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Maluku Islands

Ivory-breasted Pitta Pitta maxima ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA Website

The Maluku Islands or the Moluccas are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanesia. Lying within Wallacea (mostly east of the biogeographical Weber Line), the Moluccas have been considered a geographical and cultural intersection of Asia and Oceania. The islands were known as the Spice Islands because of the nutmeg, mace, and cloves that were exclusively found there, the presence of which sparked European colonial interests in the 16th century. The largest islands are Halmahera, Seram, Buru, Ambon, Ternate, Tidore, Aru Islands, Kai Islands and Lucipara Islands. The whole land area covers nearly 79,000km2 (almost 30,500 square miles), but covers a vast area of ocean of around 850,000 km2. Taken together the population is around 3.2 million people. There are an estimated 1027 islands. The largest two islands, Halmahera and Seram, are sparsely populated, while the most developed, Ambon and Ternate, are small.

The majority of the islands are forested and mountainous. The Tanimbar Islands are dry and hilly, while the Aru Islands are flat and swampy. Mount Binaiya on Seram, at 9,931 feet is the highest mountain. Several islands, such as Ternate and the TNS islands, are volcanoes emerging from the sea with villages sited around their coasts. The Maluku Islands comprise some of the most geologically complex and active regions in the world, resulting from their position at the meeting point of four geological plates and two continental blocks. There have been over 70 serious volcanic eruptions in the last 500 years and earthquakes are common.

Manusela National Park, Seram – ©Fabian Lambeck CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

They formed a single province from Indonesian independence, then (1999) they were split into two provinces. A new province, North Maluku, incorporates the area between Morotai and Sula, with the arc of islands from Buru and Seram to Wetar remaining within the existing Maluku Province. North Maluku is predominantly Muslim, and its capital is Sofifi on Halmahera island. Maluku province has a larger Christian population, and its capital is Ambon. Though originally Melanesian, many island populations especially in the Banda Islands, were massacred in the 17th century during the Dutch–Portuguese War, also known as the Spice War. A second influx of immigrants primarily from Java began in the early 20th century under the Dutch and continues in the Indonesian era.

Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park, Halmahera – ©Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia via Wikimedia Commons

Central and southern Maluku Islands experience the dry monsoon between October and March and the wet monsoon from May to August, which is the reverse of the rest of Indonesia. The dry monsoon’s average maximum temperature is 30 °C while the wet’s average maximum is 23 °C. Northern Maluku has its wet monsoon from December to March in line with the rest of Indonesia. Each island group has its climatic variations, and the larger islands tend to have drier coastal lowlands and their mountainous hinterlands are wetter.

Birding the Moluccas

Biogeographically, all of the islands apart from the Aru group lie in Wallacea, the region between the Sunda Shelf (part of the Asia block), and the Arafura Shelf (part of the Australian block). More specifically, they lie between Weber’s Line and Lydekker’s Line and thus have a fauna that is rather more Australasian than Asian. Malukan biodiversity and its distribution are affected by various tectonic activities; most of the islands are geologically young, being from 1 million to 15 million years old, and have never been attached to the larger landmasses. The Maluku islands differ from other areas in Indonesia; they contain some of the country’s smallest islands, coral island reefs scattered through some of the deepest seas in the world, and no large islands such as Java or Sumatra. Flora and fauna immigration between islands is thus restricted, leading to a high rate of endemism. The ecology of the Maluku Islands has fascinated naturalists for centuries; Alfred Wallace’s book, The Malay Archipelago, was the first significant study of the area’s natural history and remains an important resource for studying Indonesian biodiversity.

Moluccan Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx Lepidus – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

Rainforest covered most of northern and central Maluku, which, on the smaller islands has been replaced by plantations, including the region’s endemic cloves and nutmeg. The Tanimbar Islands and other southeastern islands are arid and sparsely vegetated, much like nearby Timor. In recent times the Manusela National Park and the Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park, were established, for the protection of endangered species. Nocturnal marsupials, such as cuscus and bandicoots, make up the majority of the mammal species and introduced mammals include Malayan civets and feral pigs.

Bird species include over 120 endemics with the greatest variety on the large islands of Halmahera and Seram. North Maluku has two species of endemic birds of paradise. Uniquely among the Maluku Islands, the Aru Islands have a purely Papuan fauna including kangaroos, cassowaries, and birds of paradise.

