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THE LESSER SUNDAS

Southeast Indonesia

Birdquest's Lesser Sundas, Indonesia birding tour explores the long chain of islands that form the southern edge of Wallacea, the area to the east of the famous Wallace's Line that marks the limit of the true Oriental faunal region. Our Lesser Sundas tour offers comprehensive coverage of these endemic-rich and scenic islands.

Sunday 4th August - Thursday 22nd August 2013
(19 days)

Leader: Craig Robson

Group Size Limit: 8

Tour Category: Easy to Moderate

A good range of Indonesian endemics occur through the Lesser Sundas. The secretive Elegant Pitta is one of those most talked about! (Craig Robson)

Scattered across about 5000 kilometres of tropical ocean, the Indonesian archipelago is remarkable for its cultural and biological diversity. Of all the regions of Indonesia, Nusa Tenggara (meaning ‘Southeast Islands’) is probably the most varied.

Strung out to the east of the popular holiday island of Bali, they contain, in microcosm, a wide range of tropical habitats from the luxuriant cloud forests on the flanks of the volcanoes of Flores to the xerophytic scrub on Komodo, famous for its ‘Dragons’. Better known as the Lesser Sundas, they are relatively undeveloped and thinly populated: only 2% of Indonesia’s huge population live in the islands in contrast to the burgeoning millions inhabiting the fertile plains of adjacent Java and Bali. On the road to nowhere in particular, they are seldom visited and so much remains undiscovered about their birdlife.

Although these small islands hold fewer species than an equivalent area of continental Asia, many are endemic and often confined to a single island. This tour represents an enjoyable and not especially difficult adventure for those who want to see the many exciting and little-known endemics of the Lesser Sundas, some of which are becoming harder and harder to find due to habitat loss. Indeed, we can say that of all the endemic-bird-rich places in the world, the Lesser Sundas is somewhere one should hurry to visit.

The most isolated and least often visited of the Lesser Sundas is Sumba. This dry, infertile island is mostly covered with rough pasture, much of it given over to the horse rearing for which Sumba is famous throughout the archipelago. Flying into Sumba, it is difficult to believe that the endemic species, all but one of them forest birds, could have survived. Fortunately a few patches of monsoon forest remain and in these we have an excellent chance to find some of the world’s most critically endangered species such as Citron-crested Cockatoo, Sumba Hornbill and the very attractive Red-naped Fruit-Dove. Other specialities include Sumba Buttonquail, Marigold Lorikeet, Sumba Boobook, Mees’s Nightjar, Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher, Sumba Green Pigeon, Sumba Flycatcher, Sumba Jungle Flycatcher, Sumba Brown Flycatcher, the gorgeous Apricot-breasted Sunbird and Sumba Red-headed Myzomela.

To the east of Sumba lies Timor, the largest and geographically most ancient of the Lesser Sundas and holding the greatest number of endemics, including that most excellent of songsters the Buff-banded Thicket-Warbler and the strikingly-marked Orange-sided Thrush. In contrast to the tropical luxuriance of Bali, Timor more closely resembles those parts of northern Australia that lie not far away to the south across the Timor Sea. Over much of the island dry grassland and acacia scrub predominate, with indigenous eucalyptus adding strongly to the Antipodean feel. The lowland forests of Timor are highly threatened, as the few remaining patches are unprotected, and so woodcutters and bird trappers do as they please. Several species which were common until quite recently have now become decidedly scarce. Their future looks bleak, so now is the time to see such jewels as Olive-headed Lorikeet and Timor Sparrow. The many other specialities we will be looking for on this island include the exquisite Black-backed Fruit-Dove, Timor Imperial Pigeon, Streaked Boobook, Greater Wallacean Drongo, Timor Figbird, the pretty White-bellied Chat, Chestnut-backed Thrush, the lovely Orange-sided Thrush, the tiny Timor Stubtail, Timor Leaf Warbler, the skulking Buff-banded Thicket Warbler, the beautiful Timor Blue Flycatcher, the attractive Black-banded Flycatcher, Fawn-breasted Whistler, Timor Friarbird, Streak-breasted and Yellow-eared Honeyeaters, Black-chested Myzomela, the dazzling Flame-breasted Sunbird, Red-chested Flowerpecker, Spot-breasted Dark-eye, Tricoloured Parrot-Finch and Black-faced and Five-coloured Munias.

