Manus Island, 12 th to 16 th August 2017

Transcription

1 Manus Island, 12 th to 16 th August 2017 OSCAR CAMPBELL, AIDAN G KELLY & STEVE JAMES Manus Fantail, Tong Island (AGK) Written by: Oscar Campbell & Aidan G Kelly This short report outlines a birding trip to Manus Island, PNG made by Oscar Campbell, Aidan Kelly and Steve James in August The trip was an extension to a three-week jaunt around Papua New Guinea. Although we failed in the trip s primary objective (to see Superb Pitta), we had a very pleasant time looking and thought it would be worth outlining our experiences (both positive and negative!) Without too much difficulty we saw most of the other possible Manus endemics (with the exception of the recently split Manus Dwarf Kingfisher), and an eclectic but interesting range of Admiralty / Bismarck Island species (including some classic small island specialists on Tong Island) and lowland PNG species. To judge from available information on the Internet, Manus Island appears to be very rarely visited, especially by independent birdwatchers, so this update will hopefully be useful and inspire others to visit this beautiful place. And get that pitta pinned down Getting there This is straightforward as there are daily flights from Port Moresby to Manus (many with a stopover on the north coast of PNG at Madang). This flight was included in the internal flight bundle for our main PNG tour (organized by the highly recommended Sicklebill Safaris along with the international Singapore Port Moresby flight. With the Australian detention centre still functioning on Manus, a new airport apparently not far from completion and an expected increase in tourists it seems unlikely the flight situation will worsen any time soon. Note, given that Air Niugini are involved, delays can be expected; our inward flight was three hours late (and the flight the day before had been cancelled, although apparently this is exceptional); it was much to our surprise and relief that our return flight was bang on time. Logistics Aidan took the lead on this and made arrangements with one Nick Solomon, formerly of the well-known Harbourside Hotel in Lorengau (Manus main town). As we found out when we arrived on Manus, this is not the way to do it (see below) and on arrival we had to find alternative accommodation in a bit of a hurry. This was not too tricky; the nearby (10min walk) Seeadler Bay Hotel, run by the recently arrived Edin Corhodzic and his wife is an excellent place to stay. Edin could not have been friendlier or more helpful and we enjoyed his company greatly; he is very tourist-orientated and forward thinking. Contact details are edincns@gmail.com or reservation.seeadlerbayhotel@gmail.com; also see this link on Rooms were comfy and, by PNG standards, reasonably priced, and the food was good. The

2 location on the bay is great with nice views and flocks of Black Noddies attracting the odd frigatebird, Bridled Tern and roosting Black-naped Terns. Although it was possible to hike the gravel road to Rossun village from Lorengau, Edin arranged a rental car at a reasonable rate for a couple of days so we didn t need to do the long walk every day; he also assisted with finding us a boat for a day-trip to Tong Island and the latter excursion proved one of the highlights of our short visit. How not to do it At the time we first looked into visiting Manus, we found what we thought was the official Harbourside Hotel web site. This put us in contact with Nick Solomon who was listed as the Client Service Manager for the hotel. (Note: It seems that this web site is now defunct, so it should now be easier not to make the mistake we made; see below). It should be noted that the Harbourside Hotel itself was not to blame for the situation we found ourselves in, and it seems that they now have a new web site: Since we didn't end up staying there, we can t comment on the service, accommodation etc. Despite his own claims, Nick Solomon is not the person to organize your Manus visit. He was contacted many months in advance, and sent a hefty 50% deposit (for accommodation, car hire and guiding) by April 2017 and, despite a few genuine sounding s and texts (including on the morning of our arrival), we got to the Harbourside Hotel to find them having no knowledge of us and no interest in honouring any booking made by Solomon. He had been employed by the hotel (but not for close to 2 years) and his name was mud, having left in dubious circumstances and, previously, booked clients in with no money forthcoming. For that reason, the hotel refused to take us and we had to look elsewhere. Further, he had not contacted Aaron Joseph (well-known local bird guide) after telling us that it was all arranged, and his local fixer was worse than useless and less than sober. Since returning we have learnt that one tour organization that have dealt with Solomon in the past have now long given up on him as he became increasingly unreliable. In summary, do go to Manus but avoid Solomon and anyone associated with him. Instead, make your own arrangements with Edin at the Seeadler Bay Hotel or ask Sicklebill to sort things out. Apparently Solomon now organizes tours on the PNG mainland; get involved with him at your own risk. Bay at Lorengau (OC) Seeadler Hotel sunet (OC) What to bring Lorengau is a small but friendly town with reasonable facilities; like everywhere in PNG it is pricey even for basic foodstuffs such as water and biscuits. Supplies are presumably intermittent so best to bring in anything other than the absolute basics if at all possible. Cameras and scopes saw some action but were probably not vital. Weather was warm

