birding...

Buff-bellied Monarch Neolalage banksiana ©Andrew Skeoch http://www.listeningearth.com.au/

Vanuatu, formerly known as the New Hebrides, is a Melanesian island nation in the southwest Pacific Ocean with about a dozen significant islands and many smaller islands extending between the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn. It is a faunal crossroads where the three main streams (Papuan, Australian and Polynesian) of colonisation in southwest Pacific birds meet. With about 121 species recorded, Vanuatu does not have a great number of birds but it is a unique and little known region. Vanuatu and the Santa Cruz islands are an Endemic Bird Area. Vanuatu has 21 Restricted Range Species and isolation has led to the development of 9 endemics. Vanuatu hosts 11 Globally Threatened Birds, 7 of these are resident and one, the Santa Cruz Ground-Dove Gallicolumba santaecrusis, is endangered. Vanuatu also has 4 near threatened birds. There is some upside potential in the Vanuatu list – seabirds and shorebirds have been mostly overlooked.

Vanuatu is situated on the western leading edge of the Pacific tectonic plate. Most of the islands are formed from the summits of volcanic mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor and many are less than three million years old. Volcanic activity and uplift continue to change the landscape. Heavy rainfall, exceeding 2000 millimetres a year, leads to the erosion of steep mountain valleys and, on some islands, gorges. Vanuatu`s islands are typically mountainous and rugged. The biggest island, Espiritu Santo covers 3900 square kilometres and rises to 1879m above sea level. Vanuatu`s climate ranges from wet tropical in the north to sub tropical in the south. The hottest and wettest months are November to April and this is also the season for Tropical Cyclones.

Vanuatu is mostly covered by forest. Evergreen tropical forest is found in the lowlands and hills on the windward sides of the islands. Semi-deciduous forests, fire induced savannahs and grasslands may be found on the drier leeward slopes. Evergreen cloud forests grow on the high mountains. Vanuatu`s coasts are mostly rocky and exposed and there are only a few sheltered estuaries. Its flora and terrestrial fauna have fewer species than neighbouring countries which indicates the isolation and young age of the islands. On the other hand, the coral reefs and inshore waters support a very rich marine fauna.

There`s very little bird watching going on in Vanuatu today and no specialist tour operators in the country. In Vanuatu you have to find you own birds and there are many unknown sites and other discoveries waiting. Birding on oceanic islands is different to continental birding. Populations of terrestrial birds on different islands are isolated to some extent which results in irregular distributions and changes in habitat preferences between islands. The central islands are more bird rich and several species do not occur south of Efate. Smaller islands have less habitat diversity and support fewer number of bird species.