The Ultimate In Birding Tours

Australia & The Pacific Islands

SOLOMON ISLANDS – The Ultimate island endemics tour, including Black-faced Pitta, Fearful Owl and Sanford’s Sea Eagle

Thursday 6th July – Tuesday 1st August 2023

Leader: Pete Morris

27 Days Group Size Limit 7
Thursday 19th September – Tuesday 15th October 2024

Leader: Pete Morris

27 Days Group Size Limit 7

SOLOMON ISLANDS: OVERVIEW

Birdquest’s Solomon Islands birding tours explore these rarely-visited but endemic-rich islands that lie to the east of New Guinea. Our ultimate Solomon Islands birding tour provides a very comprehensive coverage of the islands for the more adventurous birder who longs to see its rich birdlife, including that final glorious pitta right at the edge of the family’s world range.

Scattered in a loose oval to the east of New Guinea, the Solomon Islands are a quintessential South Pacific idyll, combining a classic landscape and tourist-free, easy-going island life with exotic endemic birds. The nation is an archipelago of volcanic islands, still largely cloaked in luxuriant rainforest, sweeping down to golden sand beaches and fringing coral reefs. Who else has a national flag symbolizing sea, sand and forest?

The environment is still remarkably pristine as most Solomon Islanders pursue their traditional life of fishing on the reefs and tending lush gardens hidden in the forest. Few tourists have discovered this Eden, and the Solomon Islanders remain overwhelmingly friendly and generous to visitors whilst retaining much of their cultural heritage. Beyond the central island of Guadalcanal, famous for some of the most heroic battles of the Second World War, and Gizo, a fledgling scuba-diving destination, we may well encounter no other visitors.

During our journey through the Solomons we will visit nine of the largest islands, allowing us the opportunity to find the great majority of the Solomons endemics. The Solomons form a chain of islands stretching out beyond Papua New Guinea into the deeper Pacific. They are close enough to retain a reasonably high bird diversity yet isolated and fragmented enough to enable an amazing level of speciation of endemic birds. Here, islands only eight kilometres apart have evolved their own endemic bird species!

The central Solomons is the richest ‘Endemic Bird Area’ in the world, with at least 62 completely endemic species (depending on the taxonomy followed). Combined with Rennell and the Santa Cruz islands, the Solomons have a total of 73 endemic birds plus another 20 endemics shared only with other isolated Melanesian islands. Many more species are due to be recognized in future if current concepts of species limits are applied. Whilst searching for many of these incipient species, we will marvel at the subspecific variation between islands and come to our own ideas about species limits! Still yielding undescribed species and rediscoveries of birds long feared extinct, this region has truly been overlooked both by scientists and birders.

This exciting tour aims to see as many as possible of the accessible Solomon Islands endemics. While much of the tour involves nothing out of the usual, and has moderate or even easy walking, this tour also involves some quite demanding hiking and very basic village accommodation at times, so will definitely appeal to the more adventurous birder!

We will begin our Solomon Islands birding tour around the small and quiet capital town of Honiara, where the local forests hold such endemics as Pied Goshawk, Solomons (or Ducorps’s) Cockatoo, Solomons Boobook, the attractive Ultramarine Kingfisher, Chestnut-bellied Monarch, Steel-blue Flycatcher, Midget Flowerpecker, Brown-winged Starling, and the uncommon Black-headed Myzomela.

Next we will fly far to the south to the remote island of Rennell, a raised coral atoll that is a World Heritage Site and holds no fewer than six single-island endemics, Rennell Fantail, the beautiful Rennell Shrikebill, Rennel Whistler, Rennell Starling, Rennell White-eye and the weird Bare-eyed White-eye, as well as the slightly more widespread endemic Silver-capped Fruit-Dove.

After a brief pause in Honiara we will fly to Gizo, where the endemics include Crimson-rumped (or Yellow-vented) Myzomela, the smart White-capped Monarch and Gizo (or Splendid) White-eye. From here we will make a day trip by boat to the islands of Ranongga and Vella Lavella, each with endemic white-eyes and the chance of Heinroth’s Shearwater en route.

Afterwards we take a boat to Kolombangara (or Kulambangra), a steep volcanic cone with a series of exciting endemic birds including the magnificent Sanford’s (or Solomons) Sea Eagle, the flightless Roviana Rail, Buff-headed Coucal, Pale Mountain-Pigeon, Meek’s Lorikeet, the beautiful Duchess Lorikeet, White-winged Fantail, Kolombangara Monarch, Solomons Cuckooshrike and Solomons White-eye. For Kolombangara Leaf-Warbler and Kolombangara White-eye we will have to trek up into the highest moss forest.

