Sulawesi Halmahera

The Indonesian province of Sulawesi, formerly known as the Celebes, is a large, rather odd-shaped island, variously described as spider or orchid-shaped, to the east of Borneo and west of New Guinea. Indonesia has the highest rate of bird endemism of any country, and Sulawesi has the highest number of endemic bird species of any of the Indonesian islands—arguably, more than 70 species are found nowhere else. Additionally, there is a marvelous suite of endemic mammals and plants. Halmahera, the largest of the Moluccas or Spice Islands, lies just a short distance to the east and has a similar odd shape but a totally different avifauna, of which a remarkable 22 are endemic.

We’ll visit three of Sulawesi’s national parks: Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Lore Lindu National Park. From the cool mossy cloud forests to the luxuriant lowland rainforests, our targets will include a suite of endemic raptors, some cracking kingfishers, the unusual Purple-bearded Bee-eater, the colorful Knobbed Hornbill, some tricky forest dwellers like Geomalia and Great Shortwing, some amazing endemic starlings, and many more. Our jumping-off point for Halmahera is the small island of Ternate, dominated by a gently smoking volcano and the most important town of the fabled “Spice Islands.” This island is much drier and has more affinities with the Australasian region than with Sulawesi, but it has an equally rich selection of endemics, including the fabulous Wallace’s Standardwing, one of the strangest of the birds of paradise and which we should be able to watch at a display site. We’ll also be keen to find the huge and beautiful Ivory-breasted Pitta as well as other endemics such as White Cockatoo, Goliath Coucal, Moluccan Owlet-Nightjar, and the rare Moluccan Scrubfowl.