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Papua

Numfor Paradise Kingfisher Tanysiptera carolinae ©Andy Walker Website
Birding Western New Guinea

Western New Guinea, Papua or West Papua is the Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea. Since the island is also named Papua, the region is sometimes called West Papua, although, confusingly, part of the area is the province called West papua! Lying to the west of the independent state of Papua New Guinea, it is the only Indonesian territory to be situated in Oceania. The territory is mostly in the Southern Hemisphere and also includes nearby islands, including the Schouten and Raja Ampat archipelagos. The region is predominantly covered with ancient rainforest where numerous traditional tribes live such as the Dani of the Baliem Valley, although a large proportion of the population live in or near coastal areas, with the largest city being Jayapura. 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 420,540 square kilometres (162,371 square miles), which equates to approximately 22% of Indonesia’s land area. The border with Papua New Guinea mostly follows the 141st meridian east, with one section defined by the Fly River. The province has 40 major rivers, 12 lakes, and 40 islands. Lying in the Asia-Australian transition zone near Wallacea, the region’s flora and fauna include Asiatic, Australian, and many endemic species. 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.Indonesian New GuineaThe western half of the subcontinental island of New Guinea, variously known as Papua, West Papua or Irian Jaya, 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 incubatorbirds, 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.

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 53 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 Cicinnurus 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 53 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.

This page is sponsored by Birding Ecotours

Top Sites

  • Arfak Mountains

    Satellite View
    Since 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 View
    The 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 View
    This 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 View
    The 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 View
    The 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 View
    Many 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 View
    At 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.
Contributors
Number of Species

  • Number of bird species: 704

    (As at January 2019)
Endemics

  • Number of endemics: 53

    Bruijn's (Waigeo) Brushturkey Aepypodius bruijnii, Red-billed Brushturkey Talegalla cuvieri, Biak Megapode Megapodius [freycinet] geelvinkianus, White-striped Forest Rail Rallicula leucospila, Western Crowned Pigeon Goura cristata, Geelvink Imperial Pigeon Ducula [myristicivora] geelvinkiana, Biak Coucal Centropus chalybeus, Biak Scops Owl Otus [magicus] beccarii, Vogelkop (Allied) Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles [bennettii] 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 [haematodus] rosenbergii, Salvadori's Fig Parrot Psittaculirostris salvadorii, Arfak Catbird Ailuroedus [melanotis] 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 [fumigatus] carolae, Vogelkop Melidectes Melidectes leucostephes, Vogelkop Scrubwren Sericornis rufescens, Biak Gerygone Gerygone [magnirostris] hypoxantha, Western Crested Berrypecker Paramythia [montium] olivacea, Biak Triller Lalage [atrovirens] leucoptera, Vogelkop Whistler Pachycephala meyeri, Baliem Whistler Pachycephala [pectoralis] balim, Raja Ampat Pitohui Pitohui [kirhocephalus] cerviniventris, Kofiau Monarch Symposiachrus (Monarcha) julianae, Biak Monarch Symposiachrus (Monarcha) 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 [carolae] berlepschi, Wilson's Bird-of-paradise Diphyllodes (Cicinnurus) 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] maforensis, Biak Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus [maforensis] 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
Checklist

  • iGoTerra Checklist

    iGoTerra Checklist
    Fatbirder Associate iGoTerra offers the most comprehensive and up to date birds lists on the web
Useful Reading

  • Birds of New Guinea

    | (Including Bismarck Archipelago and Bougainville) | By Phil Gregory | Lynx Edicions | 2017 | Hardback | 464 pages, 1780+ colour illustrations, 867 colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9788494189272 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
Organisations

  • Papua Bird Club

    Website
    Papua Bird Club was founded by Kris Tindige in 1995 as a non-profit organization committed to helping local Papuan communities and conserving the forests and bird life of Papua through ecotourism. Since then, it has metamorphosed into two wings: Magnificus Expeditions, a registered company which offers birding-based eco-tours throughout West Papua, and Papua Konservasi dan Komunitas, a registered Indonesian yayasan (non-profit foundation) which runs community development and capacity-building programs throughout Papua focused on linking conservation and community development through ecotourism.
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • EBA IBA West Papuan Lowlands

    InformationSatellite View
    This 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.