3 verging on hot and sunny during our stay and it was hard to keep going all day; a few hours relaxing back at the Seeadler during the hottest periods was generally in order. There was the occasional violent thunderstorm. Walking boots (rather than wellingtons) were perfectly sufficient and biting insects were rare. Guides and accessing land Aaron Joseph is a well-known birding guide on Manus. Although we had heard some mixed reports regarding his reliability beforehand, when we met him (ask anyone along the road to Rossun as to where he lives and see map below for an approximate location) we found him helpful and hard-working. We teamed up for an afternoon and early morning trying some sites where he had seen Superb Pitta in the past, plus a few hours at night looking for Manus Boobook. Aaron was also honest he told us he had not seen Superb Pitta for quite some time and, ideally, needed at least a few days warning before a group s arrival to put the time in to try and find a calling bird. For that reason, giving him advance warning - something Mr. Solomon failed to do, despite his promises is likely to be far more effective. Aaron does not have easy access to but gave us two phone numbers; these are and (these will need an international code). We encouraged Aaron to contact Edin at the Seeadler so, in future, the hotel may be able to reach him and book him in advance. There have been landowner issues in the past in Manus and it is difficult generally to get into the forest. Aaron took us to two sites on private land to look for the pitta (but was refused access on one of those); we also tried the waterfall track and school trail (see map below) off the road to Rossun from Lorengau. Both of these are apparently public access and we were welcomed by locals living nearby. The land near Bruno s house (who we met on the road nearby and was very friendly indeed; see map below) also has some trails and Bruno was happy to show us around. By all accounts there have also been landowner problems on Tong Island in the past but we found the small band of residents there very friendly and happy to show us around; going on a boat with a few locals who were well-known on Tong was a good idea. Bismarck Whislter & Dollarbird (AGK); Moustached Treeswift (OC)

4 Resources Phil Gregory s new Field Guide (see this link) covers Manus (as well as the Bismarcks and PNG) and is very up-to-date with regard to taxonomy; it is the perfect guide to take. Trip reports were hard to find but Birdquest PNG Remote visits Manus (biannually) e.g. here. Other reports we used included: An interesting read is a Cambridge University report from 1991: The authors set out to try to attain basic ecological information on Superb Pitta. In addition: A number of recordings made during our trip can be downloaded from Xeno-canto by clicking this link. Additional pictures of our trip can be seen on Steve s blog at this link. Superb Pitta (or, rather, lack of ) This proved highly problematic and we had no sightings at all (although it was briefly and faintly heard; see below). It seems that seeing this bird requires a lot of time and / or some local assistance. For those reasons, it would certainly be worth factoring in longer than we had, being prepared to rent a car and exploring much further into the island interior and ask local help (e.g. Aaron) to do some legwork before your arrival. Note that several recent organized tours seem not to have found the bird and the University expedition mentioned above had very few records despite an extended stay. This is clearly one tough pitta! Many locals along the Rossun road knew this bird (or at least, had locally heard its call) so it does seem to be around in that area still. It was suggested to us that the bird is more vocal when the weather is damp or misty, so going in the wet season might be a good idea. Orientation maps: 1 East Manus Island and Tong: Tong (c2 hrs on banana boat from Lorengau Lorengau Airport road many beautiful beaches, lagoons and coastal forest Airport

5 2 Around Lorengau: Home from home! Harbourside Inn about here Either road leads uphill to the road to Rossun Obvious road bridge over creek To airport (c30mins) 3 Road to Rossun: Sea Aaron Joseph s house (approximate) Waterfall Trail Roads from Lorengau Trail to Manus Boobook finally by road at dawn school Bruno s (house close to road with lots of lawns)

