My previous post was comprised of us visiting Indonesia west of Wallace’s Line. Here I will display photos from Sulawesi, an island east of Wallace’s Line and west of Lydekker’s Line (the separation of wildlife from Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, and the Moluccas from New Guinea and Australia ). Sulawesi is known for its high proportion of endemism, especially in the birds, so a lot of the species shown here can be found nowhere else. I will also be posting photos from Singapore, where we stopped briefly before heading to Sulawesi. Also, many of the species I took photos of are rare and hard to see, so the photos will be of less quality because of the low light and fast-moving animals.
One of our best stops in Singapore was the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which was full of Red Junglefowl, the wild ancestor of the domestic chicken. Immediately after we got out of the Uber, we saw these chicks, much to Cedar’s delight.
One of the best ways to separate junglefowl from chickens is to check for the large white patch on the male’s head, seen here clearly.
The junglefowl were also accompanied by this Common Flameback, a type of large woodpecker.
These chicks were adorable, snuggling under the mother’s belly.
In Singapore we also went on a birding trip around some wetlands that started off with my first Dollarbird, (a type of roller) name because of the white patches in its wings that appear like “silver dollars” when it flies.
Another highlight of the birding trip was this Little Bronze Cuckoo, easily identified from the iridescent bronze back, red eye-ring, and barred belly.
While climbing to Singapore’s highest point we came across this colugo (a type of mammal that uses flaps of skin to glide from tree to tree). It stayed perfectly still the entire time, and we still don’t know if it was actually alive!
Javan Mynas like this one are common all across the city, but this one is suffering from a leg disease, and you can see the misshapen feet.
Upon leaving Singapore we arrived in Sulawesi, a haven for endemic birds. Almost 27% of the region’s birds are endemic. Sulawesi hosts 12 endemic genera of birds, including 6 kingfishers, 9 parrots, and 7 owls. One of the first endemics we saw was this Yellow-billed Malkoha, a relative of the coucals, which are relatives of the cuckoos.
Our first stop in Sulawesi was the village of Kamarora A, near the famous Lore Lindu National Park. On our first morning we took a trip to a lake just outside the park to bird. This Brush Cuckoo was seen there.
This Turquoise Warbling-flycatcher was also a highlight of the lake trip.
On the way back from the lake this raptor flew up and perched in a tree in front of us. It was later identified as a Bat Hawk, a rare species that can catch bats or swifts on the wing.
Lore Lindu is also known for its tarsiers, which are small nocturnal primates and very, very cute. This is one of the several we saw.
One of the most famous birding locations in Sulawesi is the Anaso Track. The track’s star birds is the Diabolical Nightjar (shown here). There was actually known terrorist activity on the track, but without us knowing that what we were on was the Anaso Track, we still saw the birds and came out fine.
In total we saw two nightjars. This one is engaged in a threat display.
Another star endemic bird is the Purple-bearded Bee-eater, which we saw twice on the track
Later down on the track we came into a “birdstorm” with Mountain Cicadabirds, Ashy Woodpeckers, Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpeckers, and this Sulawesi Thrush.
After Lore Lindu we stayed at Lake Poso, where the friendly Pacific Swallows provided great photography practice.
The next major stop in Sulawesi was the Togian Islands, where we saw this Ashy Woodpecker (a Sulawesi endemic) excavating this palm tree.
One of my most-wanted Sulawesi birds was the Togian Boobook, a type of small owl endemic to the islands. On our first night we asked the lodge managers and they said that an owl comes almost every night to their trash pile to feed on insects. This owl has been named Kokoro, and we saw him many times.
Kokoro would often just sit in one place for a very long time, and you could just stand, and watch him hunt or eat or anything without bothering him.
Our final stop was potentially the place I had most wanted to go in Sulawesi, Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park. Sulawesi is well-known for its profusion of endemic kingfishers, and we quickly saw this Sulawesi Dwarf-kingfisher.
Several times we came across the endemic Pale-blue Monarch flitting around in the low branches.
Another endemic we saw soon after starting was this Bay Coucal, a type of large cuckoo-like bird.
This Sultan’s Cuckoo-dove posed for the camera, unlike many of the other birds seen on the hike.
The only large mammal we saw on the hike was this macaque, which gave us very good views.
We spent a while trying to get this beautiful Sulawesi Pitta to come out into the open, and eventually it did. Pittas are normally secretive, so I was very happy.
The highlight of Bogani Nani is the Maleo, a species of endangered megapode (more on that word later) endemic to Sulawesi. When we reached a snack point we found this baby Maleo just walking around and taking scraps of food from the ground. It was definitely wild, because it flew away later (baby megapodes learn to fly instantly).
This baby Maleo blew my mind with cuteness, rarity, and comfortableness. It felt like a tiny chicken that is endangered with only 8,000 to 14,000 individuals alive.
Megapodes are birds that do not incubate their eggs, but instead either build a mound of rotting vegetation and let the heat from the chemical reactions do the rest, or dig a hole in thermally heated earth or on a beach that absorbes the sun. When the eggs hatch, the chicks dig out, fly away and grow up. One of the main reasons for the Maleo’s decline has been the unsubstantial harvesting of Maleo eggs, since they are all grouped together, easy to get, and make good eating.
Sulawesi also has two endemic species of hornbill, and we saw one. The Knobbed Hornbill is one of the largest birds in Sulawesi and also one of the most colorful.
As we were almost leaving the park a large flock of hornbills came around us from all sides. Hornbills are easily located by the loud noise their wings make when they fly, but when you are in the middle of a flock it just feels like chaos.
Do not underestimate the quality of these photos! I hadn’t realized you spent time in Singapore. It’s great that you got to see “wildlife” in such a populated city. I am glad we’re just learning of the terrorist activity now! Fascinating facts about the Megapodes. The chicks and Pacific Swallows are sweet. Glad the Pitta made you happy.
Gram says:
Do not underestimate the quality of these photos! I hadn’t realized you spent time in Singapore. It’s great that you got to see “wildlife” in such a populated city. I am glad we’re just learning of the terrorist activity now! Fascinating facts about the Megapodes. The chicks and Pacific Swallows are sweet. Glad the Pitta made you happy.