North of Timor, Flores could hardly be more different. This long narrow island is one of the most beautiful in Indonesia. Its complex mountainous relief is bisected by deep V-shaped valleys and surmounted by many volcanoes, 14 of them still active. Only the very much larger islands of Java and Sumatra are more volcanically active. Many of the rugged mountains of Flores are still covered with humid rainforest, in some places extending down to the lowlands, where we will look for specialities like Flores Hawk-Eagle, Flores Lorikeet, Wallace’s Hanging Parrot, Wallace’s Scops Owl, the striking White-rumped Kingfisher, Elegant Pitta, the little known Flores Crow, the diminutive Russet-capped Tesia, Flores Leaf Warbler, Flores Jungle Flycatcher, Brown-capped Fantail, the very rare Flores Monarch, Bare-throated Whistler, Scaly-crowned Honeyeater, Black-fronted and Golden-rumped Flowerpeckers, and Yellow-browed, Crested and Thick-billed Dark-eyes.

West of Flores, in the strait separating it from Sumbawa, lies another strikingly different island, Komodo. Here among parched hills and dry gullies lives the most important population of the Komodo Dragon, a huge monitor lizard otherwise known only from adjacent Rinca and a small part of Flores. There can be few wildlife experiences to compare with the sight of these unique and decidedly antediluvian reptiles in so remote and inhospitable a setting. As if to accentuate the barrenness of the land, the surrounding seas are rich in beautiful coral reefs, dolphins, turtles and seabirds.

Birdquest has operated tours to the Lesser Sundas since 2004.

(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)

Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels/lodges are mostly of normal Birdquest standard. The hotels at Waingapu and Soe are fairly simple, but all rooms have private bathrooms. The guesthouse at Kisol is very basic, with shared and quite primitive bathroom facilities. Road transport is by small coach, minibus or car.

Walking: The walking ranges from easy to moderate, with some more difficult terrain to negotiate over relatively short distances.

Climate: Most days in the lowlands will be hot, dry and sunny, but overcast conditions are fairly frequent and some rain can be expected. In montane areas it will be cool or warm and at the highest altitudes it can be decidedly cold at times. The humidity is often rather high.

Bird Photography: Opportunities are worthwhile.

Tour Price: (provisional): $6540 Denpasar/Denpasar. Price includes all transportation (including all flights inside Indonesia), all accommodations, all meals, bottled water, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.

Single Room Supplement: (provisional): $496.

Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.

The splendid White-rumped Kingfisher is another of the tour's 'flagship' birds (Craig Robson)

The smart Timor Sparrow is one of two species in the genus Padda (Craig Robson)

Brown-capped Fantail, an endemic of Sumbawa, Flores and Lomblen, is frequently seen in the highlands of Flores (Craig Robson)

If we're fortunate we'll come across a good migrant such as Oriental Plover (Craig Robson)

View Map Download Detailed Itinerary 527kb

Report From August 2010/September 2010 Report From August 2009/September 2009 Report From September 2011 75 photos View Gallery Photos From THE LESSER SUNDAS

The superb Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher is often pretty showy (Craig Robson)

A rather unusual looking endemic is the smart Bare-throated Whistler (Craig Robson)

The Lesser Sundas are an excellent part of the world for pigeons and parrots. The charismatic Yellow-crested Cockatoo is becoming scarce due to trapping (Craig Robson)

The colourful Red-cheeked Parrot, although widespread, is always great to see (Craig Robson)

Amongst the pigeons, the delightful Red-naped Fruit-Dove is one of the stars (Craig Robson)

The Sumba Green Pigeon is one of a series of endemic Trerons (Craig Robson)

The colourful Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove also occurs in Northern and Eastern Australia (Craig Robson)

... and the Black-backed Fruit-Dove just extends west into Bali (Craig Robson)

The impressive Sumba Hornbill is always high on wish-lists (Craig Robson)

The air holidays shown are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 2937.
ATOL protection covers those booking a tour with us that includes a flight from London or elsewhere in the United Kingdom, regardless of where in the world you live.

Birdquest Ltd is Registered in England, Company No. 01568270. The address of our registered office is Two Jays, Kemple End, Stonyhurst, Clitheroe, Lancashire BB7 9QY

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