6 Birding sites Although Manus is a reasonably sized island, we restricted ourselves to the small area immediately south west of Lorengau; the interior beyond this is remote and little frequented. A Lorengau area: Unlike most town centres in PNG, Lorengau is laid back, friendly and totally unthreatening. We wandered around the shops and market and walked through it to get to the Rossun road with no problems at all. Manus Friarbird was immediately obvious in local gardens whilst other species included Island Imperial Pigeon perched up and flying in from the small coastal islands. A noisy party of Singing Starlings roosted in the palm trees of the Seeadler Hotel each evening (inland most starlings seemed to be Metallic) with Pacific Reef Egrets flying by. Groups of Black Noddies and terns (four species) were not far offshore. A feeding frenzy of the former attracted a few Lesser Frigatebirds one day. We spent some time trying for Manus Boobook one evening in taller trees along the quiet roads up to 1 km west of Seeadler Bay Hotel to no avail. Swiflets were regular in small numbers anywhere and everywhere on the bits of Manus we visited and gave us some problems; the local race of Glossy (fairly common) is obviously pale-rumped; genuine White-rumped Swiftlets seemed rather scarce compared to Uniform. Superb Fruit-Dove (OC) Manus Friarbird (AGK) B Road to Rossun Village: See map 2 for the two roads that lead up from the Lorengau Airport coast road towards Rossun. Rossun is a rather long walk from here (c6km) and we only made it once, to look for Manus Boobook with Aaron. This was unsuccessful, although we heard this species calling distantly at several locations along the road and, eventually saw it well near the start of the Waterfall Trail (see below). The birding begins once you head uphill from the coast road; fairly soon we fell in with Manus Cuckooshrike and Melanesian Cicadabird (treated by Gregory as splits from White-bellied Cuckooshrike and Common Cicadabird respectively), Eclectus Parrot (actually common and widespread) and Bismarck (Black-headed) White-eye. The former three species were present erratically along the road in the forest edge, with regular Meek s Pygmy-Parrot flyovers (and eventually seen perched well, including in Aaron s garden). Other species included Brush Cuckoo (common on voice), Moustached Treeswift (perched), Superb Fruit-Dove and Olive-backed Sunbird. Manus Friarbirds were, of course, common and very vocal.

7 Specific places along this road: One good place to try along this road is the trail to the Waterfall (see map 2); an easy one hour walk from the Seeadler Hotel. Just before dawn we scored with Manus Boobook on the edge c200m before the start of the trail along the main road; it was silent but flew over the road repeatedly in response to a tape and, eventually, gave a very good, clear perched view. Although this trail is short, it does pass through a short stretch of reasonable forest interior. We tried for Superb Pitta here at Aaron s suggestion and heard one call twice very briefly at Return visits in the afternoon and another morning produced nothing. Otherwise, the best birds here were Pied Cuckoo-Dove (flew over and perched up in the clearing near the end) and Nicobar Pigeon (seen flying over where the trail meets the road both very late on and very early on another morning). Other notables included a nice view of Manus Monarch, Superb Fruit-Dove, Variable Goshawk, Northern Fantail and Shining Flycatcher. Black-headed White-eye was seen very well too. Several km further than the Waterfall Trail there is a trail to a small school and few local houses (you need to pass through a couple of roadside houses with associated garages and a small auto workshop). We tried here both in the afternoon and early one morning; locals reported hearing Superb Pitta here but not when we were there. There is a tiny stream that looked more suitable for Manus Dwarf Kingfisher than anywhere else we visited. Less than 1 km further, and also on the right, is an attractive house with lots of lawn. We met the owner (Bruno) here, had a good chat and received a few pineapples for lunch. Bruno showed us a small trail from behind his house (that leads eventually to the school noted above). The forest looked as good as anywhere here and, on returning later that afternoon with Aaron we saw our only Bismarck Whistler a little way in (we had probably heard several others at other sites). The whistler was right alongside a nice Manus Monarch; Moustached Treeswift wasn t far away either. C Lorengau Airport Road: This is a half-hour drive and beautiful run along the coast with some impressive coastal lagoons and great sweeping views out to sea. Species seen here included White-bellied Fish-Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Sacred Kingfisher, a selection of swiftlets and Manus Friarbird. The road ends at the airfield, which held a reasonable selection of grassland waders when we visited, including Pacific Golden Plover and scattered sandplovers. We also saw a Tree Martin and a Brush Cuckoo seemingly of the migrant Australian race. This spot looks a good bet for Little Curlew or, perhaps, Oriental Plover at some stage in the autumn. Fast boat to Tong (OC)