This page is sponsored by Birding Ecotours

This page is sponsored by Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

Top Sites

  • Ambon

    Satellite View
    The travel hub of central and southern Maluku. Got a few nice birds too.

  • Bacan

    Satellite View
    This is where Wallace first discovered the Standardwing now named after him, but he may also have been the last person that visited this island!

  • Buru

    Satellite View
    It looks big on the map, but getting there and getting around is for the adventurous. If you try it the birds are all there somewhere.

  • Damar

    Satellite View
    There is an endemic flycatcher here, and who knows what else.

  • Halmahera

    Satellite View
    Packed with north Moluccan endemics including the stunning Standard wing and Ivory-breasted Pitta. A trip to Halmahera is on many people's wish list.

  • Kai

    Satellite View
    Relatively easy to get to, nice beaches, two endemic white-eyes and an endemic coucal. Can't say better than that, can you?

  • Obi

    Satellite View
    If you make it this far you will be on your own. There is a woodcock here somewhere. Good luck!

  • Seram

    Huge mountains, obscure islands, Salmon-crested Cockatoo and a whole load more central moluccan specialities and Seram endemics await.

  • Taliabu

    Satellite View
    If you can figure out how to get here then there are a load of gripping endemics to be seen!

  • Tanimbar

    Satellite View
    The far south of Maluku and not easy to get too. If you make it, the reward is accessible forest packed with endemics.
Contributors
Number of Species

