Mamberano Shrikethrush Colluricincla obscura
Raja Ampat Pitohui Pitohui cerviniventris
Biak Fantail Rhipidura kordensis
Kofiau Monarch Symposiachrus julianae
Biak Monarch Symposiachrus brehmii
Biak Black Flycatcher Myiagra atra
Brown-headed Crow Corvus fuscicapillus
Long-tailed Paradigalla Paradigalla carunculata
Arfak Astrapia Astrapia nigra
Western Parotia Parotia sefilata
Bronze Parotia Parotia berlepschi
Crescent-capped Lophorina Lophorina neidda
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise Diphyllodes respublica
Red Bird-of-paradise Paradisaea rubra
Ashy Robin Heteromyias albispecularis
Smoky Robin Peneothello cryptoleuca
Snow Mountain Robin Petroica archboldi
Numfor Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus maforensis
Biak Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus misoriensis
Biak White-eye Zosterops mysorensis
Long-tailed Starling Aplonis magna
Olive-crowned Flowerpecker Dicaeum pectorale
Grey-banded Munia Lonchura vana
Black-breasted Munia Lonchura teerinki
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Avibase
PDF ChecklistThis checklist includes all bird species found in West Papua Province , based on the best information available at this time. It is based on a wide variety of sources that I collated over many years. I am pleased to offer these checklists as a service to birdwatchers. If you find any error, please do not hesitate to report them. -
E-Bird
PDF ChecklistThis checklist is generated with data from eBird (ebird.org), a global database of bird sightings from birders like you. If you enjoy this checklist, please consider contributing your sightings to eBird. It is 100% free to take part, and your observations will help support birders, researchers, and conservationists worldwide. -
Papua Expeditions
ChecklistApril 2024
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Birds of New Guinea
| (Including Bismarck Archipelago and Bougainville) | By Phil Gregory | Lynx Edicions | 2025 | Edition 2 | Flexibound | 464 pages, 1800+ colour illustrations, 867 colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9788416728749 Buy this book from NHBS.com -
Birds of New Guinea
| By Thane K Pratt & Bruce M Beehler | Princeton University Press | 2014 | Edition 2 | Paperback | 528 pages, 110 plates with colour illustrations; 1 b/w illustrations, 635 colour distribution maps, 4 colour maps, 1 colour table | ISBN: 9780691095639 Buy this book from NHBS.com -
Birds of New Guinea - Distribution, Taxonomy, and Systematics
| By Bruce M Beehler & Thane K Pratt | Princeton University Press | 2016 | Hardback | 668 pages, 2 plates with 14 colour photos; 2 b/w maps, tables | ISBN: 9780691164243 Buy this book from NHBS.com -
New Guinea Birds
| (A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Species) | By James R Kavanagh & Raymond Leung | Waterford Press | 2018 | Unbound | 12 pages, colour illustrations, 1 colour map | ISBN: 9781620053003 Buy this book from NHBS.com -
Papua New Guinea Birds
| By Roy D MacKay | University of Papua New Guinea Press | 1987 | Paperback | 36 pages, 72 colour photos, 1 b/w map | ISBN: 9789980945808 Buy this book from NHBS.com
Birds of New Guinea
Apple iOS | AndroidE-Book - Birds In The Hand, LLC Designed for iPad This is an interactive mobile field guide version of Princeton Field Guide’s “Birds of New Guinea” by Thane K. Pratt and Bruce M. Beehler, with illustrations by John C. Anderton and Szabolocs Kókay. Audio recordings were compiled and edited by Iain Woxvold and David Bishop..Organisations-
Jayapura Birds Club
Facebook PageWelcome to the Jayapura Birding Club info. This page is made for the Jayapura Birds, Jayapura new birds, Papua standard wings, & the Ecotourism newsletter!
