West Papua October 2025 Part 5 – Lowland rainforest of the Sorong area

 

Western Crowned Pigeon

Following a successful few days on Waigeo Island, we settled in for a 4-night stay in the cosy Aston Hotel in Sorong for the last stage of our 22-day West Papua tour. Malagufuk Village, a bit over an hour's drive from Sorong, is the go-to hotspot for the region's specialties. Birding here centres around a 3.5km boardwalk, slippery when wet, that winds its way through lush lowland rainforest and swamp forest. Birding along the road can also be productive.

Megalufuk boardwalk

Large Fig-Parrot flew over both mornings at Malagufuk, and Double-eyed Fig Parrot was feeding roadside. A pair of Black Lories, a top regional target, put in an appearance. A much-wanted Red-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher was tracked down not far into our first boardwalk stroll.

Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher

So too was a Blue-back Kingfisher. Both species can usually (but not always) be seen reliably along the boardwalk.

Blue-black Kingfisher

Shining Flycatcher was sitting on a nest at the carpark.

Shining Flycatcher on nest

We had planned one evening for villagers to search for Long-beaked Echidna and waited around for the village for most of the afternoon, but heavy rain did not let up. The next night also was ruled out due to weather so unfortunately we had to give it a miss. We did see Lowland Ring-tailed Possum and Brown Forest Wallaby.

Arriving at Megalufuk Village

Our second morning saw us at a similar boardwalk near Klabili Village. The local guide here was the best of the trip. We kicked off with a pair of Forest Bitterns attending a nest with at least one young. This is a difficult New Guinea endemic to nail so seeing these cryptic birds was a trip highlight.

Forest Bittern (above & below)

Then we enjoyed close-up view of Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot and more Black Lories.

Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot

Hook-billed Kingfisher and Red-billed Brushturkey were calling in numbers. Then we heard the low booming call of a Western Crowned Pigeon, a major target. The guide led us through a challenging maze of mud and scrub before abruptly running towards a group of 5 pigeons feeding on the ground. The idea is to flush them so they land in trees instead of scurrying off into the undergrowth. A pair perched in just the right spot and those of us who saw them there waited for an anxious 10 minutes before the rest of the group caught up. Everybody saw this stunning bird - particularly rewarding for those who hadn't seen a crowned pigeon before.

Western Crowned Pigeon

All eyes on a big pigeon

We looked on the final morning at Malagufuk for our two remaining chief targets. The guide searched hard for Northern Cassowary – a bird had been a frequent visitor to a fruiting tree near the village recently – but we found only the fresh footprints of an adult. Likewise a hoped for Pheasant Pigeon failed to materialise but we at least heard them at close quarters. Eastern Hooded Pitta was quite common. Other birds to show included plenty of Rusty Babblers, Rusty Pitohui, Hooded Monarch and Magnificent Riflebird.

Local guide on the lookout for Pheasant Pigeon

Yellow-billed Kingfisher was common at both rainforest sites visited, showing well occasionally but mostly heard.

Yellow-billed Kingfisher

A straw poll of the group for the tour on its last night in Sorong elected these as the top 10 birds: 1 – Wilson's Bird-of-Paradise; 2 - Black Sicklebill; 3 – Forest Bittern; 4 – Feline Owlet-nightjar; 5 – Masked Bowerbird; 6- White-striped Forest Rail; 7- Grey-banded Mannikin; 8 – Geelvink Pygmy Parrot; 9 – Lesser Bird-of-Paradise (the last three tied); 10 – Red-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher.

Last night of the tour