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| Bare-eyed White-eye |
After visiting Kolombangara during our October trip to Solomon Islands (See this link) as a guest of Tourism Solomons, we flew from Honiara to Rennell, the
country’s most easterly island and the world’s largest raised
coral atoll, believed to have surfaced 2.5 million years ago at the
end of the Pliocene. Much of the island is a designated UNESCO World
Heritage Site. For its size it has an unusually high rate of avian
endemism, with seven endemic and one near-endemic species, along with
a host of distinctive subspecies awaiting taxonomic revision. An enthusastic throng of locals greeted our plane upon arrival.
Chief among the special endemic subspecies on Rennell is the pygmaeus race of Australian White Ibis with
its small size, metallic red nape patch and short pink legs. The ibis
is numerous around the main town of Tigoa. What is striking about
Rennell is the harmony between birds and humans, unlike much of
Melanesia and Polynesia, where hunting suppresses bird numbers.
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Tigoa village
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| Endemic subs of Australia White Ibis |
Within half an hour
of checking into our modest homestay in Tigoa, we had chalked up four
endemic species in secondary scrub on the town’s outskirts
including the smart Rennell Shrikebill and Bare-eyed White-eye, an
enigmatic bird of uncertain taxonomic provenance.
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Rennell Shrikebill
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| Bare-eyed White-eye |
Birding the trails
nearby over a couple of days cleaned up all the island specialties
including the newly split Vanikoro Island Thrush and the scarce
Bronze Ground-Dove.
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| Bronze Ground-Dove |
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| Vanikoro Island Thrush |
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| Birding the Rennell Island trails |
The drab Rennell
Whistler is regarded as the trickiest endemic to find but we had
multiple close encounters with this superb songster; mid-morning
appears to be the best time to see them.
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| Rennell Whistler (above and below) |
Birds were ever
present. The near-endemic Silver-capped Fruit-Dove was abundant.
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| Silver-capped Fruit-Dove |
Flocks of Rennell Song Parrots and Rennell Starlings wheeled about
and tiny Finsch’s Pygmy-Parrots were often found probing mossy tree
trunks in the forest understorey.
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| Finsch's Pygmy-Parrot |
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| Song Parrot |
The endemic Rennell
White-eye was as numerous as the Bare-eyed White-eye in primary and
secondary forest.
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| Rennell White-eye |
The recently split Rennell Gerygone was ubiquitous
and a frequent inhabitant of village gardens.
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| Rennell Gerygone |
Rennell Fantail was
less common and conspicuous, but easy enough to locate.
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| Rennell Fantail |
Pacific Imperial-Pigeon, Melanesian Flycatcher and Cardinal Myzomela
are widespread elsewhere in Melanesia and/or Polynesia but occur in
the Solomons only on Rennell and nearby islands.
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| Cardinal Myzomela |
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| Melanesian Flycatcher |
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| Pacific Imperial-Pigeon |
Moustached Treeswift
is found throughout the region and plenty were flitting about on
Rennell. The endemic subspecies of Barred Cuckoo-shrike and Pacific Kingfisher (scarce elsewhere in the Solomons) were common.
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Moustached Treeswift
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Rennell subsp of Barred Cuckoo-shrike
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| Pacific Kingfisher |
I spoke to villagers
about the birds. Elliot is an older gentleman who doesn’t know his
age; he lives in a tiny wooden shack in the forest. “This is my
home where my ancestors lived,” he says. “I want to protect these
forests forever.” Is he ever lonely? “No, never. I have my garden
and the trees around me. Look at them.” As he speaks, a nearby tree
is alive with feeding Pacific Imperial-Pigeons. A short distance from
Elliot’s shack is a beautiful, deep limestone cave full of
crystal-clear water; a Great Long-fingered Bat hung from the cave
ceiling.
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| Limestone cave |
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| Elliot outside his forest home |
Limited diesel fuel
on the island for generators meant restricted power availability;
ceiling fans were not always whirring during the heat of the day.
Compensation came in the form of plentiful meals including freshly
caught fish and coconut crab.
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| Great cuisine - parrot fish (above); coconut crab (below) |
As is the case throughout the Solomons,
local people are invariably friendly and helpful.
Trip
report here.
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| Rennell Island coastline - view from the air |
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