Lesser Sundas Part 2

Sumba

Sunday 22^nd

Departure was at 5.30 and we headed straight out to the forest, making a brief stop for a perched roadside Citron-crested Cockatoo. 

Citron-crested Cockatoo

Helmeted Friarbird and Short-tailed Starlings were seen before the next specialities – Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher and Red-naped Fruit Dove, the latter being a very smart pigeon. 

Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher

Red-naped Fruit-Dove

There were also parrots seen with Red-cheeked Parrot being the commonest and a few Marigold Lorikeets (named after a brand of rubber gloves?) which were always flying past at speed. We had a roadside breakfast before carrying on.

Red-cheeked Parrot

We walked through a grassland area looking for buttonquail but couldn’t find any, a recent fire had probably moved them on to another area. We did see Paddyfield Pipit. Back on the forest road we ran into Wallacean Cuckooshrike, Sumba Brown Flycatcher, Ashy-bellied White-eye, Banded Fruit-Dove and a stunning red and black Sumba Myzomela. There seems to be two camps on how to pronounce this bird, either my-zomela or myzo-meela. Both were used so it probably doesn’t matter.

Wallacean Cuckooshrike

Sumba Brown Flycatcher

A recent split from Arufara Fantail was located next: Supertramp Fantail – is this the only bird named after a band? This was quite a productive area and also saw Cinerous Tit (which looks exactly like the more familiar Great Tit), Sumba Green Pigeon, Sumba Flowerpecker and several more widespread birds: Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher, Brahminy Kite and Black-naped Oriole.

Sumba Flowerpecker

Sumba Green Pigeon

Wallacean Drongo

We went to a local restaurant for lunch and a rest then back out in the afternoon. First up was Ashy-bellied White-eye and we heard Lesser Coucal and Green Junglefowl. There weren’t many birds around but we did add a few more endemics: Broad-billed Flycatcher, Sumba Cicadabird and Tengarra Whistler. 

Glider sp

Crow sp

moth sp

We stayed out until dusk again to try for a more difficult Boobook – Least Sumba Owl. It called then after a while flew in and showed briefly but it didn’t hang around for long. We kept trying but being beside a busy road didn’t help and when it came in again it got spooked by a very noisy truck. We persisted a bit longer but had to conceded defeat on the photo front but at least we’d seen it. We headed back to town for dinner.

Monday 23^rd

We checked out of our hotel at 5.30 and went to a new area of forest. The main target was Chestnut-backed Thrush. It took a long while to respond then flew around for a while before we finally got good views of it but it was another bird that refused to pose for a photo.

Praying Mantis

At the next site we saw Sunda Brush Cuckoo, Tawny Grassbird and some distant Long-tailed Macaques up a tree. A Sumba Snake-Eagle flew over to add to the Brahminy and Black Kites we’d seen earlier. Raptors appear to be very thinly distributed on Sumba.

Broad-billed Flycatcher

Sunda Brush Cuckoo

Tenggara Paradise-Flycatcher

We had lunch then checked into the Beach Hotel where a couple of Striated Swallows hung out on the wires out the front to greet us. 

A typical dwelling on Sumba with roof storage

In the afternoon we drove to a forest where a hide had been erected. After a short wait an Elegant Pitta came in and showed brilliantly. 

Elegant Pitta

We went back to the hotel and spent an hour checking out the beach area but saw little apart from a couple of Common Sandpipers and four Whimbrel of a different race which have barred rumps so intermediate between European and Hudsonian. 

Mudflats and mangroves at back of hotel