On Malaita we will be seeking the endemic Malaita White-eye and the endemic Red-vested (or Red-bellied) Myzomela.

On Santa Isabel we aim to see some of the most spectacular Solomons birds, concentrating on the recently-described Solomons Frogmouth and the recently rediscovered Black-faced Pitta at its single known site. Other endemics include the flightless Woodford’s Rail, Scarlet-naped Myzomela, White-billed (or Guadalcanal) Crow, Solomons Cuckooshrike, Black-and-white Monarch and Yellow-throated White-eye, not to mention the impressive Fearful Owl.

Finally, on Makira (or San Cristobal), we will trek into the highlands where a very distinct array of endemic birds includes the attractive White-headed Fruit-Dove, the bizarre Crested Cuckoo-Dove, Chestnut-bellied Imperial Pigeon, Sooty Myzomela, Makira Honeyeater (or San Cristobal Melidectes), the shy White-bellied (or San Cristobal) Thrush, Shade Bush Warbler, San Cristobal Leaf-Warbler, White-collared Monarch, Makira (or Ochre-headed) Flycatcher, Dusky Fantail, Makira (or San Cristobal) Starling, Grey-throated White-eye and Mottled Flowerpecker. This is the only island where we stand a good chance of seeing the little-known Yellow-legged Pigeon.

As this ground-breaking tour unfolds, the presence of large flocks of parrots, especially the raucous Solomons (or Ducorps’s) Cockatoo, and many large pigeons, remind us just how unspoilt these wonderful islands still remain.

Birdquest has operated Solomon Islands birding tours since 1996.

Santa Cruz Islands Extension Option: Doing the main Solomon Islands properly means a long tour in itself, but there are some additional accessible endemics in the remote Santa Cruz Islands (or adjacent Solomons proper), including Santa Cruz Shrikebill, Temotu Whistler and Santa Cruz and Vanikoro White-eyes, plus a few other specialities only shared with Vanuatu or Fiji. Flights to the islands are infrequent so an extension takes time. If we have participants wanting to extend the tour to visit the Santa Cruz Islands, and most likely devote a week or more to the visit, we will arrange a special extension. The cost will of course depend on both numbers and necessary duration. Please contact us if you are interested in this extension.

Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels at Honiara and Gizo are of good standard. The hotel on Malaita is fairly simple, although it usually has functioning air-conditioning. The guesthouses on Rennell, Kolombangara, Makira (near the airstrip) and Santa Isabel are fairly basic but provide mattresses, clean sheets, cold showers and toilets. Accommodation is very basic at Hauta on Makira, where we will sleep on bamboo beds in traditional, open-plan village houses, washing under piped stream water or in the local river. One night will be spent in a basic camp on the mountain on Kolombangara. Road transport will be by minibus and 4×4 vehicle. Roads away from the Honiara area are mostly bad, but in any event we do not travel far on them.

Walking: Our Solomon Islands birding tour mostly involves moderate walking effort, and while there are a few easy areas there are also some fairly demanding ones. On Kolombangara the upper part of the trek to the summit is demanding. The trek on Makira up to Hauta involves a steep hike on muddy trails lasting for a number of hours (and possibly one or more river crossings) and there is also a steep hike of two hours on Santa Isabel from the coast to our accommodations.

Climate: Hot and humid. Although it is the ‘dry’ season, rain is still very likely and it can be heavy. Boat journeys and the camping night on Kolombangara can be cool.

Bird Photography: Opportunities during our Solomon Islands birding tour are worthwhile.

Important: Flight schedules in the Solomons change frequently, and delays are also not uncommon, so participants need to be aware of this and have a flexible and relaxed approach. Changes to the order in which the islands are visited, compared to the tour description, are almost inevitable and changes to the amount of time on some of the islands are also likely. Our Solomon islands birding tour itinerary has a built-in safety margin to allow for such eventualities.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