8 D Getting to and birding Tong Island: Visiting Tong was one of the highlights of our visit to Manus and well worth the (minor) effort of getting there. Still, it is not a trip to be taken lightly as it over 35 km across open water. Even when the bay at Lorengau is flat calm the open sea invariably has some swell (much worse on the way out, when you head into it). Our journey was more wet than hair-raising but in a dodgy or ill-maintained boat, could easily have become dangerous. We discussed the trip with Edin and he arranged a local contact in Lorengau who had access to a boat; we were also joined by two others locals. The trip went very smoothly; the journey takes approximately two hours and we had 4.5hrs on Tong, plus an hour on the way back relaxing on a tiny islet off the north west side of Pak. Once on Tong, the birding began immediately. We walked along the edge of the inlet and then further into the less littoral forest around the school and its playing field. The key species here is Manus Fantail; we managed about four, mainly from the head of the inlet to beyond the football field. Views were very good indeed of several; this delightful species spends a lot of time close to the ground. Seen en-route were Island Imperial Pigeon and Bismarck Black Myzomela (both common), rather fewer Island Monarchs, several Yellow-bibbed Fruit- Doves and a fantastic close and obliging MacKinlay s Cuckoo- Dove (perched near the football field). Manus Monarch was rather commoner than on Manus and we got rather confused by the kingfishers Beach or Melanesian, or both? See images below; any help or advice with these greatly received. The boat journey out produced small numbers of noddies and terns, and a smattering of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters plus, briefly, dolphins. Tong collage; clockwise from top: Manus Fantail; Island Monarch; Kingfisher sp; Mackinlay s Cuckoo-Dove (all OC). The Kingfishers on Tong caused problems. Only Beach Kingfisher is mapped for Tong and the left bird may well be Beach; approximately six such white-headed birds were seen. Melanesian Kingfisher (a split of Collared) is not mapped from the Admiralty Is. but claimed in some trip reports. The right bird may be that species and came into a tape of Collared. Calls heard regularly on Tong seemed to match the standard call of Collared, not Beach. We d be grateful for any informed comments on the identity of these birds.

9 Daily Account: 12 August Finally arrived in Manus Momote airport at about 3pm after a delay of over three hours leaving Port Moresby. Got accommodation at Seeadler Bay Hotel. Some brief birding from hotel over Seeadler Bay that evening. 13 August Weather hot and humid today. In the morning walked from Seeadler Bay Hotel through Lorengau and then took the road uphill towards Rossun Village. First taste of Manus endemics, with Manus Cuckooshrike, Manus Friarbird, Meek s Pygmy Parrot etc. Met friendly local Bruno who showed us a trail behind his house. On our way back the road to Lorengau we met Aaron Joseph. We found out from Bruno that we had actually passed Aaron s house on our way up the road earlier. Arranged to meet Aaron at 4pm that afternoon to try for Superb Pitta. Back to hotel for late lunch. Arranged hire car with Seeadler Bay Hotel for the afternoon. Back to Rossun village road, where Aaron brought us to two sites to look for the Pitta. However, he was refused entry at the first site by the land-owner. At the second site east of Lorengau, all we heard were local kids imitating Aaron s calling of the Pitta! Tried for Manus Boobook after dark but no success. 14 August We had the car again. Met Aaron at 6am to try again for the Pitta. Tried at the same site east of Lorengau, again with no success. Then back to Rossun road where we tried the Waterfall track, hearing a distant bird call twice but no further response. By 10.30am, it was getting very hot again and we felt that our chance for the pitta was now gone for that morning. Nice views of perched Meek s Pygmy Parrot in Aaron s garden. After an early lunch at Seeadler Hotel we drove east towards the airport with various roadside stops for birds and scenery. In the evening we drove up the road towards Rossun again and tried various stops including the Waterfall track for the Pitta without success. After dark, tried for the Boobook and only succeeded in hearing a distant one call. 15 August Breakfast at 6am at Seeadler Bay. A boat had been arranged for our visit to Tong Island, leaving at 7am. Quite choppy with moderate swell on way to Tong. We arrived there about 9.30am. After a nice few hours birding we left the island about 2pm. On the way back we stopped at a tiny island beside Pak Island for a half hour. Back to Manus around 5pm. Some birding from Seeadler Bay before dusk. After dark, we walked about 2km west of Lorengau trying for Manus Boobook but with no success. 16 August Our last day on Manus. We left Seeadler Bay at 4am to walk up towards Rossun village in a last, increasingly desperate (!) attempt for Manus Boobook. After about an hour of trying we finally heard a Boobook call some distance away. Shortly afterwards it gave us a few flight views in the torch as it crossed the road repeatedly (albeit silently) in response to the tape. Just as day was breaking it did one final crossing and perched up back-on to give a good view. Success! We then met Bruno who reported that he heard a Superb Pitta yesterday near the trail at the school. He mentioned the bird by its local name Cucu. We walked purposefully to the trail near the school and tried a few locations here. We got absolutely no response to our calling. A last check on the Waterfall track yielded nothing either, so we had to admit defeat with the Pitta, which does seem to be a tough bird to pin down on a short visit. By 9.30am we were back at the hotel for breakfast and then checked out, where the hotel bus gave us a lift to the airport. Our flight left Manus on time at 11.50hrs and we were birding in the PAU university grounds of Port Moresby by 3.30pm. That is pretty sharp going by PNG standards!

