List of birds of the Solomon Islands
Encyclopedia
This is a list of the bird species recorded in the Solomon Islands. The avifauna of the Solomon Islands
, including the island of Bougainville
(to Papua New Guinea
) includes a total of 289 species, of which 71 are endemic
, 3 have been introduced
by humans, and 39 are rare or accidental. 26 species are globally threatened.
This list's taxonomic
treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of Clements
's 5th edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflects this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for the Solomon Islands.
The following tags have been used to highlight certain relevant categories. The commonly occurring, native, species do not fall into any of these categories.
Family: Podicipedidae
Grebe
s are small to medium-large sized freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes, and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land. There are 20 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Procellariidae
The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized 'true petrels', characterised by united nostrils with a medium septum, and a long outer functional primary. There are 75 species worldwide and 14 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Hydrobatidae
The storm-petrel
s are relatives of the petrel
s, and are the smallest of seabirds. They feed on plankton
ic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat
-like. There are 21 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Phaethontidae
Tropicbird
s are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings. There are 3 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Pelecanidae
Pelican
s are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes. There are 8 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Sulidae
The sulids comprise the gannet
s and boobies
. Both groups comprise medium-to-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish. There are 9 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Phalacrocoracidae
The Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium-to-large coastal, fish-eating seabirds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage colouration varies with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black and white, and a few being colourful. There are 38 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Fregatidae
Frigatebird
s are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black and white or completely black, with long wings and deeply-forked tails. The males have inflatable coloured throat pouches. They do not swim or walk, and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan to body weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week. There are 5 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Ardeidae
The family Ardeidae contains the bittern
s, heron
s and egret
s. Herons and egrets are medium to large sized wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Unlike other long-necked birds suck as storks, ibises and spoonbills, members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted. There are 61 species worldwide and 9 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Threskiornithidae
The Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibis
es and spoonbill
s. They have long, broad wings with 11 primary and about 20 secondary feathers. They are strong fliers and despite their size and weight, very capable soarers. There are 36 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Anatidae
The family Anatidae includes the duck
s and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese
and swan
s. These are birds that are modified for an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating. There are 131 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Pandionidae
The Pandionidae family contains only one species, the Osprey. The Osprey is a medium large raptor
which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution.
Family: Accipitridae
Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey and include hawk
s, eagle
s, kites
, harriers
and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. There are 233 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Falconidae
Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their feet. There are 62 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Megapodiidae
The Megapodiidae are stocky, medium-large chicken-like birds with small heads and large feet. All but the Malleefowl
occupy jungle habitats, and most have brown or black colouring. There are 21 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Turnicidae
The buttonquails are small, drab, running birds which resemble the true quails.The female is the brighter of the sexes, and initiates courtship. The male incubates the eggs and tends the young. There are 16 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Rallidae
Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coot
s, and gallinules. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs, and have long toes which are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers. There are 143 species worldwide and 9 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Burhinidae
The thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow black bills, large yellow eyes and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats. There are 9 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Glareolidae
Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincole
s, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the courser
s, which have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. There are 17 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Charadriidae
The family Charadriidae includes the plover
s, dotterels, and lapwing
s. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water, although there are some exceptions. There are 66 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Scolopacidae
The Scolopacidae are a large diverse family of small to medium sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlew
s, godwit
s, shanks
, tattlers
, woodcock
s, snipe
s, dowitcher
s and phalarope
s. The majority of species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. There are 89 species worldwide and 22 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Stercorariidae
The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants. There are 7 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large birds seabirds and includes gull
s and kittiwake
s. They are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. There are 55 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Sternidae
Tern
s are a group of generally general medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species now known to live in excess of 25 to 30 years. There are 44 species worldwide and 15 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Columbidae
Pigeons and dove
s are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere
. There are 308 species worldwide and 22 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Cacatuidae
The cockatoos share many features with other parrots including the characteristic curved beak shape and a zygodactyl foot, with two forward toes and two backwards toes. They differ, however in a number of characteristics, including the often spectacular movable headcrest. There are 21 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Promeropidae
Family: Psittacidae
Parrot
s are small to large birds with a characteristic curved beak shape. Their upper mandibles have slight mobility in the joint with the skull and the have a generally erect stance. All parrots are zygodactyl, having the four toes on each foot placed two at the front and two back. There are 335 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Cuculidae
The family Cuculidae includes cuckoo
s, roadrunners
and anis
. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Unlike the cuckoo species of the Old World, North American cuckoos are not brood parasites. There are 138 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Tytonidae
Barn owl
s are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons. There are 16 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Strigidae
Typical owl
s are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk. There are 195 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Podargidae
The frogmouths are a group of nocturnal birds related to the nightjar
s. They are named for their large flattened hooked bills and huge frog-like gape, which they use to take insects. There are 12 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands, one species of which was only described in 2007.
Family: Caprimulgidae
Nightjar
s are medium-sized nocturnal birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills that usually nest on the ground. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is camouflaged to resemble bark or leaves. There are 86 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Apodidae
Swift
s are small aerial birds, spending the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. There are 98 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Hemiprocnidae
The treeswifts or crested swifts are aerial near passerine
bird
s, closely related to the true swifts
. They differ from the other swifts in that they have crests, long forked tails and softer plumage. There are 4 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Alcedinidae
Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. There are 93 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Meropidae
The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine
birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colorful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar. There are 26 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Coraciidae
Rollers resemble crow
s in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfisher
s and bee-eater
s. They share the colourful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not. There are 12 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Bucerotidae
Hornbills are a group of birds whose bill is shaped like a cow's horn, but without a twist, sometimes with a casque on the upper mandible. Frequently, the bill is brightly coloured. There are 57 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Pittidae
Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, and stocky, with fairly long, strong legs, short tails and stout bills. Many, but not all, are brightly coloured. They are spend the majority of their time on wet forest floors, eating snails, insects and similar invertebrate prey which they find there. There are 32 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Hirundinidae
The Hirundinidae family is a group of passerines characterized by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Their adaptations include a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and short bills with wide gape. The feet are designed for perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base. There are 75 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Motacillidae
The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country. There are 54 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Campephagidae
The cuckoo-shrikes are small to medium-sized passerine birds. They are predominantly greyish with white and black, although some species are brightly coloured. There are 82 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Turdidae
The thrushes
are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs. There are 335 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Sylviidae
The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. The Sylviidae mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia and, to a lesser extent Africa. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs. There are 291 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Rhipiduridae
The Fantails are small insectivorous birds which are specialist aerial feeders. There are 44 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Monarchidae
The monarch flycatchers are small to medium-sized insectivorous passerines, which hunt by flycatching. There are 99 species worldwide and 14 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Petroicidae
Most species of the Petroicidae have a stocky build with a large, rounded head, a short, straight bill, and rounded wingtips. They occupy a wide range of wooded habitats, from subalpine to tropical rainforest, and mangrove swamps to semi-arid scrubland. All are primarily insectivorous, although a few supplement their diet with seeds. There are 43 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Pachycephalidae
The family Pachycephalidae includes the whistlers, shrike-thrushes, shrike-tits, pitohuis and Crested Bellbird. There are 57 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Acanthizidae
Thornbills are small passerine birds, similar in habits to the tits. There are 65 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Nectariniidae
The sunbirds and spiderhunters are very small passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed. There are 131 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Dicaeidae
The flowerpeckers are very small, stout, often brightly coloured birds, with short tails, short thick curved bills and tubular tongues. There are 44 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Zosteropidae
The white-eyes are small and are mostly of undistinguished appearance, the plumage above being generally either some dull color like greenish olive, but some species have a white or bright yellow throat, breast or lower parts, and several have buff flanks. As their name suggests many species have a white ring around the eyes. There are 96 species worldwide and 12 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Meliphagidae
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium-sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea. They are nectar feeders and closely resemble other nectar-feeding passerines. There are 174 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Dicruridae
The drongos are mostly are black or dark grey in colour, sometimes with metallic tints. They have long forked tails, and some Asian species have elaborate tail decorations. They have short legs and sit very upright whilst perched, like a shrike. They flycatch or take prey from the ground. There are 24 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Cracticidae
The cracticids: currawong
s, bellmagpies, and butcherbird
s, are similar to the other corvids. They have large, straight bills and mostly black, white or grey plumage. All are omnivorous to some degree. Ther are 12 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Corvidae
The Corvidae family includes crow
s, raven
s, jay
s, chough
s, magpie
s, treepie
s, nutcracker
s, and ground jay
s. Corvids are above average in size for the bird order Passeriformes. Some of the larger species show high levels of learning behavior. There are 120 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Sturnidae
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct, and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen. There are 125 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Family: Estrildidae
The estrildid finch
es are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia
. They are gregarious and often colonial seed-eaters with short thick but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but have a wide variation in plumage colours and pattern. There are 141 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, including the island of Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
(to Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
) includes a total of 289 species, of which 71 are endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
, 3 have been introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
by humans, and 39 are rare or accidental. 26 species are globally threatened.
This list's taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of Clements
James Clements
Dr. James Franklin Clements was an ornithologist, author and very successful businessman. He was born in New York....
's 5th edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflects this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for the Solomon Islands.
The following tags have been used to highlight certain relevant categories. The commonly occurring, native, species do not fall into any of these categories.
- (A) Accidental A species that rarely or accidentally occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- (E) Endemic A species endemic to the Solomon Islands.
- (I) Introduced A species introduced to the Solomon Islands as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions.