Reserves-
NP Lorenz
InformationSatellite ViewAn outstanding example of the biodiversity of New Guinea, Lorentz is one of the most ecologically diverse national parks in the world. It is the only nature reserve in the Asia-Pacific region to contain a full altitudinal array of ecosystems ranging through marine areas, mangroves, tidal and freshwater swamp forest, lowland and montane rainforest, alpine tundra, and equatorial glaciers. Lorentz National Park has 630 documented species of bird (around 95% of the total number of bird species in Papua) and 123 mammalian species. Birds include two species of cassowary, 31 dove and pigeon species, 500 species of cockatoo, 60 species of kingfisher and 145 species of sunbird. Six bird species are endemic to the Snow Mountains including the Snow Mountain quail and Snow Mountains robin, 26 species are endemic to the Central Papuan Ranges while three are endemic to the South Papuan Lowlands. Threatened species include the southern cassowary, Alpine woolly rat, southern crowned pigeon, Pesquet's parrot, Salvadori's teal and Macgregor's giant honeyeater -
NP Teluk Cenderawasih
InformationSatellite ViewTeluk Cenderawasih National Park is the largest marine national park of Indonesia, located in Cenderawasih Bay, south-east of Bird's Head Peninsula. It includes the islands of Mioswaar, Nusrowi, Roon, Rumberpon and Yoop. -
NP WII Wasur
InformationSatellite ViewThe Wasur National Park forms part of the largest wetland in Papua province of Indonesia and has been the least disturbed by human activity. The high value of its biodiversity has led to the park being dubbed the "Serengeti of Papua". The vast open wetland, in particular Rawa Biru Lake, attracts a very rich fauna… -
PNG IBAs
InformationSatellite ViewThis EBA is in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya and includes the west Papuan islands of Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, Kofiau and Misool, and the lowland rain forests, swamp forests and mangroves of the Vogelkop and Bomberai peninsulas, extending around Geelvink and Etna bays as far east as the Sirowa river in the north and the Mimika river in the south, where it abuts two other lowland Papuan EBAs.
Sightings, News & Forums-
eBird
SightingseBirding This Month
Guides & Tour Operators-
Bird Photo Tours ASIA
Tour OperatorWest Papua is home to the “otherworldly” Birds-of-Paradise and it is their distinctive and unique combination of colours, plumes, calls and courtship displays which marks out this photographic destination as one of the avian wonders-of-the-world. -
Bird's Wildlife & Nature
Tour OperatorBirders have been visiting Papua New Guinea now for many years but with poor infrastructure and degraded accommodations the new place to go to see the famous Birds-of-paradise is West Papua. -
BirdQuest
Tour OperatorOur ultimate West Papua, Indonesia birding tour is exceptionally comprehensive and concentrates on the endemic specialities of this part of New Guinea, including its offshore islands, where marvellous creatures can be found such as the amazing Red and Wilson’s Birds-of-paradise, Western Parotia, Arfak Astrapia, Long-tailed Paradigalla, Masked Bowerbird, Western Crowned Pigeon, Spangled Kookaburra, Numfor Paradise Kingfisher and Macgregor’s Honeyeater. -
Birdfinders
Tour OperatorThe birds-of-paradise have got to rank among the holy grails of birding. Alongside our popular tour to Papua New Guinea, Birdfinders is delighted to offer this exciting tour to the western side of the island of New Guinea in search of species not found, or trickier to see, in the east. -
Birding Ecotours
Tour OperatorIndonesia: West Papua and Southwest Papua – Birds-of-Paradise & Endemic Birds of the Arfak Mountains and Waigeo Island -
Birding Indonesia
Local Tour OperatorExpected to see hundreds of New Guinea bird species will be seen within the primary rainforest. Like the Birds of Paradise (15 species), Bowerbirds (3 species), Cassowary, 2 species of Paradise kingfishers, 4 owlet nightjars and Pygmy parrot... -
Birds Wildlife
Tour OperatorWest Papua - Bird-of-Paradise and more! -
Birdtour Asia
Tour OperatorAlthough West Papua has a reputation of being a tough birding destination, recent improvements in infrastructure, new guesthouses, and the discovery of more accessible sites means the wonders of the area are now available to all birders without the physical efforts required in the past. -
Experience the Wild
Tour OperatorExperience Wild Indonesia - 22 day's birding around Sulawesi, Ternate, Halmahera and New Guinea -