10 Systematic list Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica About 6 seen from the small boat en route to Tong Island. Views mostly with the naked eye as it was generally too bumpy and wet to use binoculars. Pacific Reef Heron Egretta sacra A few seen most days at Seeadler Bay, with maximum count of four. Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel Up to 10 noted most dates offshore from Manus at Seeadler Bay. One seen near Pak Island on way back from Tong. Eastern Osprey Pandion (haliaetus) cristatus Up to 4 present from bridge over inlet en route to airport from Lorengau. Variable Goshawk Accipiter hiogaster Singles recorded on two dates along road to Rossun village. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus A few seen daily on Manus. White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster One seen from bridge over the inlet en route to airport from Lorengau. Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva About 18 counted on grass fields near airport. Lesser Sandplover Charadrius mongolus About 12 counted on grass fields near airport. Greater Sandplover Charadrius leschenaultii At least one seen on grass fields near airport. Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus Noted daily in small numbers on Manus, with a maximum count of 10 birds near the airport. Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Noted daily with maximum count of 20 birds perched up on one occasion at Seeadler Bay. Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres About 20 seen on grass fields near airport. Black Noddy Anous minutus Seen in large numbers (200+ on one occasion at Seeadler Bay). The birds were actively feeding on small fish shoals. Greater Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii two birds noted around the coast at Manus. Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus Up to three noted around the coast on Manus. Good view of one individual feeding with an active flock of Black Noddies in Seeadler Bay. Black-naped Tern Sterna sumatrana Up to 20 noted around the coast on Manus, especially at Seeadler Bay. Common Tern Sterna hirundo One 1 st summer bird recorded at Seeadler Bay. MacKinlay s Cuckoo Dove Macropygia mackinlayi About three noted on Tong Island, with one bird giving particularly good views.

11 Pied Cuckoo Dove Reinwardtoena crassirostris One flew past and then perched up along the Waterfall track, off the Lorengau /Rossun village road. An unexpected and very welcome sighting of a scarce species endemic to the Bismarck Archipelago. Stephan s Dove Chalcophaps stephani One recorded on Manus and another on Tong Island. Nicobar Pigeon Caloenas nicobarica Seen twice in flight along the Lorengau /Rossun Village road and nearby trails. (Eastern) Superb Fruit Dove Ptilinopus superbus A few recorded along the Waterfall track. Yellow-bibbed (Yellow-banded) Fruit Dove Ptilinopus solomonensis A few seen well on Tong Island. Island Imperial Pigeon Ducula pistrinaria Quite common and seen daily in good numbers on Manus. Good numbers also recorded on Tong Island where tame and easy to see closely. Island Imperial Pigeon (AGK) MacKinlay s Cuckoo Dove (AGK) Brush Cuckoo Cacomantis variolosus Seen and heard most dates on Manus. Paler nominate migrant race from Australia noted on one occasion near the airport. Manus Boobook Ninox meeki Heard distantly on a few attempts with Aaron but no success. Finally on the last morning we had one just before dawn along the Lorengau / Rossun village road which gave views. Well worth the 4am start and hike up the road from Seeadler Bay! Moustached Treeswift Hemiprocne mystacea Three birds seen on Manus; much better views than on PNG! Glossy Swiftlet Collocalia esculenta Common and seen daily on Manus. The local race stresemanni has a palish rump, but not quite as obvious and clean-cut as the following species. White-rumped Swiftlet Aerodramus spodiopygius Single definite birds noted on just three occasions. Uniform Swiftlet Aerodramus vanikorensis A few seen daily on Manus. The local race coultasi also shows a paler rump than mainland birds.