Table of contents |
---|
Non-passerines: Grebes . Shearwaters and Petrels . Storm-Petrels . Tropicbirds . Pelicans . Boobies and Gannets . Cormorants . Frigatebirds . Bitterns, Herons and Egrets . Ibises and Spoonbills . Ducks, Geese and Swans . Osprey . Hawks, Kites and Eagles . Falcons . Megapodes . Buttonquails . Rails, Crakes, Gallinules, and Coots . Thick-knees . Pratincoles and Coursers . Plovers and Lapwings . Sandpipers and allies . Skuas . Gulls . Terns . Pigeons and Doves . Cockatoos . Parrots . Cuckoos . Barn owls . Typical owls . Frogmouths . Nightjars . Swifts . Treeswifts . Kingfishers . Bee-eaters . Typical Rollers . Hornbills . |
Passerines: Pittas . Swallows and Martins . Wagtails and Pipits . Cuckoo-shrikes . Thrushes and allies . Old World warblers . Fantails . Monarch flycatchers . Australasian robins . Whistlers and allies . Thornbills and allies . Sunbirds and Spiderhunters . Flowerpeckers . White-eyes . Honeyeaters . Drongos . Bellmagpies and allies . Crows, Jays, Ravens and Magpies . Starlings . Waxbills and allies . |
See also References |
Grebes
Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Grebe
Grebe
A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...
s are small to medium-large sized freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes, and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land. There are 20 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Little GrebeLittle GrebeThe Little Grebe , also known as Dabchick, member of the grebe family of water birds. At 23 to 29 cm in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.-Description:The Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed...
Tachybaptus ruficollis - Australasian GrebeAustralasian GrebeThe Australasian Grebe is a tiny waterbird common on fresh water lakes and rivers in greater Australia, New Zealand and on nearby Pacific islands. At 25-27 cm in length, it is one of the smallest members of the grebe family...
Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
Shearwaters and petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesProcellariiformes
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...
Family: Procellariidae
Procellariidae
The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...
The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized 'true petrels', characterised by united nostrils with a medium septum, and a long outer functional primary. There are 75 species worldwide and 14 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Tahiti PetrelTahiti PetrelThe Tahiti Petrel, Pétrel De Tahiti, or Petrel De Tahití is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family....
Pterodroma rostrata - Providence PetrelProvidence PetrelThe Providence Petrel is a species that burrows in one location; isolated Lord Howe Island, some 800km from the Australian mainland in the Tasman Sea....
Pterodroma solandri (A) - Kermadec PetrelKermadec PetrelThe Kermadec Petrel is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.-Distribution:It is found in Australia, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Micronesia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Pitcairn, and the United States....
Pterodroma neglecta (A) - Herald PetrelHerald PetrelThe Trindade Petrel, Pterodroma arminjoniana, is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is 35-39 cm in size, with a 88-102 cm wingspan....
Pterodroma arminjoniana (A) - Juan Fernandez PetrelJuan Fernández PetrelThe Juan Fernández Petrel, Pétrel De Juan Fernandez, or Peterel De Las Juan Fernádez is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family....
Pterodroma externa (A) - Gould's PetrelGould's PetrelGould's Petrel is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family. It is a small petrel, 30 cm long with a wingspan of about 70 cm. It is largely grey above and white below with a blackish crown and hindneck and a black M-shaped band across the wings and rump.The subspecies P. l...
Pterodroma leucoptera - Black-winged PetrelBlack-winged PetrelThe Black-winged Petrel is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.It is found in Australia, French Polynesia, Japan, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, and the United States.-References:...
Pterodroma nigripennis (A) - Streaked ShearwaterStreaked ShearwaterThe Streaked Shearwater, Calonectris leucomelas is a species of seabird. The bird is 48 cm in size, with a 122 cm wingspan. This species is pelagic, but also occurs in inshore waters. It occurs in the Pacific Ocean, nesting in Japan and many of its offshore islands. After breeding, the Streaked...
Calonectris leucomelas (A) - Wedge-tailed ShearwaterWedge-tailed ShearwaterThe Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a Muttonbird, like the Sooty Shearwater of New Zealand and the Short-tailed Shearwater of Australia...
Puffinus pacificus - Sooty ShearwaterSooty ShearwaterThe Sooty Shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name tītī and as "muttonbird", like its relatives the Wedge-tailed Shearwater and the Australian Short-tailed Shearwater The Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) is...
Puffinus griseus - Short-tailed ShearwaterShort-tailed ShearwaterThe Short-tailed Shearwater or Slender-billed Shearwater , also called Yolla or Moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested...
Puffinus tenuirostris (A) - Fluttering ShearwaterFluttering ShearwaterThe Fluttering Shearwater is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.It is found in New Zealand and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitats are open seas and rocky shores.-References:...
Puffinus gavia (A) - Audubon's ShearwaterAudubon's ShearwaterAudubon's Shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri, is a common tropical seabird from the family Procellariidae. Sometimes called Dusky-backed Shearwater, the scientific name of this species commemorates the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier....
Puffinus lherminieri (A) - Heinroth's ShearwaterHeinroth's ShearwaterHeinroth's Shearwater is a poorly known seabird in the family Procellariidae. Probably a close relative of the Little Shearwater or Audubon's Shearwater , it is distinguished by a long and slender bill and a brown-washed underside.This species is restricted to the seas around the Bismarck...
Puffinus heinrothi
Storm-Petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesProcellariiformes
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...
Family: Hydrobatidae
The storm-petrel
Storm-petrel
Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan...
s are relatives of the petrel
Petrel
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...
s, and are the smallest of seabirds. They feed on plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
ic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
-like. There are 21 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Wilson's Storm-PetrelWilson's Storm-petrelWilson's Storm Petrel , also known as Wilson's Petrel, is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly in the seas of the southern hemisphere but extending northwards during the summer of the northern...
Oceanites oceanicus (A) - Black-bellied Storm-PetrelBlack-bellied Storm-petrelThe Black-bellied Storm Petrel is a species of seabird in the Hydrobatidae family.It is found in Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Bouvet Island, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Madagascar, Mozambique, New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Saint Helena, São Tomé...
Fregetta tropica (A) - White-bellied Storm-PetrelWhite-bellied Storm-petrelThe White-bellied Storm Petrel is a species of seabird in the Hydrobatidae family.It is found in Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Maldives, Namibia, New Zealand, Saint Helena, South Africa, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich...
Fregetta grallaria (A) - Polynesian Storm-PetrelPolynesian Storm-petrelThe Polynesian Storm Petrel is a species of seabird in the Hydrobatidae family. It is placed in the monotypic genus Nesofregetta....
Nesofregetta fuliginosa (A)
Tropicbirds
Order: PelecaniformesPelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...
Family: Phaethontidae
Tropicbird
Tropicbird
Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds now classified in their own order Phaethontiformes. Their relationship to other living birds is unclear, and they appear to have no close relatives. There are three species in one genus, Phaethon...
s are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings. There are 3 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Red-tailed TropicbirdRed-tailed TropicbirdThe Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, is a seabird that nests across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the rarest of the tropicbirds, yet is still a widespread bird that is not considered threatened. It nests in colonies on oceanic islands....
Phaethon rubricauda (A) - White-tailed TropicbirdWhite-tailed TropicbirdThe White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, is a tropicbird, smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It occurs in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans...
Phaethon lepturus (A)
Pelicans
Order: PelecaniformesPelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...
Family: Pelecanidae
Pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
s are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes. There are 8 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Australian PelicanAustralian PelicanThe Australian Pelican is a large water bird, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant to New Zealand.-Taxonomy:...
Pelecanus conspicillatus (A)
Boobies and gannets
Order: PelecaniformesPelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...
Family: Sulidae
Sulidae
The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulidas, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula...
The sulids comprise the gannet
Gannet
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...
s and boobies
Booby
A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. Boobies are closely related to the gannets , which were formerly included in Sula.-Description:...
. Both groups comprise medium-to-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish. There are 9 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Abbott's BoobyAbbott's BoobyAbbott’s Booby is a large endangered seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. Found normally only on and around Christmas Island Abbott’s Booby (Papasula abbotti) is a large endangered seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. Found normally only on and around Christmas Island Abbott’s Booby (Papasula...
Sula abbotti (A) - Masked BoobyMasked BoobyThe Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. This species breeds on islands in tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic; in the eastern Pacific it is replaced by the Nazca Booby, Sula granti, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Masked Booby...
Sula dactylatra (A) - Red-footed BoobyRed-footed BoobyThe Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. As suggested by the name, adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings...
Sula sula - Brown BoobyBrown BoobyThe Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...
Sula leucogaster
Cormorants
Order: PelecaniformesPelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...
Family: Phalacrocoracidae
The Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium-to-large coastal, fish-eating seabirds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage colouration varies with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black and white, and a few being colourful. There are 38 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Little Black CormorantLittle Black CormorantThe Little Black Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It is common in smaller rivers and lakes throughout most areas of Australia and northern New Zealand. It is around sixty centimetres long, and is all black with blue-green eyes.-References: Database entry includes...
Phalacrocorax sulcirostris (A) - Great CormorantGreat CormorantThe Great Cormorant , known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the Black Cormorant in Australia and the Black Shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds...
Phalacrocorax carbo (A) - Little Pied CormorantLittle Pied CormorantThe Little Pied Cormorant, Little Shag or Kawaupaka is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the sub-Antarctic...
Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
Frigatebirds
Order: PelecaniformesPelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...
Family: Fregatidae
Frigatebird
Frigatebird
The frigatebirds are a family, Fregatidae, of seabirds. There are five species in the single genus Fregata. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them...
s are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black and white or completely black, with long wings and deeply-forked tails. The males have inflatable coloured throat pouches. They do not swim or walk, and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan to body weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week. There are 5 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Christmas Island FrigatebirdChristmas Island FrigatebirdThe Christmas Frigatebird or Christmas Island Frigatebird is a frigatebird endemic to the Christmas Islands in the Indian Ocean...