NatureTrek
Tour OperatorWest Papua - A Birds-of-paradise Special -
Ornis Birding Expeditions
Tour OperatorRed Bird-of-paradise (Chris Venetz) Crescent-caped Lophorina (Chris Venetz) Wilson's Bird-of-paradise (Chris Venetz) Magnificent Bird-of-paradise (Chris Venetz) Western Parotia (Dustin Chen) King Bird-of-paradise (Joshua Bergmark) Black Sicklebill (Joshua Bergmark) Western Crowned Pigeon (Daniel López Velasco) Blue-black Kingfisher (Joshua Bergmark) Feline Owlet-Nightjar (Joshua Bergmark) Wallace's Owlet-nightjar (Chris Venetz) Vogelkop Bowerbird (Chris Venetz) Papuan Pitta (Chris Venetz) Northern Cassowary (Daniel López Velasco) Western Long-beaked Echidna (Joshua Bergmark) Red Bird-of-paradise (Chris Venetz) Crescent-caped Lophorina (Chris Venetz) Wilson's Bird-of-paradise (Chris Venetz) Magnificent Bird-of-paradise (Chris Venetz) Western Parotia (Dustin Chen) King Bird-of-paradise (Joshua Bergmark) Black Sicklebill (Joshua Bergmark) Western Crowned Pigeon (Daniel López Velasco) Blue-black Kingfisher (Joshua Bergmark) Feline Owlet-Nightjar (Joshua Bergmark) Wallace's Owlet-nightjar (Chris Venetz) Vogelkop Bowerbird (Chris Venetz) Papuan Pitta (Chris Venetz) Northern Cassowary (Daniel López Velasco) Western Long-beaked Echidna (Joshua Bergmark) Indonesia: Vogelkop West Papua It is impossible to forget the first time you see a Western Parotia dance, a Black Sicklebill transforming at dawn, or a Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise glowing like fire in the dark forest understory. -
Papua Expeditions
Local Tour OperatorSpecialists in adventure birding and outdoors in Indonesian New Guinea,variously known as Papua, West Papua or Irian Jaya… -
Rockjumper
Tour OperatorThe Indonesian half of the island, the province of West Papua (Irian Jaya), is a destination few birders have visited, with large expanses of pristine habitat, from towering snow-capped peaks to huge tracts of humid lowland forest. Of particular importance to birders are several distinct mountain ranges, some of them quite isolated. This isolation has led to the evolution of a diverse and unusually interesting avifauna with numerous endemics, a significant number of which being restricted to West Papua and its offshore islands; our pioneering tour is designed to see as many of these restricted-range and endemic species as possible. -
Sunrise Birding
Tour OperatorBirders have been visiting Papua New Guinea now for many years with poor infrastructure and degraded accommodations. Now, the new place to go to see Birds-of-paradise is West Papua. -
Trek Papua
Local Tour OperatorOur Birding Tour West Papua will begin in the town of Manokwari, situated on the north-eastern tip of New Guinea’s Bird’s Head, or “Vogelkop”, Peninsula. -
Tropical Birding
Tour OperatorThe island of New Guinea has long been held with fascination among birders, for it holds the majority of arguably the world’s most dramatic bird family: the birds-of-paradise. Included among the possibilities on this tour of the western (Indonesian) side of the island are Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise, Red Bird-of-Paradise, King Bird-of-Paradise, Splendid Astrapia, Magnificent Bird-of-paradise, and Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise. -
Vacation Indonesia Tours
Tour OperatorVacation Indonesia Tours, owned by Nurlin Djuni & Darwin Sumang, is your gateway to Indonesia. We can immerse you in our culture, heritage and our extraordinarily diverse natural history. The Islands of Indonesia are justly famous for birdwatching. Over 372 species have been recorded and many are found nowhere else. Nurlin Djuni specialises in Birdwatching/Holidays Tours in Sulawesi, Halmahera, Papua, Java, Bali, Kalimantan, Lesser Sundas and Sumatera -
WINGS
Tour OperatorThe array of monarchs, honeyeaters, fruit-doves, kingfishers, and parrots are thrilling in their own right, but the otherworldly birds-of-paradise are without doubt the most superlative avian wonders to be found anywhere. -
Wise Birding
Tour Operator... The birding is tough but the rewards are high! The birds are often very elusive and our local guides are vital to see the birds and to see them well. Most birds-of-Paradise and Bowerbirds are only likely to be seen well at their traditional display trees and courts, known only to a few local guides... -
Zoothera Birding
Tour OperatorWest Papua, also known as Irian Jaya, is the western side of the huge island of New Guinea...