  • Challenging but exciting tour to see around 70 poorly-known island endemics!
  • See more restricted-range species here than in any other Endemic Bird Area in the world!
  • Hop between thirteen different tropical islands in search of amazing species.
  • Four bizarre endemic genera are to be found on this tour, represented by Solomons Frogmouth, Woodford’s Rail, Makira Honeyeater and Bare-eyed White-eye
  • Black-faced Pitta represents the eastern distribution limit of the pitta family.
  • Similarly, Solomons Cockatoo is the furthest east that raucous family goes.
  • Evolutionary trends are fascinating in the Solomons, best seen through 10 different species of white-eye – some of them truly weird.
  • Monarchs feature heavily, with White-capped, White-collared and Chestnut-bellied Monarchs usually being favourites.
  • Different Dwarf Kingfishers on most islands, and plenty of chances to see both Ultramarine Kingfisher and Beach Kingfisher.
  • Astounding parrot diversity includes Duchess Lorikeet, Yellow-bibbed Lory and Song Parrot
  • Seeing pigeons such as the lovely Silver-capped Fruit Dove, the funky Crested Cuckoo-Dove and the rare Yellow-legged Pigeon.
  • Sanford’s Sea Eagle is often the last Haliaeetus species for many participants.
  • Boat trips in the western islands give us an excellent chance to see Heinroth’s Shearwater.
  • Declining species such as Roviana Rail, Solomons Nightjar and Rennell Shrikebill.
  • Remote-island rarities such as Kolombangara Leaf Warbler and Makira Thrush.
  • Finding exciting birds such as Fearful Owl and White-eyed Starling with regularity.

OUTLINE ITINERARY

  • Day 1: Afternoon tour start at Honiara airport on Guadalcanal island.
  • Day 2: Honiara area.
  • Day 3: Flight to Rennell island.
  • Days 4-5: Rennel island.
  • Day 6: Rennell, then return to Honiara.
  • Day 7: Flight to Gizo island.
  • Day 8: Boat trip to Ranongga island. Overnight on Gizo.
  • Day 9: By boat to Kolumbangara island. Overnight at guesthouse.
  • Day 10: Trek up Kolombangara and camp overnight.
  • Day 11: Walk to summit, then descend to shore. Return to Gizo.
  • Day 12: Flight to Honiara and ferry to Malaita island. Overnight at Auki.
  • Day 13: Malaita island. Overrnight at Auki.
  • Day 14: Malaita, then ferry to Honiara.
  • Day 15: Flight to Santa Isabel island. Boat and walk to Tirotonga village.
  • Days 16-19: Tirotonga area, Santa Isabel island.
  • Day 20: Santa Isabel, then return to Honiara.
  • Day 21: Flight to Kirakira on Makira (or San Cristobal) island. Walk to Hauta.
  • Days 22-24: Hauta area, Makira island.
  • Day 25: Return to Kirakira. Overnight at guesthouse.
  • Day 26: Kiraklira, then return to Honiara.
  • Day 27: Honiara area. Midday tour end at airport.
  • NOTE: Airline schedule changes often result in re-ordering of our itinerary in the Solomons.

To see a larger map, click on the square-like ‘enlarge’ icon in the upper right of the map box.

To see (or hide) the ‘map legend’, click on the icon with an arrow in the upper left of the map box.

To change to a satellite view, which is great for seeing the physical terrain (and for seeing really fine details by repetitive use of the + button), click on the square ‘map view’ icon in the lower left corner of the ‘map legend’.

PRICE INFORMATION

Birdquest Inclusions: Our tour prices include surface transportation, accommodations, meals and entrance fees.

We also include all tipping for local guides, drivers and accommodation/restaurant staff.

We also include these flights in our tour prices:

Honiara-Rennell-Honiara

Honiara-Gizo-Honiara

Honiara-Fera (Santa Isabel)-Honiara

Honiara-Kirakira (Makira)-Honiara.

Cumulatively these flights amount to a very large cost.

Deposit: 20% of the total tour price. Our office will let you know what deposit amount is due, in order to confirm your booking, following receipt of your online booking form.

TO BOOK THIS TOUR: Click here (you will need the tour dates)





2023: £10710, $13390, €12310, AUD19950. Honiara/Honiara.
2024: provisional £11030, $13790, €12680, AUD20540. Honiara/Honiara.

Single Supplement: 2023: £570, $720, €660, AUD1070.
Single Supplement: 2024: £590, $740, €680, AUD1100.

The single supplement will not apply if you indicate on booking that you prefer to share a room and there is a room-mate of the same sex available.

The single room supplement relates to Honiara, Gizo and Malaita only.

This tour is priced in US Dollars. Amounts shown in other currencies are indicative.

Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency will be pleased to arrange your air travel on request, or you may arrange this yourself if you prefer.