  • Number of bird species: 779

    (As at May 2025)
Endemics

  • Number of endemics: 123

    Tanimbar Megapode Megapodius tenimberensis
    Tanimbar Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia timorlaoensis
    Sula Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus mangoliensis
    Scarlet-breasted Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus bernsteinii
    Blue-capped Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus monacha
    Gray-headed Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus hyogastrus
    Carunculated Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus granulifrons
    Spectacled Imperial-Pigeon Ducula perspicillata
    Seram Imperial-Pigeon Ducula neglecta
    Buru Mountain-Pigeon Gymnophaps mada
    Seram Mountain-Pigeon Gymnophaps stalkeri
    Goliath Coucal Centropus goliath
    Moluccan Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis aeruginosus
    Moluccan Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles crinifrons
    Seram Swiftlet Aerodramus ceramensis
    Moluccan Woodcock Scolopax rochussenii
    Moluccan Goshawk Accipiter henicogrammus
    Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk Accipiter erythrauchen
    Seram Masked-Owl Tyto almae
    Taliabu Masked-Owl Tyto nigrobrunnea
    Wetar Scops--Owl Otus tempestatis
    Sula Scops--Owl Otus sulaensis
    Halmahera Boobook Ninox hypogramma
    Tanimbar Boobook Ninox forbesi
    Seram Boobook Ninox squamipila
    Buru Boobook Ninox hantu
    Sula Dwarf-Kingfisher Ceyx wallacii
    Moluccan Dwarf-Kingfisher Ceyx uropygialis
    Seram Dwarf-Kingfisher Ceyx lepidus
    Buru Dwarf-Kingfisher Ceyx cajeli
    Blue-and-white Kingfisher Todiramphus diops
    Lazuli Kingfisher Todiramphus lazuli
    Sombre Kingfisher Todiramphus funebris
    Azure Roller Eurystomus azureus
    Salmon-crested Cockatoo Cacatua moluccensis
    White Cockatoo Cacatua alba
    Buru Racquet-tail Prioniturus mada
    Tanimbar Eclectus Eclectus riedeli
    Black-lored Parrot Tanygnathus gramineus
    Blue-fronted Lorikeet Charmosyna toxopei
    Chattering Lory Lorius garrulus
    Purple-naped Lory Lorius domicella
    Sula Lorikeet Trichglossus flavoriridis
    Red Lory Eos bornea
    Blue-eared Lory Eos semilarvata
    Sula Hanging-Parrot Loriculus sclateri
    Sula Pitta Erythropitta dohertyi
    Ivory-breasted Pitta Pitta maxima
    Seram Myzomela Myzomela blasii
    Crimson-hooded Myzomela Myzomela kuehni
    Wakolo Myzomela Myzomela wakoloensis
    Red-tinged Myzomela Myzomela rubrotincta
    Bacan Myzomela Myzomela batjanensis
    Taliabu Myzomela Myzomela wahe
    Buru Honeyeater Lichmera deningeri
    Seram Honeyeater Lichmera monticola
    Black-chested Honeyeater Lichmera notabilis
    White-streaked Friarbird Melitograis gilolensis
    Tanimbar Friarbird Philemon plumigenis
    Buru Friarbird Philemon moluccensis
    Seram Friarbird Philemon subcorniculatus
    Moluccan Cuckooshrike Coracina atriceps
    Buru Cuckooshrike Coracina fortis
    White-browed Triller Lalage moesta
    Rufous-bellied Triller Lalage aurea
    Halmahera Cuckooshrike Celebesia parvula
    Pale Cicadabird Edolisoma ceramense
    Sula Cicadabird Edolisoma sula
    Babar Whistler Pachycephala sharpei
    Drab Whistler Pachycephala griseonota
    Wetar Oriole Oriolus finschi
    Buru Oriole Oriolus bouroensis
    Tanimbar Oriole Oriolus decipiens
    Seram Oriole Oriolus forsteni
    Halmahera Oriole Oriolus phaeochromus
    Wetar Figbird Sphecotheres hypoleucus
    Taliabu Fantail Rhipidura sulaensis
    Tawny-backed Fantail Rhipidura superflua
    Streak-breasted Fantail Rhipidura dedemi
    Long-tailed Fantail Rhipidura opistherythra
    Gilolo Fantail Rhipidura torrida
    Tanimbar Monarch Carterornis castus
    Boano Monarch Symposiachrus boanensis
    Kai Monarch Symposiachrus leucurus
    Boru Monarch Symposiachrus loricatus
    Moluccan Flycatcher Myiagra galeata
    Long-billed Crow Corvus validus
    Obi Paradise-crow Lycocorax obiensis
    Standardwing Bird-of-Paradise Semioptera wallacii
    Golden-bellied Flyrobin Microeca hemixantha
    Obi Golden-Bulbul Alophoixus lucasi
    Buru Golden-Bulbul Alophoixus mystacalis
    Seram Golden-Bulbul Alophoixus affinis
    Sula Golden-Bulbul Alophoixus longirostris
    Halmahera Golden-Bulbul Alophoixus chloris
    Sulawesi Bush Warbler Locustella castanea
    Seram Bush Warbler Locustella musculus
    Taliabu Bush Warbler Locustella portenta
    BuruBush Warbler Locustella disturbans
    Gray-hooded Heleia Heleia pinaiae
    Rufescent White-eye Tephrozosterops stalkeri
    Morotaii White-eye Zosterops dehaani
    Kai Besar White-eye Zosterops grayi
    Kai Kecil White-eye Zosterops uropygialis
    Cream-throated White-eye Zosterops atriceps
    Seram White-eye Zosterops stalkeri
    Buru White-eye Zosterops buruensis
    Ambon White-eye Zosterops kuehni
    Buru Jungle-Flycatcher Eumyias additus
    Tanimbar Flycatcher Ficedula riedeli
    Damar Flycatcher Ficedula henrici
    Cinnamon-chested Flycatcher Ficedula buruensis
    Fawn-breasted Thrush Zoothera machiki
    Buru Thrush Geokichla dumasi
    Seram Thrush Geokichla joiceyi
    Slaty-backed Thrush Geokichla schistacea
    Tanimbar Starling Aplonis crassa
    Long-crested Myna Basilornis corythaix
    Bare-eyed Myna Streptocitta albertinae
    Halmahera Flowerpecker Dicaeum schistaceiceps
    Buru Flowerpecker Dicaeum erythrothorax
    Ashy Flowerpecker Dicaeum vulneratum
    Madanga Madanga ruficollis
Checklist

  • Avibase

    PDF Checklist
    This checklist includes all bird species found in Maluku Islands , 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 Checklist
    This 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.