Fregata andrewsi - Great FrigatebirdGreat FrigatebirdThe Great Frigatebird is a large dispersive seabird in the frigatebird family. Major nesting populations are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as a population in the South Atlantic....
Fregata minor - Lesser FrigatebirdLesser FrigatebirdThe Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel, is a species of frigatebird.It nests in Australia, among other locations.There is a single record from the Western Palearctic, from Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba....
Fregata ariel
Bitterns, herons and egrets
Order: CiconiiformesCiconiiformes
Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...
Family: Ardeidae
The family Ardeidae contains the bittern
Bittern
Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family, Ardeidae, a family of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family...
s, heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s and egret
Egret
An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...
s. Herons and egrets are medium to large sized wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Unlike other long-necked birds suck as storks, ibises and spoonbills, members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted. There are 61 species worldwide and 9 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Eastern Great EgretEastern Great EgretThe Eastern Great Egret is a white heron of the genus Ardea, is considered a subspecies of the Great Egret . Although a study argued for full species status in 2005, most taxonomists consider it to be a subspecies...
Ardea modesta - Intermediate EgretIntermediate EgretThe Intermediate Egret, Median Egret, or Yellow-billed Egret is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeder from east Africa across tropical southern Asia to Australia. It often nests in colonies with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs...
Egretta intermedia (A) - White-faced HeronWhite-faced HeronThe White-faced Heron, Egretta novaehollandiae, also known as the White-fronted Heron, and incorrectly as the Grey Heron, or Blue Crane, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand, the islands of the Subantarctic, and...
Egretta novaehollandiae (A) - Little EgretLittle EgretThe Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....
Egretta garzetta (A) - Pacific Reef-Heron Egretta sacra
- Striated HeronStriated HeronThe Striated Heron, Butorides striata, also known as Mangrove Heron, Little Heron or Green-backed Heron, is a small heron. Striated Herons are mostly non-migratory and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding habitat is small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to...
Butorides striata - Rufous Night-Heron Nycticorax caledonicus
- Yellow BitternYellow BitternThe Yellow Bittern is a small bittern. It is of Old World origins, breeding in much of the Indian Subcontinent, east to Japan and Indonesia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances...
Ixobrychus sinensis - Black BitternBlack BitternThe Black Bittern, Ixobrychus flavicollis, is a bittern of Old World origin, breeding in tropical Asia from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka east to China, Indonesia and Australia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances....
Ixobrychus flavicollis
Ibises and spoonbills
Order: CiconiiformesCiconiiformes
Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...
Family: Threskiornithidae
Threskiornithidae
The family Threskiornithidae includes 34 species of large terrestrial and wading birds, falling into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills. It was formerly known as Plataleidae. The spoonbills and ibises were once thought to be related to other groups of long-legged wading birds in the...
The Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibis
Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....
es and spoonbill
Spoonbill
Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side...
s. They have long, broad wings with 11 primary and about 20 secondary feathers. They are strong fliers and despite their size and weight, very capable soarers. There are 36 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Australian Ibis Threskiornis molucca
- Glossy IbisGlossy IbisThe Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...
Plegadis falcinellus (A) - Royal SpoonbillRoyal SpoonbillThe Royal Spoonbill, Platalea regia, also known as the Black-billed Spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia...
Platalea regia
Ducks, geese and swans
Order: AnseriformesAnseriformes
The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living species of birds in three extant families: the Anhimidae , Anseranatidae , and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans.All species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at...
Family: Anatidae
Anatidae
Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...
The family Anatidae includes the duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
and swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s. These are birds that are modified for an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating. There are 131 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Spotted Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna guttata (A)
- Plumed Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna eytoni (A)
- Gray Teal Anas gracilis
- Pacific Black DuckPacific Black DuckThe Pacific Black Duck is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east. It is usually called the Grey Duck in New Zealand...
Anas superciliosa - Northern PintailNorthern PintailThe Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...
Anas acuta (A) - White-eyed Duck Aythya australis (A)
Osprey
Order: FalconiformesFalconiformes
The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...
Family: Pandionidae
The Pandionidae family contains only one species, the Osprey. The Osprey is a medium large raptor
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution.
- OspreyOspreyThe Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
Pandion haliaetus
Hawks, kites and eagles
Order: FalconiformesFalconiformes
The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...
Family: Accipitridae
Accipitridae
The Accipitridae, one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes , are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a...
Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey and include hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
s, eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s, kites
Kite (bird)
Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae....
, harriers
Harrier (bird)
A harrier is any of the several species of diurnal hawks forming the Circinae sub-family of the Accipitridae family of birds of prey. Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds....
and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. There are 233 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Pacific BazaPacific BazaThe Pacific Baza, Aviceda subcristata, also known as the Crested Hawk, is a slender, medium-sized hawk with a distinctive crest. Its upperside is mainly dark brown, with a grey head and yellow eyes. It is conspicuously barred white and dark brown on the breast and on the underside of the tail and...
Aviceda subcristata - Whistling KiteWhistling KiteThe Whistling Kite is a medium-sized diurnal raptor found throughout Australia , New Caledonia and much of New Guinea . Also called the Whistling Eagle or Whistling Hawk, it is named for its loud whistling call, which it often gives in flight...
Haliastur sphenurus - Brahminy KiteBrahminy KiteThe Brahminy Kite , also known as the Red-backed Sea-eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. They are found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia...
Haliastur indus - White-bellied Sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
- Sanford's Sea-eagle Haliaeetus sanfordi (E)
- Swamp HarrierSwamp HarrierThe Swamp Harrier also known as the Marsh Harrier, Australasian Harrier, Kāhu, Swamp-hawk or New Zealand Hawk is a large, slim bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.-Description:...
Circus approximans - Gray Goshawk Accipiter novaehollandiae
- Brown GoshawkBrown GoshawkThe Brown Goshawk is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found in Australia and surrounding islands.- Description:...
Accipiter fasciatus - Pied GoshawkPied GoshawkThe Pied Goshawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests....
Accipiter albogularis - Imitator SparrowhawkImitator SparrowhawkThe Imitator Goshawk or Imitator Sparrowhawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It is found in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.It is threatened...
Accipiter imitator (E) - Meyer's GoshawkMeyer's GoshawkMeyer's Goshawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands....
Accipiter meyerianus
Falcons
Order: FalconiformesFalconiformes
The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...
Family: Falconidae
Falconidae
The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets.-Description:Falcons and...
Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their feet. There are 62 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Oriental HobbyOriental HobbyThe Oriental Hobby is a species of falcon typically 27-30 cm long. It can be found in the northern parts of the Indian Subcontinent, across the eastern Himalayas and ranges southwards through Indochina to Australasia. It has been recorded as a vagrant from Malaysia.-Diet and habitats:The...
Falco severus - Peregrine FalconPeregrine FalconThe Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
Falco peregrinus
Megapodes
Order: GalliformesGalliformes
Galliformes are an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game bird, containing turkey, grouse, chicken, New and Old World Quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and the Cracidae. Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds or galliforms...
Family: Megapodiidae
The Megapodiidae are stocky, medium-large chicken-like birds with small heads and large feet. All but the Malleefowl
Malleefowl
The Malleefowl is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken...
occupy jungle habitats, and most have brown or black colouring. There are 21 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Melanesian ScrubfowlMelanesian ScrubfowlThe Melanesian Megapode or Melanesian Scrubfowl is a species of bird in the Megapodiidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands....
Megapodius eremita
Buttonquails
Order: GruiformesGruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....
Family: Turnicidae
The buttonquails are small, drab, running birds which resemble the true quails.The female is the brighter of the sexes, and initiates courtship. The male incubates the eggs and tends the young. There are 16 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Red-backed Buttonquail Turnix maculosa
Rails, crakes, gallinules, and coots
Order: GruiformesGruiformes
The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....
Family: Rallidae
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coot
Coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...
s, and gallinules. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs, and have long toes which are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers. There are 143 species worldwide and 9 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Woodford's RailWoodford's RailWoodford's Rail is a species of bird in the Rallidae family.-Distribution and habitat:It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands...
Nesoclopeus woodfordi (E) - Buff-banded RailBuff-banded RailThe Buff-banded Rail, Gallirallus philippensis is a distinctively coloured, highly dispersive, medium-sized rail of the family Rallidae....
Gallirallus philippensis - Roviana RailRoviana RailThe Roviana Rail is a species of bird in the Rallidae family.It is endemic to Solomon Islands.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and plantations ....
Gallirallus rovianae (E) - Plain Bush-hen Amaurornis olivaceus
- Rufous-tailed Bush-hen Amaurornis moluccanus
- Spotless CrakeSpotless CrakeThe Spotless Crake is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae.It is found in American Samoa, Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Pitcairn, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga.-References:* BirdLife...
Porzana tabuensis - White-browed CrakeWhite-browed CrakeThe White-browed Crake is a species of bird in the Rallidae family. It is found in Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vanuatu.Its natural...
Porzana cinerea - Purple SwamphenPurple SwamphenThe Purple Swamphen , also known as the African Purple Swamphen, Purple Moorhen, Purple Gallinule, Pūkeko or Purple Coot, is a large bird in the family Rallidae . From its name in French, talève sultane, it is also known as the Sultana Bird...
Porphyrio porphyrio - San Cristobal Moorhen Gallinula silvestris (E)
Thick-knees
Order: CharadriiformesCharadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...
Family: Burhinidae
The thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow black bills, large yellow eyes and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats. There are 9 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Beach Thick-knee Burhinus magnirostris
Pratincoles and coursers
Order: CharadriiformesCharadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...
