Birds
A sea eagle found only here, kingfishers on the beaches, hornbills you hear before you see, a megapode that lets warm ground hatch its eggs, and the pigeons that nest on Marovo’s small islands.
Background photo: Megan Applegate (Solomon Islands)
Coast and islands
Seen from the boat and the beach
The Solomon Islands bird list has 321 species, 76 of them found nowhere else (Wikipedia). Most endemics live in the forest, away from the dive sites. These are birds you have a chance of seeing from the water, among them an eagle found only here.
Key marks: A big eagle, 70–90 cm long with a wingspan of 165–185 cm: whitish to bright brown head and neck, brown to dark brown body, and a tail that stays all dark throughout life, which no other sea eagle does (Wikipedia).
In the Solomons: Found only in the Solomon Islands archipelago, along coastal forest; it eats mostly carrion on the tideline, fish, crabs and sea snakes. Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (Wikipedia).
Key marks: About 30 cm long, with a white head, neck and underparts, a small black line behind the eye, and a green-blue back, wings and tail (Wikipedia).
In the Solomons: On beaches, headlands and mangroves through the Solomons from Bougainville to Makira; it takes crabs at low tide and dives for fish up to 100 m from shore (Wikipedia).
Key marks: Up to 91 cm long, black with a white tail and a large pale bill and casque; males have a golden-orange head and neck, females are smaller with a black head. In flight its wings make a loud rushing sound, likened to a steam locomotive (Wikipedia).
In the Solomons: In lowland forest east to the Solomon Islands; it feeds mainly on fruit, especially figs (Wikipedia). Listen for it flying over the lagoon.
Key marks: A stocky ground bird 34–39 cm long with big feet, a very short tail and a short crest: brown back, dark grey head and underparts, red bare skin on the face and a yellow-tipped bill (Wikipedia).
In the Solomons: Lays its eggs in warm ground, warmed by the sun, by volcanoes or by rotting roots, and leaves the heat to incubate them. On Savo, at the edge of Iron Bottom Sound, it seems to lay all year (Wikipedia).
Key marks: A 32–35 cm pigeon with a grey head, long green-and-copper neck hackles, a metallic green body and a short pure-white tail, its most obvious mark (Wikipedia).
In the Solomons: Flies between small islets in single file, at least 60 m above the sea (Wikipedia). The Hele Islands, in the Marovo–Tetepare area, are its only known nesting site in the Solomons (UNESCO Tentative List). Near Threatened (Wikipedia).
Key marks: A large pigeon, 39–45 cm, with a pale grey head and neck, white spectacles, a glossy grey-green back, a chestnut undertail and red feet (Wikipedia).
In the Solomons: More than 5,000 nest on the Hele Islands (UNESCO Tentative List). It lives in coastal forest and mangroves (Wikipedia).
Seabirds
Over the open water between sites
Key marks: 85–105 cm long with a wingspan of 205–230 cm. Males are black with a red throat sac they inflate in the breeding season; females are black with a white throat and breast and a red eye-ring (Wikipedia).
In the Solomons: Recorded in the Solomons (Wikipedia). It snatches flying fish from the surface and never lands on the water (Wikipedia).
Key marks: Dark brown head, back and wings with a sharply bordered white belly; males have a blue eye-ring, females a yellow one (Wikipedia).
In the Solomons: Recorded in the Solomons (Wikipedia). Plunge-dives for small fish, often where predators drive them to the surface (Wikipedia).
Key marks: A small white tern, 30–35 cm, with pale silvery-grey wings, a deeply forked white tail, a black bill and a black band from the eyes around the nape (Wikipedia).
In the Solomons: Recorded in the Solomons (Wikipedia). Nests in small colonies on sand or rock above the tide line of small islands (Wikipedia).
Other seabirds
Also on the Solomons list: red-footed booby, lesser and Christmas Island frigatebirds, white, sooty, bridled and great crested terns (Wikipedia).
Credits
Reference photos and their sources
There are no photos of Solomon Islands birds in this guide yet. The frigatebird photo is a reference photo taken elsewhere, credited below; the other birds link to photos online.
| Species | Photographer | Licence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great frigatebird | Charles J. Sharp | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Wikimedia Commons |