  • Wikipedia

    Annotated List
    Birds of the Maluku Islands — an archipelago in Indonesia and the Wallacea ecoregion.
Useful Reading

  • A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea

    | (Sulawesi, The Moluccas and Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia) | By Brian J Coates, K David Bishop & Dana Gardner | Dove Publications | 1997 | Hardback | 535 pages, 64 colour plates [697 species], colour photos, maps, illustrations | Out of Print | ISBN: 9780959025736 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Indonesia

    | By Morten Strange | Tuttle Publishing | 2025 | Edition 2 | Paperback | 544 pages, 920 colour photos, colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9780804858397 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago Greater Sundas and Wallacea

    | By James A Eaton, Bas van Balen, Nick W Brickle & Frank E Rheindt | Lynx Edicions | 2021 | Edition 2 | Flexibound | 536 pages, 2800+ colour illustrations, 1350 colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9788416728442 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • Birds of the Philippines, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sundas and the Moluccas

    | By Norman Arlott | William Collins (Harper Collins imprint) | 2018 | Hardback | 416 pages, 179 plates with colour illustrations; colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9780008102395 Buy this book from NHBS.com
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • MP Aketajawe-Lolobata IBA

    InformationSatellite View
    The park is considered by BirdLife International to be vital for the survival of at least 23 endemic bird species. Aketajawe-Lolobata, which has an area of 167,300 hectares, was declared a national park in 2004. From 243 bird species in North Maluku, 211 have been recorded on Halmahera Island of which 24 are endemic, including Wallace's standardwing, Halmahera cuckooshrike, sombre kingfisher, white cockatoo, invisible rail, blue-and-white kingfisher, dusky-brown oriole, Moluccan goshawk, dusky scrubfowl, long-billed crow, grey-headed fruit dove, ivory-breasted pitta, and azure dollarbird.

  • NNR Gunung Sibela

    InformationSatellite View

  • NP Manusela National Park

    InformationSatellite View
    Manusela National Park is located on Seram island, in the Maluku archipelago of Indonesia. It is made up of coastal forest, swamp forest, lowland and montane rainforest ecosystem types. Mount Binaiya at 3,027 meters, is the highest of the park's six mountains. Seram is remarkable for its high degree of localised bird endemism. Of the 118 species of bird on the island, 15 are endemic, including the eclectus parrot, purple-naped lory, salmon-crested cockatoo, lazuli kingfisher, sacred kingfisher, grey-necked friarbird, Moluccan king parrot, bicoloured white-eye, black-chinned monarch, and Seram masked owl.

  • NR Taliabu

    InformationSatellite View
Guides & Tour Operators

  • Bird Photo Tours ASIA

    Tour Operator
    Bird-Photo-Tours Asia's Central Indonesia journey encompasses both Sulawesi and the Moluccas where we will focus on obtaining close photographic encounters with a variety of endemic Owls / Kingfishers / Nightjars / Birds-of-Paradise.

  • BirdQuest

    Tour Operator
    INDONESIA’S SOUTHERN & CENTRAL MOLUCCAS – Tanimbar, Ambon, Kai, Buru, Seram, Boano, Obi & Bacan

  • BirdTour Asia

    Tour Operator
    ...much of the Moluccas have rarely attracted birders and it is these we will explore in search of over 100 Moluccan endemics....

  • Birding Ecotours

    Tour Operator
    Birding Tour Indonesia: Sulawesi and Halmahera – Spectacular Endemic Birding

  • Come2Indonesia

    Local Tour Operator
    Your adventure in the spices island starts here!

  • Indonesia Birding Tour

    Local Tour Operator
    Birding Sulawesi & Halmahera

  • Malia Birding

    Local Tour Operator
    Malia Tour & Travel, established in 2010 by Nurlin Djuni, an esteemed Indonesian tour and birding guide, calls Palu in Central Sulawesi home.

  • Minahasa Adventure

    Local Tour Operator
    Maluku, and Papua stand out as prime destinations for birding tours...

  • Rockjumper

    Tour Operator
    Indonesia - Buru Extension

  • 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

  • Wallacea Bird Tour

    Local Tour Operator
    The Moluccas, also known as the Maluku Islands, are an Indonesian archipelago that stands out for its remarkable biodiversity.

  • Zoothera Birding

    Tour Operator
    The region of Wallacea in Eastern Indonesia is a fascinating archipeligo of rarely visited, isolated islands that all have their own endemics and this tour visits several such islands beginning on Ambon for its sole endemic, Ambon White-eye. Moving on to Kai Kecil & Kai Besar via speedboat for a handful of endemics we will then head to Seram for 4 nights...
Trip Reports

  • 2017 [03 March] - Dave Sargeant - Waigeo to Sulawesi

    Report
    ...A good collection of species including several rarely recorded in Singapore, with King Quail, Japanese Sparrowhawk, Slaty-breasted Rail, Red-legged Crake, Sunda Scops Owl, Savanna Nightjar, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Red-crowned Barbet, Long-tailed Parakeet, Greater Painted-snipe, Pin-tailed Snipe, Common Snipe, Asian House Martin and Lanceolated Warbler of particular note.....