Family: Glareolidae
Glareolidae
Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadri. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The coursers include the atypical Egyptian Plover, Pluvianus aegyptius, which has sometimes been placed in its own family...
Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincole
Pratincole
The Pratincoles or Greywaders are a group of birds which together with the coursers and Egyptian Plover make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails....
s, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the courser
Courser
The Coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards...
s, which have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. There are 17 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Oriental PratincoleOriental PratincoleThe Oriental Pratincole , also known as the Grasshopper-Bird or Swallow-Plover is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae....
Glareola maldivarum (A)
Plovers and lapwings
Order: CharadriiformesCharadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...
Family: Charadriidae
Charadriidae
The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...
The family Charadriidae includes the plover
Plover
Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.Plovers are found throughout...
s, dotterels, and lapwing
Lapwing
Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...
s. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water, although there are some exceptions. There are 66 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Masked LapwingMasked LapwingThe Masked Lapwing , previously known as the Masked Plover and often called the Spur-winged Plover or just Plover in its native range, is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia, particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent...
Vanellus miles - Pacific Golden PloverPacific Golden PloverThe Pacific Golden Plover is a medium-sized plover.The 23–26 cm long breeding adult is spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. Its face and neck are black with a white border and it has a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black...
Pluvialis fulva - Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
- Lesser Sandplover Charadrius mongolus
- Greater Sandplover Charadrius leschenaultii
- Oriental PloverOriental PloverThe Oriental Plover, Charadrius veredus, also known as the Oriental Dotterel, is a medium-sized Charadriine plover closely related to the Caspian Plover.- Description :...
Charadrius veredus (A)
Sandpipers and allies
Order: CharadriiformesCharadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...
Family: Scolopacidae
Scolopacidae
The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...
The Scolopacidae are a large diverse family of small to medium sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlew
Curlew
The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...
s, godwit
Godwit
The godwits are a group of large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory wading birds of the genus Limosa. They form large flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter....
s, shanks
Tringa
Tringa is a genus of waders, containing the shanks and tattlers. They are mainly freshwater birds, often with brightly coloured legs as reflected in the English names of six species, as well as the specific names of two of these and the Green Sandpiper. They are typically associated with northern...
, tattlers
Tattler (bird)
The tattlers are the two very similar bird species in the shorebird genus Tringa. They formerly had their own genus, Heteroscelus. The old genus name means "different leg" in Greek, referring to the leg scales that differentiate the tattlers from their close relatives, the shanks.The species are:*...
, woodcock
Woodcock
The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea...
s, snipe
Snipe
A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...
s, dowitcher
Dowitcher
The three dowitchers are medium-sized long-billed wading birds. They resemble godwits in body and bill shape, and the reddish underparts in summer, but are much shorter legged, more like snipe to which they are also somewhat closer related...
s and phalarope
Phalarope
A phalarope or wadepiper is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus Phalaropus of the bird family Scolopacidae. They are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the Actitis and Terek Sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids...
s. The majority of species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. There are 89 species worldwide and 22 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Swinhoe's SnipeSwinhoe's SnipeSwinhoe's Snipe, Gallinago megala, also known as Forest Snipe or Chinese Snipe, is a medium-sized , long-billed, migratory wader.-Identification:...
Gallinago megala - Black-tailed GodwitBlack-tailed GodwitThe Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...
Limosa limosa - Bar-tailed GodwitBar-tailed GodwitThe Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...
Limosa lapponica - Little CurlewLittle CurlewThe Little Curlew, Numenius minutus, is a wader in the large bird family Scolopacidae. It is a very small curlew, which breeds in the far north of Siberia. It is closely related to the North American Eskimo Curlew....
Numenius minutus - WhimbrelWhimbrelThe Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the mostwidespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland....
Numenius phaeopus - Far Eastern CurlewFar Eastern CurlewThe Far Eastern Curlew or Eastern Curlew is a large shorebird most similar in appearance to the Long-billed Curlew, but slightly larger. It is mostly brown in color, differentiated from other curlews by its plain, unpatterned brown underwing...
Numenius madagascariensis - Common RedshankCommon RedshankThe Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
Tringa totanus - Marsh SandpiperMarsh SandpiperThe Marsh Sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis, is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to central Asia....
Tringa stagnatilis - Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
- Wood SandpiperWood SandpiperThe Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
Tringa glareola (A) - Terek SandpiperTerek SandpiperThe Terek Sandpiper is a small migratory Palearctic wader species, the only member of the genus Xenus.- Description and systematics :...
Xenus cinereus - Common SandpiperCommon SandpiperThe Common Sandpiper is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the Spotted Sandpiper , make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize...
Actitis hypoleucos - Gray-tailed Tattler Heterosceles brevipes
- Wandering TattlerWandering TattlerThe Wandering Tattler, Tringa incana , is a medium-sized wading bird. It is similar in appearance to the closely related Gray-tailed Tattler, T. brevipes...
Heterosceles incanus - Ruddy TurnstoneRuddy TurnstoneThe Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...
Arenaria interpres - SanderlingSanderlingThe Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
Calidris alba - Red-necked StintRed-necked StintThe Red-necked Stint is a small migratory wader.- Description :These birds are among the smallest of waders, very similar to the Little Stint, Calidris minuta, with which they were once considered conspecific...
Calidris ruficollis - Pectoral SandpiperPectoral SandpiperThe Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, is a small wader. It is sometimes separated with the "stint" sandpipers in Erolia. This may or may not represent a good monophyletic group, depending on the placement of the phylogenetically enigmatic Curlew Sandpiper , the type species of Erolia...
Calidris melanotos (A) - Sharp-tailed SandpiperSharp-tailed SandpiperThe Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata is a small wader.- Taxonomy :More recently, a review of new data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus Philomachus- as P...
Calidris acuminata - Curlew SandpiperCurlew SandpiperThe Curlew Sandpiper is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australasia...
Calidris ferruginea - Broad-billed SandpiperBroad-billed SandpiperThe Broad-billed Sandpiper is a small wading bird. It is the only member of the genus Limicola; some have proposed that it should be placed in the genus Erolia with the "stint" sandpipers, but more recent research suggests that it is should rather go into the genus Philomachus with the ruff and...
Limicola falcinellus (A) - Ruff Philomachus pugnax (A)
Skuas
Order: CharadriiformesCharadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...
Family: Stercorariidae
The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants. There are 7 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus (A)
Gulls
Order: CharadriiformesCharadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...
Family: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large birds seabirds and includes gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
s and kittiwake
Kittiwake
The kittiwakes are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the Black-legged Kittiwake and the Red-legged Kittiwake . The epithets "Black-legged" and "Red-legged" are used to distinguish the two species in North America, but in Europe, where R...
s. They are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. There are 55 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Black-headed GullBlack-headed GullThe Black-headed Gull is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident...
Larus ridibundus (A)
Terns
Order: CharadriiformesCharadriiformes
Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...
Family: Sternidae
Tern
Tern
Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...
s are a group of generally general medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species now known to live in excess of 25 to 30 years. There are 44 species worldwide and 15 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Caspian TernCaspian TernThe Caspian Tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no subspecies accepted either...
Sterna caspia - Lesser Crested TernLesser Crested TernThe Lesser Crested Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae...
Sterna bengalensis (A) - Great Crested Tern Sterna bergii
- Roseate TernRoseate TernThe Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....
Sterna dougallii - Black-naped TernBlack-naped TernThe Black-naped Tern is an oceanic tern mostly found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is rarely found inland....
Sterna sumatrana - Common TernCommon TernThe Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...
Sterna hirundo - Little TernLittle TernThe Little Tern, Sternula albifrons or Sterna albifrons, is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns . The former North American and Red Sea S. a...
Sterna albifrons - Gray-backed Tern Sterna lunata
- Bridled TernBridled TernThe Bridled Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans.-Description:...
Sterna anaethetus - Sooty TernSooty TernThe Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
Sterna fuscata - Whiskered TernWhiskered TernThe Whiskered Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details....
Chlidonias hybridus - White-winged TernWhite-winged TernThe White-winged Tern, or White-winged Black Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus, is a small tern generally found in or near bodies of fresh water across from Southeastern Europe east to Australia....
Chlidonias leucopterus - Black NoddyBlack NoddyThe Black Noddy or White-capped Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. It resembles the closely related Brown or Common Noddy , but is smaller with darker plumage, a whiter cap, a longer, straighter beak and shorter tail...
Anous minutus - Brown NoddyBrown NoddyThe Brown Noddy or Common Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related Black Noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black...
Anous stolidus - White TernWhite TernThe White Tern is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the Fairy Tern although this name is potentially confusing as it is the common name of the Fairy Tern Sternula nereis...
Gygis alba
Pigeons and doves
Order: ColumbiformesColumbiformes
Columbiformes are an avian order that includes the very widespread and successful doves and pigeons, classified in the family Columbidae, and the extinct Dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire, long classified as a second family Raphidae. 313 species, found worldwide, comprise the Columbiformes order....
Family: Columbidae
Pigeons and dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
s are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere
Cère
The Cère is a long river in south-western France, left tributary of the Dordogne River. Its source is in the south-western Massif Central, near the mountain Plomb du Cantal...
. There are 308 species worldwide and 22 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Metallic PigeonMetallic PigeonThe Metallic Pigeon, also known as White-throated Pigeon is a medium-sized, up to 37cm long, bird in the family Columbidae.-Identification:...
Columba vitiensis - Yellow-legged PigeonYellow-legged PigeonThe Yellow-legged Pigeon is a bird species in the family Columbidae. It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands....
Columba pallidiceps - Mackinlay's Cuckoo-doveMackinlay's Cuckoo-doveThe Mackinlay's Cuckoo-Dove , also known as Spot-breasted Cuckoo-Dove, is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is found in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.-References:...