Trip Reports-
2016 [03 March] - Dominic Chaplin - Nimbokrang
Report...Here we also saw Blyth's Hornbills, 12 Wired Birds of Paradise and Lesser Birds of Paradise (common and vocal, here as at most locations around Nimbokrang).... -
2016 [11 November] - K David Bishop - West Papuan Island Cruise
PDF Report...Rockjumper’s inaugural exploration of the Raja Ampats and eastern Wallacea, Indonesia was arguably the finest tour I have ever had the privilege of leading in forty wonderful years of tour leading.... -
2017 [10 October] - Ross Gallardy
PDF ReportThe area around the lake and the Ibele Trail which heads steeply down through aneighboring valley provides access to a number of West Papua’s high elevation specialties. Historically birding this section ofWest Papua was considered expensive even by Papua standards. Tour companies charge upwards of $3700 for a 9-10 day tourand even local independent operators charge over $200 per day for just coordinating logistics! Although I wanted to visit theSnow Mountains, I couldn’t justify paying the ridiculous costs and figured there had to be more effective and cheaper optionsavailable. Luckily I had met some West Papua natives while birding Seram and via some of their contacts was able to findporters in Wamena to plan my trip to the Snow Mountains. -
2017 [11 November] - Andy Walker
PDF ReportThe first of our pre-tours visited the Nimbokrang area in the northeast of Papua, close to the Papua New Guinea border, and here we found Pale-billed Sicklebill, Shovel-billed Kookaburra, Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise, Lesser Bird-of-paradise, King Bird-of-paradise, Jobi Manucode, Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, and Pesquet’s (New Guinea Vulturine) Parrot. The second of our pre-tours focused on the endemic species of Numfor and Biak islands, where we found Numfor Paradise Kingfisher, Biak Paradise Kingfisher, Biak Scops Owl, Biak Lorikeet, Geelvink Pygmy Parrot, Biak Scrubfowl, and the rosenbergii endemic subspecies of Hooded Pitta, a very likely future split. Plenty of potential armchair ticks after a week on these islands! -
2018 [07 July] - Carlos Bocos
PDF ReportWilson’s Bird-of-paradise took pride of place, along with Red Bird-of-paradise, Raja Ampat Pitohui, Spice Imperial Pigeon and Olive Honeyeater. The Arfak Mountains delivered a huge number of crackers, including dancing Western Parotia, Long-tailed Paradigalla, White-striped Forest Rail, Masked Bowerbird, Papuan Lorikeet, Feline Owlet-nightjar, Obscure Berrypecker, Wallace’s Fairywren, Grey-banded Mannikin and so much more. More inclement weather in the Snow Mountains didn’t stop our endemic harvest increasing, with Snow Mountains Quail and Mannikin, Orange-cheeked Honeyeater, Baliem Whistler, Greater Ground Robin and a great number of other specialities of the central highlands like Splendid Astrapia, Archbold’s Nightjar, New Guinea Woodcock, Salvadori’s Teal, Macgregor’s Honeyeater, Hooded Cuckooshrike and more. -
2018 [07 July] - Ian Reed
PDF ReportOn July 11th, 2018, I started an amazing, bucket-list trip to West Papua, a place filled with arguably the most incredible birdlife on the planet. Long-time birding buddy Steve Young and I have been talking about such a trip for a long time, and I started thinking even more seriously about it when I came to Australia a few years ago. Which is weird, because the geographical proximity doesn’t actually work out at simpler logistics or even much less flying time. It may seem close, but West Papua is actually a bugger to get to from anywhere! -
2018 [08 August] - Rob Gordijn & Helen Rijkes
PDF ReportThis report covers the 5,5-week trip to West Papua where we visited Numfor & Biak, Sorong (inc. Klasow Valley), Waigeo, Nimbokrang, Snow Mountains and the Arfaks. We were joined for most of the trip by Sjoerd Radstaak (Sorong until Arfaks), Marten Hornsveld, Vivian Jacobs, Bas Garcia (Waigeo until Arfaks) and Sander Lagerveld (Nimbokrang & Snow Mountains). Sander also visited the surroundings of Merauke (Wasur NP) for some southern specialities. -
2018 [10 October] - Carlos Bocos