  • 2018 [08 August] - Carlos Bocos

    PDF Report
    Our annual tour covering the length-and-breadth of the Moluccan islands was a tremendous success once again. The Northern extension, visiting Morotai, Bacan and Obi delivered its full set of recognized ‘field guide’ endemics plus a terrific haul of specialities, like Moluccan Woodcock, Morotai Friarbird, Obi Whistler, Obi Golden Bulbul, Carunculated Fruit Dove, three white-eyes and drongos, Moluccan Drongo Cuckoo, Red-necked Crake, Barking Owl, Pygmy and Gurney’s Eagles and many more.

  • 2019 [07 July] - James Eaton

    PDF Report
    This extensive custom Moluccas tour required six internal flights, six ferries and 10 small boat to visit 12 islands across 20 days. We may have seen just 215 species (and an additional two heard only), but this did include 103 Moluccan endemics!

  • 2019 [07 July] - James Eaton

    PDF Report
    This extensive custom Moluccas tour required six internal flights, six ferries and 10 small boat to visit 12 islands across 20 days. We may have seen just 215 species (and an additional two heard only), but this did include 103 Moluccan endemics!

  • 2019 [08 August] - Carlos Bocos

    PDF Report
    Despite the very limited time on the island, Bacan White-eye and Bacan Spangled Drongo showed well, with Variable Dwarf Kingfisher and Red-bellied Pitta adding a splash of color. Obi was good enough to deliver Obi Woodcock on a daily basis, Carunculated Fruit Dove, Obi Whistler, Scarlet- breasted Fruit Dove and Rothschild’s Cuscus, amongst all other possible endemics.

  • 2020 [09 September] - Andy Walker

    PDF Report
    The island of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) offers some of the best birding in Indonesia, and that’s saying something for a country made up of over 17,500 islands sprawling across 3,181 miles (5,120 kilometers) from east to west, and 1,094 miles (1,760 kilometers) from north to south, including the ‘famous’ islands of New Guinea (Papua and West Papua), Borneo (Kalimantan), Halmahera, Java, Bali, and Sumatra to name a few, and which has a bird list of nearly 1,800 species!

  • 2022 [07 July] - Andrew Walkwe - Sulawesi and Halmahera

    PDF Report
    We recorded 232 species on the tour (nine of these heard only). Some of the birding highlights included Moluccan Megapode, Maleo, White (Umbrella) Cockatoo, Moluccan King Parrot, Golden-mantled Racket-tail, Moluccan Hanging Parrot, Knobbed Hornbill, Sulawesi Hornbill, Blyth’s Hornbill, Goliath Coucal, Sulawesi Hawk-Eagle, Gurney’s Eagle, Pygmy Eagle, Barred (Sulawesi) Honey Buzzard, Sulawesi Masked Owl, Eastern Grass Owl, Ochre-bellied Boobook, Speckled Boobook, Halmahera Boobook, Satanic Nightjar, Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Green-backed Kingfisher, Sulawesi Lilac Kingfisher, Great-billed Kingfisher, Blue-and-white Kingfisher, Sombre Kingfisher, Common (Halmahera) Paradise Kingfisher, Purple-bearded Bee-eater, Halmahera Paradise-crow, (Wallace’s) Standardwing, Hylocitrea, Malia, Lompobattang Flycatcher, and Lompobattang Leaf Warbler.

  • 2023 [12 December] - Dáni Balla

    PDF Report
    In 2023 we did our best to find the specialties of the following islands: Ambon, Haruku, Seram, Boano, Kai Kecil, Kai Besar with the extension reaching Yamdena (Tanimbars). The number of islands and a well-organized team supporting us, helped us finding an incredible number of endemic and special bird species...

  • 2024 [08 August] - Anjana

    Report
    The islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera are a treasure trove for birders, however, even in 2024, the logistics are complicated and language is a big barrier...

  • 2024 [11 November] - Susan Myers

    Report
    The adventure began in Jakarta before heading east to Ambon, where we boarded a boat to an even smaller island to see the endangered Moluccan Scrubfowl

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