Macropygia mackinlayi - Crested Cuckoo-doveCrested Cuckoo-doveThe Crested Cuckoo-Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands....
Reinwardtoena crassirostris (E) - Emerald DoveEmerald DoveThe Common Emerald Dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and east through Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, to northern and eastern Australia. The dove is also known by the names of Green Dove and...
Chalcophaps indica - Stephan's DoveStephan's DoveThe Stephan's Emerald Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007....
Chalcophaps stephani - Nicobar PigeonNicobar PigeonThe Nicobar Pigeon, Caloenas nicobarica, is a pigeon found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Nicobar Islands, east through the Malay Archipelago, to the Solomons and Palau. It is the only living member of the genus Caloenas....
Caloenas nicobarica - White-bibbed Ground-doveWhite-bibbed Ground-doveThe Purple Ground Dove , also known as the White-breasted Ground Dove, is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist...
Gallicolumba jobiensis - Santa Cruz Ground-doveSanta Cruz Ground-doveThe Santa Cruz Ground Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss....
Gallicolumba sanctaecrucis - Thick-billed Ground-dove Gallicolumba salamonis (E)
- Bronze Ground-doveBronze Ground-doveThe Bronze Ground Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.-Distribution and habitat:It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-References:* BirdLife...
Gallicolumba beccarii - Superb Fruit-doveSuperb Fruit-DoveThe Superb Fruit Dove , also known as the Purple-crowned Fruit Dove , is a medium-sized , colourful fruit-dove in the family Columbidae....
Ptilinopus superbus - Silver-capped Fruit-doveSilver-capped Fruit-doveThe Silver-capped Fruit Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is endemic to Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
Ptilinopus richardsii (E) - Red-bellied Fruit-doveRed-bellied Fruit-doveThe Red-bellied Fruit Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is found in lowland forest in New Caledonia, Santa Cruz Islands , and Vanuatu, and it is common in most of its range....
Ptilinopus greyii - Yellow-bibbed Fruit-doveYellow-bibbed Fruit-doveThe Yellow-bibbed Fruit Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
Ptilinopus solomonensis - Claret-breasted Fruit-doveClaret-breasted Fruit-doveThe Claret-breasted Fruit Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
Ptilinopus viridis - White-headed Fruit-doveWhite-headed Fruit-doveThe White-headed Fruit Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is endemic to Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
Ptilinopus eugeniae (E) - Pacific Imperial-pigeonPacific Imperial-pigeonThe Pacific Imperial Pigeon is a widespread species of pigeon in the family Columbidae.It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, the smaller islands of eastern Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, the smaller satellite islands of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu,...
Ducula pacifica - Red-knobbed Imperial-pigeonRed-knobbed Imperial-pigeonThe Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeon is a bird species in the family Columbidae. It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
Ducula rubricera - Island Imperial-pigeonIsland Imperial-pigeonThe Island Imperial Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
Ducula pistrinaria - Chestnut-bellied Imperial-pigeonChestnut-bellied Imperial-pigeonThe Chestnut-bellied Imperial Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is endemic to Solomon Islands....
Ducula brenchleyi (E) - Pale Mountain-pigeonPale Mountain-pigeonThe Pale Mountain Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is endemic to Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-References:...
Gymnophaps solomonensis (E)
Cockatoos
Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Cacatuidae
The cockatoos share many features with other parrots including the characteristic curved beak shape and a zygodactyl foot, with two forward toes and two backwards toes. They differ, however in a number of characteristics, including the often spectacular movable headcrest. There are 21 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
Promeropidae
- Ducorps' CockatooDucorps' CockatooThe Solomons Cockatoo , also known as the Ducorps' Cockatoo, Solomons Corella or Broad-crested Corella, is a species of cockatoo endemic to the Solomon Islands. This small white cockatoo is larger than the Tanimbar Corella yet smaller than the Umbrella Cockatoo...
Cacatua ducorpsii (E)
Parrots
Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Psittacidae
Parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s are small to large birds with a characteristic curved beak shape. Their upper mandibles have slight mobility in the joint with the skull and the have a generally erect stance. All parrots are zygodactyl, having the four toes on each foot placed two at the front and two back. There are 335 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Cardinal LoryCardinal LoryThe Cardinal Lory is a monotypic species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. The Cardinal Lory lives mainly in the mangrove and the lowland forests of the Solomon Islands and east Papua New Guinea....
Chalcopsitta cardinalis - Rainbow LorikeetRainbow LorikeetThe Rainbow Lorikeet, is a species of Australasian parrot found in Australia, eastern Indonesia , Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from Queensland to South Australia and northwest Tasmania...
Trichoglossus haematodus - Yellow-bibbed LoryYellow-bibbed LoryThe Yellow-bibbed Lory is a monotypic species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands.-Description:...
Lorius chlorocercus (E) - Palm LorikeetPalm LorikeetThe Palm Lorikeet, Lori Des Palmiers, or Lori Palmero is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It is found in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu....
Charmosyna palmarum - Meek's LorikeetMeek's LorikeetThe Meek's Lorikeet is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
Charmosyna meeki (E) - Red-flanked LorikeetRed-flanked LorikeetThe Red-flanked Lorikeet is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
Charmosyna placentis - Duchess LorikeetDuchess LorikeetThe Duchess Lorikeet, Lori De Margaret, Lori De Marguerite, or Lori De Margarita is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands....
Charmosyna margarethae (E) - Red-breasted Pygmy-parrotRed-breasted Pygmy-parrotThe Red-breasted Pygmy Parrot is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.Its natural habitat is the boreal forests, subtropical or tropical dry forests, and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands.As their name suggests, the pygmy...
Micropsitta bruijnii - Finsch's Pygmy-parrotFinsch's Pygmy-parrotThe Finsch’s pygmy parrot , also known as the emerald or green pygmy parrot, is a member of family Psittacidae inhabiting tropical rainforest regions of islands in Papau New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Bismarck Archipelago.-Description:Finsch’s pygmy parrot , also known as the green or...
Micropsitta finschii - Singing ParrotSinging ParrotThe Song Parrot is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
Geoffroyus heteroclitus - Eclectus ParrotEclectus ParrotThe Eclectus Parrot, Eclectus roratus, is a parrot native to the Solomon Islands, Sumba, New Guinea and nearby islands, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands...
Eclectus roratus
Cuckoos
Order: CuculiformesCuculiformes
The near passerine bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below:* Musophagidae - turacos and allies* Cuculidae - cuckoos, coucals, roadrunners and anis* Opisthocomidae - Hoatzin...
Family: Cuculidae
The family Cuculidae includes cuckoo
Cuckoo
The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...
s, roadrunners
Geococcyx
The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America...
and anis
Ani (bird)
The anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. They are essentially tropical New world birds, although the range of two species just reaches the United States...
. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Unlike the cuckoo species of the Old World, North American cuckoos are not brood parasites. There are 138 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Horsfield's CuckooHorsfield's CuckooThe Oriental Cuckoo or Horsfields Cuckoo is a bird belonging to the genus Cuculus in the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the Himalayan Cuckoo with the name Oriental Cuckoo used for the combined species. Differences in voice and size suggest that they should...
Cuculus horsfieldi (A) - Brush CuckooBrush CuckooThe Brush Cuckoo, Cacomantis variolosus, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin....
Cacomantis variolosus - Fan-tailed CuckooFan-tailed CuckooThe Fan-tailed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.-Habitat:...
Cacomantis flabelliformis - Shining Bronze Cuckoo Chrysococcyx lucidus
- Asian KoelAsian KoelThe Asian Koel is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. It is found in South Asia, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related Black-billed and Pacific Koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies...
Eudynamys scolopacea - Australian Koel Eudynamys cyanocephala
- Long-tailed Koel Eudynamys taitensis
- Buff-headed CoucalBuff-headed CoucalThe Buff-headed Coucal is a species of coucal. These are often placed in the cuckoo family but seem to warrant recognition as a distinct family. C. milo is a common endemic of the central islands of the Solomon Islands...
Centropus milo (E)
Barn owls
Order: StrigiformesFamily: Tytonidae
Tytonidae
Barn-owls are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons...
Barn owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
s are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons. There are 16 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Barn OwlBarn OwlThe Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
Tyto alba
Typical owls
Order: StrigiformesFamily: Strigidae
Typical owl
Typical owl
True owl or Typical owl are one of the two generally accepted families of Owls, the other being the barn owls . The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Strigidae...
s are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk. There are 195 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Solomon Hawk OwlSolomon Hawk OwlThe Solomons Boobook is a small to medium-sized hawk owl with rusty underparts that are sometimes spotted or barred white. It has a gray-brown facial disk, yellow eyes, a gray beak and white eyebrows...
Ninox jacquinoti (E) - Fearful OwlFearful OwlThe Fearful Owl is a medium-sized owl endemic to the Solomon Islands and Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. It is generally seen no more than 800 meters above sea level, where it is found in tall lowland or hill forests. It nests in tree holes and cracks.It has a rufous facial disk and distinct...
Nesasio solomonensis (E)
Frogmouths
Order: CaprimulgiformesCaprimulgiformes
The Caprimulgiformes is an order of birds that includes a number of birds with global distribution . They are generally insectivorous and nocturnal...
Family: Podargidae
The frogmouths are a group of nocturnal birds related to the nightjar
Nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...
s. They are named for their large flattened hooked bills and huge frog-like gape, which they use to take insects. There are 12 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands, one species of which was only described in 2007.
- Marbled FrogmouthMarbled FrogmouthThe Marbled Frogmouth is a species of bird in the Podargidae family.It is found in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands....
Podargus ocellatus - Papuan FrogmouthPapuan FrogmouthThe Papuan Frogmouth is a species of bird in the Podargidae family.-Taxonomy:The species was originally described by zoologist Jean René Constant Quoy and naturalist Joseph Paul Gaimard in 1830....
