Remote Sulawesi, Indonesia

18th November - 9th December 2012

Leader: Rob Hutchinson

Maximum Group Size: 7

Banggai Crow, Peleng                               © James Eaton/Birdtour Asia

The Indonesian archipelago is the most endemic-rich in the world, and to see the majority would require several trips. While many people make it as far as Sulawesi and Halmahera, only a handful have ventured to the surrounding islands which hold an equally exciting selection of endemics, many of which are almost unknown. The islands of Sangihe, Talaud, Togian, Banggai and the Sula archipelago are just names on a map to most people, although they often appear in ornithological papers detailing exciting new discoveries. Among these the likes of Togian Boobook, Togian White-eye and Sangihe Scops Owl with be among our targets as will Banggai Crow which was rediscovered in the last few years, and a host of mouth-watering endemics with Cerulean Paradise Flycatcher, Sangihe Shrike Thrush, Red-and-blue Lory, Helmeted Myna, Red-and-black Thrush and Taliabu Masked Owl as exciting possibilities.

The islands of Sangihe and Talaud off the north-east tip of Sulawesi hold an exciting set of endemics despite their small size. On Sangihe the endemic hanging parrot, scops owl and Elegant Sunbird can all be found in secondary forest but we will need to venture higher on Gunung Sahendaruman to find Sangihe Shrike Thrush, the stunning and sadly critically-endangered Cerulean Paradise Flycatcher which was rediscovered here in 1998, and the outside possibility of observing the virtually unknown Sangihe White-eye. On nearby Talaud, Red-and-blue Lory is still present in good numbers and Talaud Kingfisher is common and we might also be lucky enough to find either Talaud Bush-hen or Talaud Rail, both of which were discovered by Frank Lambert as recently as the late 1990’s.

The island of Peleng in the Banggai group of islands is home to another very recently rediscovered ‘lost’ species – the Banggai Crow – which was refound as recently as 2007 but which has proved common in the mountains there. By birding both in the mountains and the lowlands we will also hope for Helmeted Myna, Red-and-black Thrush, ‘Sula’ Pitta, Sula Scrubfowl, Sula Hanging Parrot, Slaty Cuckooshrike and a bunch of likely future splits such as the resident scops owl, leaf warbler and the distinct taxa of Maroon-chinned Fruit Dove which are awaiting formal description.

Further east the island of Taliabu in the Sula archipelago with give a second chance at many of the endemics which it shares with Peleng, but we will also hope to find Bare-eyed Myna, Taliabu Masked Owl, the sulaensis form of Moluccan Scops Owl which is different from mendeni  of Banggai and widely considered a separate species. We will also make an expedition into the high mountains of the island where new Bradypterus ‘Taliabu Bush Warbler’ and Phyllocsopus ‘Taliabu Leaf Warbler’ were found by Frank Rheindt in 2009.

Another centre for recent discoveries is the island of Togian which nestles in the Gulf of Tomini between the Minahassa and East Peninsulas of Sulawesi. Surveys here have found a new species of owl – Togian Boobook – together with Togian White-eye, both of which we should find as both are widespread in appropriate habitat. Here, as elsewhere on this journey, there is the potential for our own significant discoveries, and with rumours of a new scops owl on Togian among the exciting possibilities!

Please note this itinerary is open to change at any time due to continuing changes in internal flight schedules.

View larger map. Click on the pins for locality.