Manokwari lowlands

Birding walk │ 0.5 or 1 day

Large tracts of foothill forest at the base of the Arfak Mountains near the town of Manokwari support a well-diversified and colorful lowland forest avifauna, including the West Papua endemic Red-billed Brushturkey and Western Crowned Pigeon and the restricted-range Painted Quail-thrush, plus six species of widespread lowland bird-of-paradise: Glossy-mantled and Trumpet Manucode, Magnificent Riflebird, and Magnificent, King and Lesser Bird-of-paradise.

When?

Possible year-round, but most certainly best from June to November.

Scheduled departures

Please inquire for details on our upcoming departures.

Physical effort

Reasonable physical fitness and good agility are required for this tour which plies some challenging terrain.

Tour description

We shall collect you pre-dawn at your Manokwari hotel and set out on the one hour's drive by chartered vehicle to an area of selectively logged and primary foothill forest where we shall be birding along a fabulous forest trail.

First stop will be a known display tree of the King Bird-of-paradise, and it should not take long before we come to grips with this little gem, in fact the smallest of all paradisaeids, which 19th century naturalist A. R. Wallace so amiably described as 'a wanton waste of extreme beauty'.

The rest of the morning, we shall bird in search of a fine selection of other goodies that occur here: Red-billed Brushturkey, Greater Black Coucal, Dwarf Koel, White-crowned, Chestnut-breasted and Sahul Brush Cuckoo, Sultan's and Great Cuckoo-Dove, Stephan's Emerald Dove, Wompoo, Pink-spotted, Superb, Beautiful, Claret-breasted, Orange-bellied and Dwarf Fruit Dove, Purple-tailed, Pinon's and Zoe's Imperial Pigeon, Long-tailed Honey Buzzard, Grey-headed Goshawk, Blyth's Hornbill, Hook-billed Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Yellow-billed and Azure Kingfisher, Palm and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Papuan Eclectus, Red-cheeked Parrot, Red-flanked Lorikeet, Black-capped Lory, Coconut Lorikeet, Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Papuan and Eastern Hooded Pitta, White-eared Catbird, Emperor Fairywren, Long-billed Honeyeater, Ruby-throated Myzomela, Helmeted Friarbird, Spotted, Tawny-breasted, Puff-backed and Mimic Honeyeater, Rusty Mouse-warbler, Pale-billed Scrubwren, Yellow-bellied, Green-backed and Fairy Gerygone, Papuan Babbler, Black Berrypecker, Spectacled, Pygmy and Yellow-bellied Longbill, Yellow-breasted Boatbill, Lowland Peltops, Black and Hooded Butcherbird, Boyer's Cuckooshrike, Grey-headed and Black Cicadabird, Black-browed Triller, Grey Whistler, Rusty Pitohui, Arafura Shrikethrush, Northern Variable Pitohui, Brown Oriole, Spangled Drongo, Northern Fantail, Sooty and White-bellied Thicket Fantail, Rufous-backed Fantail, Spot-winged, Hooded, Golden and Frilled Monarch, Shining Flycatcher, Grey Crow, Glossy-mantled and Trumpet Manucode, Magnificent Riflebird, Magnificent and Lesser Bird-of-paradise, Olive Flyrobin, Black-chinned and Black-sided Robin, Yellow-faced Myna, and Olive-crowned Flowerpecker.

Scarcer or unobtrusive species we may come to grips with include Orange-footed Megapode, Thick-billed Ground Pigeon, Cinnamon Ground Dove, Pheasant Pigeon, Western Crowned Pigeon, Pygmy and Gurney's Eagle, Papuan Dwarf Kingfisher, Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot, Moluccan King Parrot, Dusky Lory, Large Fig Parrot, Orange-fronted Hanging Parrot, Wallace's Fairywren, Blue Jewel-babbler, and Rufous Monarch.

Other sought-after birds that occur here include New Guinea Eagle, Shovel-billed Kookaburra, Pesquet's Parrot, and Painted Quail-thrush.

Although the weather could have been better, the trip was really even better than expected. You did a marvelous job in showing the birds and preparing excellent food. — Piet Opstaele, Belgium

If you stick with us for the entire day, we shall enjoy a packed lunch on site and continue our quest for some of the more elusive species already mentioned above throughout the afternoon.

Finally, a nocturnal foray here could add Papuan and Large-tailed Nightjar, Marbled and Papuan Frogmouth, Wallace's Owlet-nightjar, and both Papuan Hawk-Owl and Boobook.

Related links

❯Read on about the birdlife of the Vogelkop lowlands.

❯Browse our terms and conditions.

❯Browse our checklist of the birds of West Papua