12 Oriental Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis One seen in forest edge near Lorengau. Melanesian (Collared) Kingfisher Todiramphus (chloris)?? In forest on Tong Island, we heard and saw a darkcapped Kingfisher which responded to Collared Kingfisher playback. It looked different to pale-headed birds we were assuming were Beach Kingfishers at the forest edge. Looking at the relevant plate in Gregory s field guide it seems that some races of both Collared and Beach can look very similar to each other. Beach Kingfisher Todiramphus saurophagus About six birds assumed to be Beach Kingfishers were observed, on Tong Island, but see comment under Melanesian (Collared) Kingfisher, and the caption to the Tong collage (above). presumed Beach Kingfisher, Tong Island. (AGK) presumed Melanesian (Collared) Kingfisher, Tong Island. (AGK) Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus One perched on a roadside wire on Manus. Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus At least one seen near the airport on Manus. Another recorded on Tong Island. Meek s (Yellow-breasted) Pygmy Parrot Micropsitta meeki At first, a few seen in flight along the Lorengau/Rossun Village road. Eventually we had superb perched views of this tiny endemic parrot on several occasions. Meek s Pygmy Parrot (AGK) Pied Cuckoo Dove (AGK)

13 Eclectus Parrot Eclectus roratus A few seen daily on Manus. Coconut Lorikeet Trichoglossus heamatodus Seen daily on Manus. Two recorded on Tong Island. Superb Pitta Pitta superba The major disappointment of the visit was not connecting with this species. We heard a distant bird call twice from the track that leads to the waterfall one morning with Aaron. At other sites he brought us to, the only response we got was from local kids calling back to him! Bismarck Black (Ebony) Myzomela Myzomela pammelaena Fairly common on Tong Island with about 15 noted in our short visit. Manus (White-naped) Friarbird Philemon albitorques Common and very vocal on Manus. Known locally as the Chauka on Manus, after its loud call. Manus Friarbird (AGK) Melanesian (Manus) Cicadabird, female (AGK) Manus Cuckooshrike Coracina (papuenis) ingens Up to 4 recorded along the road to Rossun village. Melanesian (Manus) Cicadabird Edolisoma remotum. Up to six noted on one day on Manus, mostly along the Rossun village road. The race admiralitatis is endemic to Manus, and sometimes treated as an endemic species. Formerly lumped with Common/Slender-billed Cicadabird. Bismarck Whistler Pachycephala citreogaster Just one seen on a trail off the Lorengau/Rossun Village road. We probably heard at least two others. Northern Fantail Rhipidura isura Single birds recorded on two dates on Manus. The race niveiventris is endemic to Manus and Rambutyo Is. Manus Fantail Rhipidura semirubra About 6 recorded on Tong Island during our visit there. This species has not been recorded on Manus since Manus Monarch Symposiachrus infelix Seen on three occasion on Manus and about 5 noted on Tong Island. The latter are the coultasi race with whiter tails than those on Manus. Island Monarch Monarcha cinerascens About 5 noted on Tong Island. A heavy and sturdy Monarch.

14 Island Monarch (OC) Manus Monarch, coultasi race on Tong Island. (AGK) Shining Flycatcher Myiagra alecto Singles noted on two dates on Manus. Tree Martin Petrochelidon nigricans One seen near the airport on Manus. Bismarck (Black-headed) White-eye Zosterops hypoxanthus Encountered on three occasions on Manus. Metallic Starling Aplonis metallica Seen daily on Manus in forested areas. Singing Starling Aplonis cantoroides Good numbers along the coast on Manus. Olive-backed Sunbird Cinnyris jugularis Seen daily on Manus. Also seen on the small island we stopped at near Pak Island. We had no sightings of this species on Tong. Final view of Manus (OC)