Podargus papuensis - Solomon Islands FrogmouthSolomon Islands FrogmouthThe Solomons Frogmouth , also known as the Cinnamon Frogmouth or Solomon Islands Frogmouth, is a bird in the frogmouth family. It was first described in 1901, but not recognized as highly distinct until 2007. It is the only known member of the genus Rigidipenna...
, Rigidipenna inexpectata (E)
Nightjars
Order: CaprimulgiformesCaprimulgiformes
The Caprimulgiformes is an order of birds that includes a number of birds with global distribution . They are generally insectivorous and nocturnal...
Family: Caprimulgidae
Nightjar
Nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...
s are medium-sized nocturnal birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills that usually nest on the ground. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is camouflaged to resemble bark or leaves. There are 86 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- White-throated Eared-nightjar Eurostopodus mystacalis
- Large-tailed NightjarLarge-tailed NightjarThe Large-tailed Nightjar is a species of nightjar in the Caprimulgidae family.It is found in Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.Its natural habitats...
Caprimulgus macrurus
Swifts
Order: ApodiformesApodiformes
Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts , the tree swifts , and the hummingbirds . In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes...
Family: Apodidae
Swift
Swift
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...
s are small aerial birds, spending the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. There are 98 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Glossy SwiftletGlossy SwiftletThe Glossy Swiftlet is a species of swift in the Apodidae family.It is found in Australia, Brunei, Christmas Island, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vanuatu.It is shiny black-blue above, including its...
Collocalia esculenta - White-rumped SwiftletWhite-rumped SwiftletThe White-rumped Swiftlet is a species of swift in the Apodidae family.It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu...
Aerodramus spodiopygius - Mayr's SwiftletMayr's SwiftletThe Mayr's Swiftlet is a species of swift in the Apodidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.-Source:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007....
Aerodramus orientalis - Uniform SwiftletUniform SwiftletThe Uniform Swiftlet, , also known as the Vanikoro or Lowland Swiftlet, is a gregarious, medium-sized swiftlet with a shallowly forked tail. The colouring is dark grey-brown, darker on the upperparts with somewhat paler underparts, especially on chin and throat...
Aerodramus vanikorensis
Treeswifts
Order: ApodiformesApodiformes
Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts , the tree swifts , and the hummingbirds . In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes...
Family: Hemiprocnidae
The treeswifts or crested swifts are aerial near passerine
Near passerine
Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, closely related to the true swifts
Swift
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...
. They differ from the other swifts in that they have crests, long forked tails and softer plumage. There are 4 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Moustached TreeswiftMoustached TreeswiftThe Moustached Treeswift is a species of bird in the Hemiprocnidae family.It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands....
Hemiprocne mystacea
Kingfishers
Order: CoraciiformesCoraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...
Family: Alcedinidae
Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. There are 93 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
- Little KingfisherLittle KingfisherThe Little Kingfisher is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family. It is found in open forest, woodland, swamps and mangroves in Australia , Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.-Description:The Little Kingfisher is 11–13 cm long with a blue back and head and a white...
Alcedo pusilla - Variable KingfisherVariable KingfisherThe Variable Dwarf Kingfisher , also known as the Chameleon Dwarf Kingfisher, is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family. It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:*...
Ceyx lepidus - Ultramarine KingfisherUltramarine KingfisherThe Ultramarine Kingfisher is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
Todirhamphus leucopygius (E) - Collared KingfisherCollared KingfisherThe Collared Kingfisher is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the family Halcyonidae, the tree kingfishers. It is also known as the White-collared Kingfisher or Mangrove Kingfisher. It has a wide range extending from the Red Sea across southern Asia and Australasia to Polynesia...
Todirhamphus chloris - Beach KingfisherBeach KingfisherThe Beach Kingfisher is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family.It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.-References:...
Todirhamphus saurophaga - Sacred KingfisherSacred KingfisherThe Sacred Kingfisher is primarily a woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests, and river valleys of Australia, Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., New Guinea, N...
Todirhamphus sanctus - Moustached KingfisherMoustached KingfisherThe Moustached Kingfisher is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands....
Actenoides bougainvillei (E)
Bee-eaters
Order: CoraciiformesCoraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...
Family: Meropidae
The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine
Near passerine
Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...
birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colorful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar. There are 26 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Rainbow Bee-eaterRainbow Bee-eaterThe Rainbow Bee-eater, Merops ornatus, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is the only species of Meropidae found in Australia.-Description:...
Merops ornatus
Typical rollers
Order: CoraciiformesCoraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...
Family: Coraciidae
Rollers resemble crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
s and bee-eater
Bee-eater
The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers...
s. They share the colourful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not. There are 12 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- DollarbirdDollarbirdThe Oriental Dollarbird , also known as the Dollar Roller, is a bird of the roller family, so named because of the distinctive blue coin-shaped spots on its wings....
Eurystomus orientalis
Hornbills
Order: CoraciiformesCoraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...
Family: Bucerotidae
Hornbills are a group of birds whose bill is shaped like a cow's horn, but without a twist, sometimes with a casque on the upper mandible. Frequently, the bill is brightly coloured. There are 57 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Blyth's Hornbill Aceros plicatus
Pittas
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Pittidae
Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, and stocky, with fairly long, strong legs, short tails and stout bills. Many, but not all, are brightly coloured. They are spend the majority of their time on wet forest floors, eating snails, insects and similar invertebrate prey which they find there. There are 32 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Black-faced PittaBlack-faced PittaThe Black-faced Pitta, Pitta anerythra, is a species of bird in the Pittidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss....
Pitta anerythra (E)
Swallows and martins
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Hirundinidae
The Hirundinidae family is a group of passerines characterized by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Their adaptations include a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and short bills with wide gape. The feet are designed for perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base. There are 75 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Pacific SwallowPacific SwallowThe Pacific Swallow or Hill Swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in tropical southern Asia from southern India and Sri Lanka across to south east Asia and the islands of the south Pacific. It is resident apart from some local seasonal movements...
Hirundo tahitica - Red-rumped SwallowRed-rumped SwallowThe Red-rumped Swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India and tropical Africa. The Indian and African birds are resident, but European and other Asian birds are migratory...
Cecropis daurica - Tree MartinTree MartinThe Tree Martin is a member of the swallow family of passerine birds. It breeds in Australia, mostly south of latitude 20°S, and in Timor. It is migratory wintering through most of Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia east of the Wallace Line and the Solomon Islands. It is a vagrant to New Zealand,...
Petrochelidon nigricans
Wagtails and pipits
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Motacillidae
Motacillidae
The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. There are around 65 species in 6 genera and they include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominately found in Europe, Africa and...
The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country. There are 54 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava (A)
Cuckoo-shrikes
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Campephagidae
The cuckoo-shrikes are small to medium-sized passerine birds. They are predominantly greyish with white and black, although some species are brightly coloured. There are 82 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Melanesian Cuckoo-shrikeMelanesian Cuckoo-shrikeThe South Melanesian Cuckoo-shrike is an uncommon species of bird in the cuckoo-shrike family.It is found in New Caledonia, Bougainville Island, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The species is a large cuckoo-shrike with a long square tail and all over dark grey plumage...
Coracina caledonica - Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikeBlack-faced Cuckoo-shrikeThe Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike is a common omnivorous passerine bird native to Australia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It has a protected status in Australia, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974....
Coracina novaehollandiae - Yellow-eyed Cuckoo-shrikeYellow-eyed Cuckoo-shrikeThe Barred Cuckooshrike , also called the Yellow-eyed Cuckooshrike, is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family.It is found in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands....
Coracina lineata - White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikeWhite-bellied Cuckoo-shrikeThe White-bellied Cuckooshrike is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or...
Coracina papuensis - Cicadabird Coracina tenuirostris
- Solomon Islands Cuckoo-shrikeSolomon Islands Cuckoo-shrikeThe Black-bellied Cicadabird is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
Coracina holopolia (E) - Polynesian TrillerPolynesian TrillerThe Polynesian Triller is a passerine bird belonging to the triller genus Lalage in the cuckoo-shrike family Campephagidae. It has numerous subspecies distributed across the islands of the south-west Pacific.It is 15 to 16 cm long...
Lalage maculosa - Long-tailed TrillerLong-tailed TrillerThe Long-tailed Triller is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family.It is found in New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu...
Lalage leucopyga
Thrushes and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Turdidae
The thrushes
Thrush (bird)
The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...
are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs. There are 335 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Scaly Thrush Zoothera dauma
- Olive-tailed Thrush Zoothera lunulata
- Russet-tailed ThrushRusset-tailed ThrushThe Russet-tailed Thrush is a species of bird in the Turdidae family, closely related to the more widespread Bassian Thrush .It is endemic to Australia....
Zoothera heinei - New Britain ThrushNew Britain ThrushThe Black-backed Thrush or New Britain Thrush is a species of bird in the Turdidae family. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea where it occurs on the islands of New Britain, Umboi and Bougainville...
Zoothera talaseae - San Cristobal Thrush Zoothera margaretae (E)
- Island ThrushIsland ThrushThe Island Thrush is a common forest bird in the thrush family. Almost 50 subspecies have been described, ranging from Taiwan, through South East Asia and Melanesia, to Samoa, exhibiting great differences in plumage...
Turdus poliocephalus
Old World warblers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sylviidae
Sylviidae
Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...
The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. The Sylviidae mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia and, to a lesser extent Africa. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs. There are 291 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Shade WarblerShade WarblerThe Shade Bush Warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Cettiidae family.It is found only in Solomon Islands, where it is endemic to the island of Makira ....