PDF ReportOur second full ‘West Papua’ of the year, and actually our fourth tour of the year to this birding heaven, delivered an incredible array of birds, with an exceptional 415 species recorded. Sorong and Raja Ampat made a great start of the tour, with Blue-black Kingfisher, Wilson’s and Red Bird-of-Paradise, Brown-headed Crow, Western Crowned Pigeon, Raja Ampat Pitohui, Spice Imperial Pigeon and loads of lowland and supertramp species. The Arfak Mountains followed, again delivering first class birding, with Arfak Astrapia, Western Parotia, Black and Black-billed Sicklebills, Magnificent Riflebird, Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise, Mountain and Feline Owlet Nightjars, Mottled Berryhunter, Thick-billed Berrypecker, Wallace’s Fairywren and Torrent Lark particularly noteworthy. -
2018 [11 November] - Chris Lotz
PDF ReportThis West Papua set-departure tour commenced in the town of Manokwari, situated on the north-eastern tip of New Guinea’s Bird’s Head (or Vogelkop) Peninsula. From here we traveled to the nearby Arfak Mountains, where we birded the low- and middle-elevation forests. The second half of the tour took us to Sorong, on the opposite side of the Bird’s Head Peninsula, and then to one of the Raja Ampat Islands, Waigeo -
2019 [06 June] - Carlos Bocos
PDF ReportThis custom tour, our first of the year (out of an incredible six!), at the very beginning of the prime bird-of-paradise season, was as expected, a success. -
2019 [07 July] - Dave Sargeant
ReportWe ended with much the same list as yesterday plus Biak Cicadabird, Brahminy Kite, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Spice Imperial Pigeon heard. After sunset at least four Biak Scops Owl , Papuan Frogmouth and Large-tailed Nightjar heard. -
2019 [07 July] - Rob Hutchinson
PDF ReportWest Papua has become very much easier in recent years; improvements in transport, improved accommodation options, and the discovery of new sites, have transformed this from a tough expedition into one of the regions must-see destinations. -
2019 [08 August] - Ken Behrens
PDF ReportThe Trans-Fly captured my imagination the first time I looked through a guide to the birds of New Guinea and noticed how many species are restricted to that southern projection of the island, which is more like Australia than the rest of New Guinea. -
2019 [08 August] - Ken Behrens & Charlie Hesse
PDF ReportWest Papua: The Best Birds on Earth August 3-24, 2019 TOUR SUMMARY A quick look through a field guide should suffice to convince any travelling birder that New Guinea does indeed have “the best birds on Earth”. There are dozens of spectacular birds-of- paradise, most of which have an absurdly cool display, and fabulous arrays of pigeons, doves, parrots, and kingfishers. -
2019 [09 September] - Carlos ocos
PDF ReportGuinea, but we handled it in style by substituting Wasur into the equation to give another exciting set of endemics. Our successes started on the Geelvink Bay islands of Biak and Numfor, where Biak Scops Owl, both Biak and Numfor Paradise Kingfishers, Biak Monarch and Biak Hooded Pitta were greatly appreciated. The lowland forests of Nimbokrang were hard work as always, but Victoria Crowned Pigeon, Pale-billed Sicklebill, Tan-capped Catbird, Papuan Nightjar and Salvadori’s Fig Parrot were fantastic rewards. -
2019 [10 October] - Carlos Bo
PDF ReportBiak was a great place to start with some excellent views of Biak Monarch, Geelvink Pygmy Parrot, Yellow-bibbed Fruit Dove, Biak Hooded Pitta and Biak Scops Owl as favorites. Nimbokrang continued the excitement, as we got lucky with the birds-of-paradise (BoP), watching Pale- billed Sicklebill as long as we wanted on several occasions, great shows by Lesser Bird-of-Paradise, King BoP, Twelve-wired BoP and the poorly known Jobi Manucode. -
2022 [07 July] - Pete Morris
PDF Report...s. Amongst these were a whole host of dream birds! The birds-of-paradise of course stood out, with the amazing Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise and Western Parotias taking pride of place, but other localized species included Splendid and Arfak Astrapias, Red Bird-of-Paradise, Crescentcaped Lophorina and Long-tailed Paradigalla... -
2022 [08 August] - Charles Roring
ReportTropical rainforest of West Papua has been an important destination for visitors who are interested in watching birds of paradise and wild animals. -