SOLOMON ISLANDS BIRDING TOUR: DETAILED ITINERARY

Solomon Islands: Day 1  The tour begins this afternoon at Honiara airport in the capital of the Solomon Islands, situated on the island of Guadalcanal, where we will stay for two nights.

Solomon Islands: Day 2  The name Guadalcanal is still synonymous with huge air and naval battles and bloody jungle warfare, for some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific between Japanese and Allied forces took place on and around this island. Relics of that great struggle can be found littered throughout the island and its offshore waters, a stark reminder of darker days, when for a brief period in history Guadalcanal was thrust to the forefront of the world’s stage. Now largely ignored and forgotten by the rest of the world, Guadalcanal, like the rest of the Solomons, is a sleepy backwater which receives few visitors from the outside world. Pacific Swallows, Willie Wagtails, Olive-backed Sunbirds, Singing Starlings and introduced Common Mynas are conspicuous around Honiara and Brahminy Kites are often seen at the airport.

We will spend most of our time in the mountains. As we walk along trails through the forest we should encounter such Solomons endemics as Pied Goshawk, Solomons (or Ducorps’s) Cockatoo, the attractive Ultramarine Kingfisher, Chestnut-bellied Monarch, Steel-blue Flycatcher, Midget Flowerpecker and Brown-winged Starling, and we should also find the uncommon Black-headed Myzomela, which is restricted to Guadalcanal. We also have a fair chance of finding the rather elusive Guadalcanal form of the endemic Solomons Boobook (or Solomons Hawk-Owl). There is also a slim possibility of finding the very rare White-eyed Starling amongst the many Metallic Starlings and Long-tailed Mynas.

More widespread species include Buff-banded Rail, Pale-vented (or Rufous-tailed) Bush-hen, Claret-breasted, Superb and perhaps Yellow-bibbed Fruit Doves, Glossy and Uniform Swiftlets, and Grey Fantail.

We will also visit the Betikama wetlands, haunt of Little Pied Cormorants, White-browed Crakes and Australian Reed Warblers, while Red-backed Buttonquail may be found in the surrounding grassland.

[The remote highlands of Guadalcanal hold the beautiful but almost unknown Moustached Kingfisher (endemic to Guadalcanal and Bougainville), as well as the endemic Guadalcanal Thrush and the endemic Guadalcanal Honeyeater, but this difficult-to-access area still remains effectively off-limits to visiting birders.]

Solomon Islands: Day 3  Today we will take a flight to Rennell, a World Heritage Site. Landing on the rough grass airstrip, we will disturb numbers of Australian Ibis which are remarkably tame and widespread across the island, behaving almost like farmyard chickens.

We will stay on Rennell for three nights at a basic guesthouse. Later we will commence our exploration of the island.

Solomon Islands: Days 4-5  On Rennell birds are abundant along the trails through the forest which grows on this raised coral reef, situated far out in the Coral Sea and very unlike most of the other Solomon Islands, which are mountainous. The Rennell endemics, Rennell Fantail, the beautiful Rennell Shrikebill, Rennell Starling, Rennell White-eye and the weird Bare-eyed White-eye, are generally common and confiding, but the Rennell Whistler is uncommon.

The other passerines in this forest include three Melanesian endemics, Cardinal Myzomela, Fan-tailed Gerygone and Melanesian Flycatcher, as well as Yellow-eyed Cuckooshrike and Island Thrush (the latter found here at sea-level). As elsewhere in the country, there is very little hunting in the extensive forests and we will see large numbers of the endemic Silver-capped Fruit Dove, as well as Pacific Imperial Pigeon, Mackinlay’s Cuckoo-Dove and Song (or Singing) Parrot. A highlight is the abundance of diminutive Finsch’s Pygmy Parrots nibbling away at the trunks and branches of the roadside trees. Other species likely to be seen are Shining Bronze Cuckoo, Moustached Treeswift and Collared Kingfisher, whilst this is the only island in the Solomons with Brown Goshawk.

Providing the flight schedule remains the same and we have to have three nights on Rennell, we will try to make an excursion to a more distant part of the island where a large freshwater lake holds Australasian Grebe and an island in the lake provides a nesting area for Red-footed Boobies and Great and Little Pied Cormorants.

Solomon Islands: Day 6  After some final birding on Rennell we will take a flight back to Honiara for an overnight stay.

Solomon Islands: Day 7  From Honiara we take a flight to Gizo for a two nights stay.