  • NP Lorenz

    InformationSatellite View
    An 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 View
    Teluk 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 View
    The 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…
Guides & Tour Operators

  • Birding Ecotours

    Tour Operator
    Papua New Guinea (PNG) is indeed a birder’s paradise. Thirty-four birds-of-paradise live on the island of New Guinea, of which thirty-one can be found in Papua New Guinea. The island of New Guinea is home to an incredible 399 endemics! Together with awe-inspiring scenery, endless rainforests, and fascinating highland societies that only made contact with the outside world in 1930, this makes Papua New Guinea a definite must-do destination for any avid birder.

  • Papua Expeditions

    Tour Operator
    Specialists in adventure birding and outdoors in Indonesian New Guinea,variously known as Papua, West Papua or Irian Jaya…

  • Rockjumper

    Tour Operator
    The 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.

  • Sicklebill Safaris

    Tour Operator
    Tailor-made tours may be arranged to suit your birding interests plus other facets of natural history if you wish, including flowering plants, fungi, insects and other cold and warm-blooded animals. Tours are arranged and led by a professional ornithologist and natural historian of some 40 years experience in birdwatching and lecturing in UK and overseas. For further information on all aspects of Sicklebill`s tours contact Ian@sicklebill.demon.co.uk

  • Vacation Indonesia Tours

    Tour Operator
    Vacation 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
Trip Reports

  • 2009 [06 June] - Ralf Jahraus

    PDF Report
    This report is based on a birding trip to Irian Jaya done by my wife Erma and myself. We entirly organized this trip on our own, with contact adresses in Sorong and Manokwari only. As we knew about a few sites, we just went and looked what we could organize. As Erma is native from Java and as I also speak Bahasa Indonesia O.K. this was usually possible, but time consuming. We found it very difficult to receive good and helpful information before leaving Germany.

  • 2015 [11 November] - Gareth Knass

    PDF Report
    The Arfak Mountains, Nimbokrang, Sorong Lowlands and Waigeo Island

  • 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 Report
    The 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 Report
    The 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!

  • 2017 [11 November] - Chris Lotz

    PDF Report
    This tour was based mainly in West Papua. Some parts of the main tour (e.g. the Arfak Mountains) and one of the pre-tours (Nimbokrang in the province of Papua) were based on the main island of New Guinea. Aside from the large landmass of New Guinea, the New Guinea region includes numerous small islands on the continental shelf or verges thereof (some part of Indonesia and others part of Papua New Guinea), and we visited two of these areas belonging to Indonesia. During the main tour we visited Waigeo, part of the Raja Ampat Islands in the province of West Papua (also known as the Northwestern Islands), and during one of the pretours we visited the Cenderawasih Bay (formerly Geelvink Bay) islands of Biak and Numfor in the province of Papua (also known as the ‘Bay Islands’).

  • 2017 [11 November] - Marc Thibault

    PDF Report
    During a 6-week independent trip to West Papua, we had the opportunity to explore a few localities that are seldom visited by birders: Mupi Gunung in the Arfak mountains, Numfor island and Malagufuk in the Klasow valley. Although Numfor is now regularly visited by bird tour companies, little information on this island is available for independent birders.

  • 2017 [11 November] - Ross Gallardy

    PDF Report
    We knew Biak was going to be special. Ross was going to achieve a lifelong goal and see 5,000 species of the world’s birds. That’s a pretty big achievement for a world birder in case you weren’t aware. Come on, FIVE THOUSAND birds! Get a little excited. At the time Ross started birding roughly 10,000...

  • 2018 [07 July] - Carlos Bocos

    PDF Report
    Wilson’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 Report
    On 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 Report
    This 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 Report
    Our 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 Report
    This 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 Report
    This 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

    Report
    We 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 Report
    West 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 Report
    The 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 Report
    West 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 Report
    Guinea, 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 Report
    Biak 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.

  • 2023 [08 August] - Andrew Walker

    PDF Report
    The 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.
Other Links

  • Birding in Papua

    Website
    Information 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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