Cettia parens (E) - Oriental Reed-WarblerOriental Reed-warblerThe Oriental Reed-warbler is a passerine bird of eastern Asia belonging to the reed-warbler genus Acrocephalus. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the Great Reed-warbler of western Eurasia....
Acrocephalus orientalis - Clamorous Reed-WarblerClamorous Reed-WarblerThe Clamorous Reed Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds from Egypt eastwards through Pakistan, Afghanistan and northernmost India to south China, southeast Asia and south to Australia...
Acrocephalus stentoreus - Australian Reed-WarblerAustralian Reed-WarblerThe Australian Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus australis is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It lives in reedbeds across Australia. It is about 16 centimetres long, and brown and buff in colour....
Acrocephalus australis - Sulphur-breasted WarblerSulphur-breasted WarblerThe Sulphur-breasted Warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Phylloscopidae family.It is found in China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam....
Phylloscopus ricketti - Mountain Warbler Phylloscopus trivirgatus
- Island Leaf-WarblerIsland Leaf-warblerThe Island Leaf-Warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Phylloscopidae family.It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands. It has 19 subspecies.-References:...
Phylloscopus poliocephalus - Makira Leaf-warblerMakira Leaf-warblerThe Makira Leaf Warbler , also known as the Makira Leaf-warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the Phylloscopidae family. It is found only in Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-References:*...
Phylloscopus makirensis (E) - Sombre Leaf-warblerSombre Leaf-warblerThe Sombre Leaf-Warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Phylloscopidae family.It is found only in Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.It is threatened by habitat loss....
Phylloscopus amoenus (E) - Bougainville ThicketbirdBougainville ThicketbirdThe Bougainville Thicketbird is a bird species. Previously placed in the "Old World Warbler" family Sylviidae, it does not seem to be a close relative of the typical warblers; probably it belongs in the newly-recognized grass-warbler family Megaluridae. It is found only in Papua New Guinea...
Megalurulus llaneae (E) - Guadalcanal ThicketbirdGuadalcanal ThicketbirdThe Guadalcanal Thicketbird is a bird species. Previously placed in the "Old World Warbler" family Sylviidae, it does not seem to be a close relative of the typical warblers; probably it belongs in the newly-recognized grass-warbler family Megaluridae...
Megalurulus whitneyi
Fantails
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Rhipiduridae
The Fantails are small insectivorous birds which are specialist aerial feeders. There are 44 species worldwide and 8 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Willie-wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
- White-winged Fantail Rhipidura cockerelli (E)
- Brown FantailBrown FantailThe Brown Fantail is a species of bird in the Rhipiduridae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 27 July 2007....
Rhipidura drownei (E) - Dusky FantailDusky FantailThe Makira Fantail or Dusky Fantail is a species of bird in the Rhipiduridae family.It is endemic to the Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
Rhipidura tenebrosa (E) - Rennell FantailRennell FantailThe Rennell Fantail is a species of bird in the Rhipiduridae family.It is endemic to the Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
Rhipidura rennelliana (E) - Gray Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa
- Malaita FantailMalaita FantailThe Malaita Fantail is a fantail endemic to Malaita in the Solomon Islands.-External links:*...
Rhipidura malaitae (E) - Rufous FantailRufous FantailThe Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons inhabits the east coast of Australia. The base of its tail is bright orange-red in colour and their wings are greyish brown. They have a black and white breast that grades into a white colour on the chin and throat....
Rhipidura rufifrons
Monarch flycatchers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Monarchidae
The monarch flycatchers are small to medium-sized insectivorous passerines, which hunt by flycatching. There are 99 species worldwide and 14 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Vanikoro MonarchVanikoro MonarchThe Vanikoro Monarch is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family.It is endemic to Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
Mayrornis schistaceus (E) - Rennell ShrikebillRennell ShrikebillThe Rennell Shrikebill is a songbird species in the family Monarchidae.It is endemic to Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
Clytorhynchus hamlini (E) - Black-throated ShrikebillBlack-throated ShrikebillThe Black-throated Shrikebill is a songbird species in the family Monarchidae. The Santa Cruz Shrikebill or Nendo Shrikebill may be its subspecies sanctaecrucis or a distinct species....
Clytorhynchus nigrogularis - Island MonarchIsland MonarchThe Island Monarch is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family.It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands....
Monarcha cinerascens - Bougainville MonarchBougainville MonarchThe Bougainville Monarch is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands....
Monarcha erythrostictus (E) - Chestnut-bellied MonarchChestnut-bellied MonarchThe Chestnut-bellied Monarch is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family. It is endemic to Solomon Islands....
Monarcha castaneiventris (E) - White-capped MonarchWhite-capped MonarchThe White-capped Monarch is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family.It is endemic to Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26 July 2007....
Monarcha richardsii (E) - Kulambangra Monarch Monarcha browni (E)
- White-collared MonarchWhite-collared MonarchThe White-collared Monarch is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family.It is endemic to Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26 July 2007....
Monarcha viduus (E) - Black-and-white MonarchBlack-and-white MonarchThe Solomons Monarch , also known as the Black-and-white Monarch, is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family. It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife...
Monarcha barbatus (E) - Steel-blue FlycatcherSteel-blue FlycatcherThe Steel-blue Flycatcher is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26 July 2007....
Myiagra ferrocyanea (E) - Ochre-headed Flycatcher Myiagra cervinicauda (E)
- Melanesian FlycatcherMelanesian FlycatcherThe Melanesian Flycatcher is a species of bird in the monarch-flycatcher family Monarchidae. The species is sometimes known as the New Caledonian Flycatcher. The species is found in New Caledonia,, Vanuatu and Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands. The species is closely related to a number of...
Myiagra caledonica - Vanikoro FlycatcherVanikoro FlycatcherThe Vanikoro Flycatcher, Myiagra vanikorensis is a species of monarch flycatcher in the family Monarchidae. It has a slightly disjunct distribution, occurring in Santa Cruz Islands in the southern Solomon Islands and the islands of Fiji...
Myiagra vanikorensis
Australasian robins
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Petroicidae
Petroicidae
The bird family Petroicidae includes roughly 45 species in about 15 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called the Australasian robins. Within the...
Most species of the Petroicidae have a stocky build with a large, rounded head, a short, straight bill, and rounded wingtips. They occupy a wide range of wooded habitats, from subalpine to tropical rainforest, and mangrove swamps to semi-arid scrubland. All are primarily insectivorous, although a few supplement their diet with seeds. There are 43 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Pacific RobinPacific RobinThe Pacific Robin , is a red-breasted Australasian robin in the passerine bird genus Petroica found on Norfolk Island, Melanesia and Polynesia. It is similar in plumage to the Scarlet Robin of Australia, and until recently the two were considered conspecific until split in 1999 by Schodde and Mason...
Petroica multicolor
Whistlers and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Pachycephalidae
Pachycephalidae
The family Pachycephalidae, collectively the whistlers, includes the whistlers, shrike-thrushes, shrike-tits, pitohuis and Crested Bellbird, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbirds. Its members range from small to medium in size, and occupy most of Australasia...
The family Pachycephalidae includes the whistlers, shrike-thrushes, shrike-tits, pitohuis and Crested Bellbird. There are 57 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Golden WhistlerGolden WhistlerThe Australian Golden Whistler is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia and in mountain forest in the Snow Mountains in the Papua Province of Indonesia. Most populations are resident, but some in south-eastern Australia migrate north during the winter...
Pachycephala pectoralis - Black-tailed Whistler Pachycephala melanura
- Hooded WhistlerHooded WhistlerThe Hooded Whistler is a species of bird in the Pachycephalidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-References:...
Pachycephala implicata (E)
Thornbills and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Acanthizidae
Acanthizidae
The Acanthizidae, also known as the Australasian warblers, are a family of passerine birds which include gerygones, thornbills, and scrubwrens. The Acanthizidae consists of small to medium passerine birds, with a total length varying between 8 and 19 cm. They have short rounded wings, slender...
Thornbills are small passerine birds, similar in habits to the tits. There are 65 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Fan-tailed GerygoneFan-tailed GerygoneThe Fan-tailed Gerygone is a species of bird in the Acanthizidae family.It is found in New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26 July 2007....
Gerygone flavolateralis
Sunbirds and Spiderhunters
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Nectariniidae
The sunbirds and spiderhunters are very small passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed. There are 131 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Olive-backed SunbirdOlive-backed SunbirdThe Olive-backed Sunbird, Cinnyris jugularis, also known as the Yellow-bellied Sunbird, is a species of sunbird found from Southern Asia to Australia....
Cinnyris jugularis
Flowerpeckers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Dicaeidae
The flowerpeckers are very small, stout, often brightly coloured birds, with short tails, short thick curved bills and tubular tongues. There are 44 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Midget FlowerpeckerMidget FlowerpeckerThe Midget Flowerpecker is a species of bird in the Dicaeidae family. It is found in the Solomon Islands including Bougainville Island which belongs to Papua New Guinea...
Dicaeum aeneum (E) - Mottled FlowerpeckerMottled FlowerpeckerThe White-mottled Flowerpecker or Mottled Flowerpecker is a species of bird in the Dicaeidae family. It is endemic to Makira in the Solomon Islands. Its inhabits primary forest and secondary growth, most commonly in the mountains.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25...
Dicaeum tristrami (E)
White-eyes
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Zosteropidae
The white-eyes are small and are mostly of undistinguished appearance, the plumage above being generally either some dull color like greenish olive, but some species have a white or bright yellow throat, breast or lower parts, and several have buff flanks. As their name suggests many species have a white ring around the eyes. There are 96 species worldwide and 12 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Rennell White-eyeRennell White-eyeThe Rennell Island or Rennell White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family.It is endemic to Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
Zosterops rennellianus (E) - Banded White-eyeBanded White-eyeThe Belted White-eye or Banded White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family.It is endemic to the Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
Zosterops vellalavella (E) - Ganongga White-eye Zosterops splendidus (E)
- Splendid White-eye Zosterops luteirostris (E)
- Yellow-throated White-eyeYellow-throated White-eyeThe Yellow-throated White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 27 July 2007....