While on Gizo we will walk along a road through a mixture of scrub, gardens and plantations looking for the endangered endemic Gizo (or Splendid) White-eye, which is often found in mixed flocks with Yellow-vented Myzomela, Rufous Fantail and White-capped Monarch.

Solomon Islands: Day 8  Today will see us exploring two of the smaller islands in the Solomons by boat. During the crossing to Ranongga, we will look hard for the rare and poorly-known Heinroth’s Shearwater amongst the more common seabirds, such as Brown Booby, Lesser and Great Frigatebirds, Black and Brown Noddies, and Greater Crested, Roseate, Black-naped, Common and Bridled Terns.

Once we reach Ranongga we will find the smart endemic Ranongga White-eye and the endemic subspecies of several other forest passerines. Island Imperial Pigeons are usually conspicuous and the large Beach Kingfisher frequents the coastline. Across another 8-kilometre strait, we reach Vella Lavella, another island with its own endemic, the Vella Lavella (or Banded) White-eye.

Solomon Islands: Day 9  This morning we will travel by boat across to the volcanic island of Kolombangara where we will spend the night in a basic guesthouse.

Our main target in the Kolombangara lowlands is Roviana Rail, a species which was only described in 1991 but which emerges onto short grassland at dawn and dusk together with Australasian Swamphens. A goose-like honking is likely to reveal a pair of Sanford’s (or Solomons) Sea Eagles sparring high overhead or an individual being mobbed by an Eastern Osprey. Kolombangara, with its rich reefs and forests, is a stronghold for this threatened endemic predator. Another highlight is the huge Buff-headed Coucal, and we will search through large numbers of Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeons for Pale Mountain Pigeon, and through the many Rainbow Lorikeets for the beautiful endemic Duchess Lorikeet and Meek’s Lorikeet. The endemic Solomons White-eye is a common bird here, while the endemic Grey-capped Cicadabird is straightforward to find.

Other more widespread species include Pacific Reef Egret, Striated Heron, Pacific Black Duck, Pacific Baza, the dashing Oriental Hobby, Stephan’s Emerald Dove, Cardinal Lory, Eclectus Parrot, Sacred Kingfisher and White-bellied Cuckooshrike.

Melanesian Megapode (or Melanesian Scrubfowl) are frequently to be heard, but we will need a bit of luck to see this retiring species. Much rarer, but occasionally seen, are Meyer’s Goshawk, White-rumped Swiftlet and North Melanesian Cuckooshrike.

Solomon Islands: Day 10  Early today we will start our ascent of the mountain. Walking slowly through primary forest, we will be hearing forest birds all the way. Lowland forest species include four rather scarce endemics, White-winged Fantail, Kolombangara Monarch, Oriole Whistler and Solomons Cuckooshrike. Walking quietly, we are also likely to encounter Metallic (or White-throated) Pigeon, Brush Cuckoo, Variable Dwarf Kingfisher and Blyth’s Hornbill.

In the stunted moss forest near the summit, we will camp overnight amongst montane species such as Red-breasted Pygmy Parrot, Island Leaf Warbler, Pacific Robin (now treated as distinct from the Scarlet Robin of Australia) and large flocks of endemic Kolombangara White-eyes.

Solomon Islands: Day 11  This morning we will awake to a dawn movement of pigeons and parrots. Walking to the top of the mountain, our objective is to find the Kolombangara Leaf Warbler, which has an extremely tiny range around the rim of the volcanic caldera atop Kolombangara.

Once we have succeeded we will descend to the lowlands and take the boat back to Gizo for an overnight stay and some well-deserved creature comforts.

Solomon Islands: Day 12  This morning we will take a flight back to Honiara and then travel by ferry to the adjacent island of Malaita for a two nights stay at Auki.

Solomon Islands: Day 13  Today we will explore the forested hills of the island’s interior. Malaita is the only island in the Solomons with heavy forest clearance and we will drive between forest patches. The endemic Malaita White-eye is fairly common, but the endemic Red-vested (or Red-bellied) Myzomela will take some time and luck to find. Other species such as White-winged Fantail and Brown-winged Starling have distinctive subspecies on Malaita which may soon be split as full species. We may also encounter the as-yet-undescribed subspecies of Woodford’s Rail that occurs on this island.

Solomon Islands: Day 14  After spending the morning on Malaita we will travel back to Honiara for an overnight stay.

Solomon Islands: Day 15  This morning we will catch a flight to Santa Isabel. The airstrip is on the small offshore island of Fera, where we will search for Island Monarch.