2022 [09 September] - Zoothera Birding
ReportWEST PAPUA 1 TOUR REPORT 21st AUGUST - 3rd SEPTEMBER 2022 with a 3 day pre-tour extension in West Java. -
2022 [10 October] - Derek
https://worldbirdtraveler.com/news/west-papua/This was a birding cruise organized by Rockjumper. There were 14 of us, which was great when on the boat but made birding the forests a bit tricky! -
2023 [07 July] - Mark Van Beirs
PDF Report...ah Ampat island of Waigeo, where we looked for its two endemic Birds-of-paradise next to a good variety of specialities. The bird of the tour was the gaudy Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise, which we were able to admire in detail at its dance court, where two males and two females showed extremely well. Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise definitely is one of those must see birds and surely ranks amongst the best birds in the world. The exquisite Western Crowned Pigeon was another favourite that allowed perfect scope views... -
2023 [08 August] - Andrew Walker
PDF ReportThe list of highlights was very long and included 13 birds-of-paradise seen, these were: Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise, Magnificent Bird-of-paradise, Red Bird-of-paradise, King Bird-of-paradise, Western Parotia, Crescent-caped Lophorina, Black Sicklebill, Black-billed Sicklebill, Magnificent Riflebird, Long-tailed Paradigalla, Arfak Astrapia, Trumpet Manucode, and Glossy-mantled Manucode. -
2023 [09 September] - Duncan McNiven & Susan Chatterjee
PDF ReportRed Bird-of-Paradise: The gold medal went to this classic bird-of paradise species that bedazzled us with its energetic and noisy display at a lek high in the tree tops close to our canopy hide on Waigeo Island. Western Parotia: Everybody enjoyed close-up... -
2023 [10 October] - Keith Valentine
PDF ReportThese days the Arfak Mountains are easily accessible from Manokwari given a new road that has been built into the highlands and we enjoyed a wonderful 4-night stay with a night spent in Manokwari at the end of our tour. Highlights included some truly memorable encounters with some of the special birds-of-paradise of the area and in particular our ‘Attenborough’ style moments with Western Parotia and Magnificent Bird-of-paradise stood out -
2023 [10 October] - Wallacea Bird Tour
Report...ur first day of birding in Nimbokrang focused on one of the most sought-after photo targets: the Common Paradise Kingfisher. Additionally, at this location, we observed the (Papuan) Eclectus Parrot, White-shouldered Fairywren, among others. In the afternoon, we visited the Papuan Hooded Pitta hide, which proved less welcoming on that particular day... -
2023 [11 November] - Joshua Bergmark
PDF Report...Next day an early hike to some limestone karst forest provided a brief Northern Cassowary for the leader before diligent searching in the slippery limestone gullies revealed the presence of two Greater Melampitta! Once the group was assembled in position, we soon had the duo hopping around us almost unconcernedly, perching on top of rocks and calling to each other for as long as we wanted to observe them... -
2024 [08 August] - Bill Simpson
PDF Report...18th WAIGEO. Wilson’s BOP lek hide pre dawn and nearby track. After dinner we walked a well-logged and grown-over track from 2.30-5pm. An old friend from our Eaglenest Tour, Ramana Athreya appeared at the Lodge for dinner!.. -
2024 [08 August] - Oscar Campbell
PDF ReportThis trip report summarises a 20-day birding trip made to West Papua in July–August 2024. The main sites visited were the island of Biak, Nimbokrang, the Arfak mountains, the Sorong area, the island of Waigeo and the Malayau /Malagufuk areas. -
2025 [01 January] - Oka Dwipo
ReportWe were succeed in collecting 240 species of birds in our list. One of our guests said he got 208 lifers within this trip. As to one other, it was a very good photography trip for him, since he visited Papua New Guinea in the 90’s and now he came to West Papua with the latest mirrorless camera.
Other Links-
Birding in Papua
Facebook PageInformation about birding sites in West Papua (Irian Jaya), including key species, maps, access, local guides and resources. Birdwatching in Papua is on many people
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