Zosterops metcalfii (E) - Solomon Islands White-eyeSolomon Islands White-eyeThe New Georgia White-eye or Solomon Islands White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family. It is endemic to the New Georgia Islands in the Solomon Islands. It is also known as Zosterops rendovae but this name properly refers to the Grey-throated White-eye.There are three distinct...
Zosterops rendovae (E) - Kulambangra White-eye Zosterops murphyi (E)
- Grey-throated White-eyeGrey-throated White-eyeThe Grey-throated White-eye is a species of bird. Its family, the Zosteropidae, is probably not valid and belongs in the Timaliidae instead. It is also known as Zosterops ugiensis because Z. rendovae has often been used for the New Georgia White-eye The Grey-throated White-eye (Zosterops rendovae)...
Zosterops ugiensis (E) - Malaita White-eyeMalaita White-eyeSpecies Authority Mayr, 1931The Malaita White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family.It is endemic to the Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 27 July 2007....
Zosterops stresemanni (E) - Santa Cruz White-eyeSanta Cruz White-eyeThe Santa Cruz White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family.It is endemic to the Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 27 July 2007....
Zosterops santaecrucis (E) - Bare-eyed White-eyeBare-eyed White-eyeThe Bare-eyed White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family.It is endemic to Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 27 July 2007....
Woodfordia superciliosa (E) - Sanford's White-eyeSanford's White-eyeThe Sanford's White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family.It is endemic to the Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss....
Woodfordia lacertosa (E)
Honeyeaters
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Meliphagidae
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium-sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea. They are nectar feeders and closely resemble other nectar-feeding passerines. There are 174 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Bougainville HoneyeaterBougainville HoneyeaterThe Bougainville Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Stresemannia.It is endemic to Bougainville Island....
Stresemannia bougainvillei (E) - Cardinal MyzomelaCardinal MyzomelaThe Cardinal Myzomela is a species of bird in the Honeyeater family. It is named for the scarlet color of the male. It is found in American Samoa, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove...
Myzomela cardinalis - Scarlet-naped MyzomelaScarlet-naped MyzomelaThe Red-capped Myzomela , also known as the Scarlet-naped Myzomela, is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family. It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands...
Myzomela lafargei (E) - Yellow-vented MyzomelaYellow-vented MyzomelaThe Crimson-rumped Myzomela or Yellow-vented Myzomela is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26 July 2007....
Myzomela eichhorni (E) - Red-bellied MyzomelaRed-bellied MyzomelaThe Red-vested Myzomela , also known as the Red-bellied Myzomela, is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes. It is threatened by habitat...
Myzomela malaitae (E) - Black-headed MyzomelaBlack-headed MyzomelaThe Black-headed Myzomelais a bird of the Meliphagidae family endemic to the Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26 July 2007....
Myzomela melanocephala (E) - Sooty MyzomelaSooty MyzomelaThe Sooty Myzomela is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Solomon Islands.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26 July 2007....
Myzomela tristrami (E) - Guadalcanal HoneyeaterGuadalcanal HoneyeaterThe Guadalcanal Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Guadalcanaria.It is endemic to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, where it is found high in montane forest....
Guadalcanaria inexpectata (E) - San Cristobal Honeyeater Meliarchus sclateri (E)
- Noisy MinerNoisy MinerThe Noisy Miner is a bird common to the eastern and southern states of Australia. It ranges from northern Queensland along the eastern coast to South Australia and Tasmania. Its typical diet consists of nectar, fruit and insects, and occasionally it feeds on small reptiles or amphibians...
Manorina melanocephala (I)
Drongos
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Dicruridae
The drongos are mostly are black or dark grey in colour, sometimes with metallic tints. They have long forked tails, and some Asian species have elaborate tail decorations. They have short legs and sit very upright whilst perched, like a shrike. They flycatch or take prey from the ground. There are 24 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Hair-crested DrongoHair-crested DrongoThe Hair-crested Drongo is an Asian bird of the family Dicruridae. This species was formerly considered conspecific with Dicrurus bracteatus, for which the name "Spangled Drongo" – formerly used for both – is now usually reserved. Some authorities include the Sumatran Drongo in D...
Dicrurus hottentottus - Spangled DrongoSpangled DrongoThe Spangled Drongo is a bird of the family Dicruridae.The Spangled Drongo is the only Drongo to be found in Australia...
Dicrurus bracteatus
Bellmagpies and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Cracticidae
The cracticids: currawong
Currawong
Currawongs are three species of medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the genus Strepera in the family Artamidae native to Australasia. These are the Grey Currawong , Pied Currawong , and Black Currawong . The common name comes from the call of the familiar Pied Currawong of eastern Australia...
s, bellmagpies, and butcherbird
Butcherbird
Butcherbirds are magpie-like birds in the genus Cracticus. They are native to Australasia. Their closest relatives are the three species of currawong...
s, are similar to the other corvids. They have large, straight bills and mostly black, white or grey plumage. All are omnivorous to some degree. Ther are 12 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in the Solomon Islands.
- Australian MagpieAustralian MagpieThe Australian Magpie is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. A member of the Artamidae, it is closely related to the butcherbirds...
Gymnorhina tibicen (I)
Crows, jays, ravens and magpies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Corvidae
Corvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...
The Corvidae family includes crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s, raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
s, jay
Jay
The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, and the evolutionary relationships are rather complex...
s, chough
Chough
The Red-billed Chough or Chough , Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax...
s, magpie
Magpie
Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...
s, treepie
Treepie
The treepies comprise four closely related genera of long-tailed passerine birds in the family Corvidae...
s, nutcracker
Nutcracker (bird)
The nutcrackers are a genus of two species of passerine bird, in the family Corvidae, related to the jays and crows. One, the Spotted Nutcracker , occurs in Europe and Asia, the other, Clark's Nutcracker , in western North America.The most important food resources for both these species are the...
s, and ground jay
Ground jay
The ground jays or ground choughs belong to a distinct group of the passerine order of birds in the genus Podoces of the crow family Corvidae...
s. Corvids are above average in size for the bird order Passeriformes. Some of the larger species show high levels of learning behavior. There are 120 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Guadalcanal Crow Corvus woodfordi (E)
- Bougainville CrowBougainville CrowThe Bougainville Crow is a species of bird in the crow family Corvidae.It is found in on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea and the neighbouring Shortland Islands in the Solomon Islands...
Corvus meeki (E)
Starlings
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sturnidae
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct, and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen. There are 125 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Metallic StarlingMetallic StarlingThe Metallic Starling also known as Shining Starling, is a bird in the starling family. It is native of New Guinea and nearby Australasian islands, and a limited area of northeastern Australia.-Description:...
Aplonis metallica - Singing StarlingSinging StarlingThe Singing Starling Aplonis cantoroides is a medium-sized starling.-Description:Adult Singing Starlings have glossy black plumage and bright red irises. Immature birds are paler, with streaked underparts and brown irises...
Aplonis cantoroides - Atoll StarlingAtoll StarlingThe Atoll Starling is a species of starling in the Sturnidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss....
Aplonis feadensis - Rennell StarlingRennell StarlingThe Rennell Starling is a species of starling in the Sturnidae family.It is endemic to Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands....
Aplonis insularis (E) - White-eyed StarlingWhite-eyed StarlingThe White-eyed Starling is a species of starling in the Sturnidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands....
Aplonis brunneicapilla (E) - Brown-winged StarlingBrown-winged StarlingThe Brown-winged Starling is a species of starling in the Sturnidae family.It is found in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
Aplonis grandis (E) - San Cristobal StarlingSan Cristobal StarlingThe Makira Starling , also known as the San Cristobal Starling, is a species of starling in the Sturnidae family. It is endemic to Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
Aplonis dichroa (E) - Rusty-winged StarlingRusty-winged StarlingThe Rusty-winged Starling is a species of starling in the Sturnidae family.It is found in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu....
Aplonis zelandica - Polynesian StarlingPolynesian StarlingThe Polynesian Starling is a species of starling of the family Sturnidae. It is found in American Samoa, Samoa, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, the Santa Cruz Islands, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and tropical moist forests...
Aplonis tabuensis - Long-tailed MynaLong-tailed MynaThe Long-tailed Myna is a member of the starling family. It is resident in the Bismarck Archipelago and northern Solomon Islands...
Mino kreffti - Common MynaCommon MynaThe Common Myna or Indian Myna also sometimes spelled Mynah, is a member of family Sturnidae native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the Myna has adapted extremely well to urban environments...
Acridotheres tristis (I)
Waxbills and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Estrildidae
The estrildid finch
Estrildid finch
The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They can be classified as the family Estrildidae , or as a sub-group within the family Passeridae, which also includes the true sparrows....
es are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
. They are gregarious and often colonial seed-eaters with short thick but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but have a wide variation in plumage colours and pattern. There are 141 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in the Solomon Islands.
- Blue-faced ParrotfinchBlue-faced ParrotfinchThe Blue-faced Parrotfinch Erythrura trichroa is a locally common species of estrildid finch found in north-eastern Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Federated States of Micronesia, France , New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands & Vanuatu...
Erythrura trichroa - Bismarck MuniaBismarck MuniaThe Sooty Munia , also known as the Bismarck Munia, is a species of estrildid finch breeding in Papua New Guinea . It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 20,000 to 50,000 km²....
Lonchura melaena