After crossing the channel to the main island, a steep walk up into the hills takes us to Tirotonga village, home of some of the most sought-after Solomons endemics, where we will stay for five nights.

The village is intending to build a simple ecotourism facility for visiting birders and the like, but we will probably have to sleep in the village houses, enjoying some wonderful hospitality. In the afternoon we will begin our exploration of the surrounding area.

Solomon Islands: Days 16-19  Our prime target on Santa Isabel will be the beautiful endemic Black-faced Pitta, which has been seen by very few birders. Although very shy, it is highly vocal and we should all hear and with persistence and a bit of luck eventually see what may be the least-known pitta in the world.

White-billed (or Guadalcanal) Crow, an endemic species with an outlandish huge bill and remarkable calls, is common here, as is the endemic Yellow-throated White-eye. Less common endemics are Solomons Cuckooshrike, Black-and-white Monarch, Scarlet-naped Myzomela and the flightless and threatened Woodford’s Rail. The very poorly-known endemic Imitator Sparrowhawk is a secretive forest raptor that requires an unusual amount of luck to get to grips with.

We will also want to find the endemic Solomons Frogmouth (now placed in its own genus) and, if we are lucky, the imposing endemic Fearful Owl. We also have another chance here for Solomons Boobook (or Solomons Hawk-Owl). All are difficult to see at night, although we will try hard if necessary. Hopefully, our keen local guides will have found us roost sites for these rare and little-known species so that we can observe them in detail in daylight.

Solomon Islands: Day 20  After some final birding on Santa Isabel we will return to Honiara for an overnight stay.

Solomon Islands: Day 21  Another flight will take us to Kirakira on the island of Makira (or San Cristobal), from where we will drive along the few kilometres of road and then walk inland to the Hauta conservation area for a four nights stay. Hauta is a classic example of integrating conservation with traditional values.

The hike takes several hours and is steep and may involve one or more river crossings, depending on the state of the water levels, but we will take it easy, enjoying lowland forest species along the way. We will see our first Makira endemics such as the attractive White-headed Fruit-Dove, Makira Cicadabird, Sooty Myzomela, Makira Honeyeater (or San Cristobal Melidectes), White-collared Monarch, Makira (or Ochre-headed) Flycatcher, Makira (or San Cristobal) Starling and Mottled Flowerpecker, as well as the regionally-endemic Yellow-bibbed Fruit-Dove and Yellow-bibbed Lory.

Makira is the easternmost limit for several bird species and groups, including Common Kingfisher, whilst this isolation has lead to divergent evolution of others such as the distinctive local form of the Spangled Drongo (found only on Makira and Guadalcanal).

Solomon Islands: Days 22-24  Staying at about 1500ft (450m) in the Hauta conservation area, we will enjoy the traditional village hospitality and skilled local guides while we explore a network of trails in pristine hill and mountain rainforest.

This is the best site in the world for the threatened and virtually endemic Yellow-legged Pigeon and endemic Chestnut-bellied Imperial Pigeon, which are both uncommon but join other pigeon species in the fruiting trees. We will trek to the higher ridges in the area to search for Shade Bush Warbler in the dark forest understorey, whilst the White-bellied (or San Cristobal) Thrush is very shy and requires luck and patience to see well. Endemics in the mixed-species flocks here include Dusky Fantail, San Cristobal Leaf-Warbler and Grey-throated White-eye, together with the more widespread Long-tailed Triller.

Whilst looking for thrushes and other birds we may also encounter Bronze Ground-Dove. Throughout our time in the area, we will be listening carefully for the distinctive call of the endemic Crested Cuckoo-Dove. With time and persistence, we should be able to lure one into view, allowing us all to admire this most bizarre pigeon.

Solomon Islands: Day 25  After a final morning at Hauta we will return to the lowlands and stay overnight in a guesthouse close to the airstrip. Here we will have another chance to catch up on lowland forest species.

Solomon Islands: Day 26  After taking a walk in the lowland forest close to the airstrip, we will take a flight to Honiara for an overnight stay.

Solomon Islands: Day 27  After some final birding on Guadalcanal the tour ends at Honiara airport around midday.

SOLOMON ISLANDS TOUR REPORT 2019

View Report

SOLOMON ISLANDS TOUR REPORT 2017

View Report

SOLOMON ISLANDS TOUR REPORT 2015

View Report

Other Melanesia birding tours by Birdquest include: