During September 1999 I was lucky enough to be a client on a Birdquest tour to Sulawesi and Halmahera in Indonesia, led by Pete Morris and Dave Farrow.

Here is a trip report adapted from the tour report produced by Pete for Birdquest tour participants. The accompanying photos and sounds are all derived from Pete's video and audio recordings made on the trip. I have added a reference list with itinerary to help anyone planning their own trip.

Some of the star birds!

My highlights of this very successful trip included:

• displaying Wallace's Standardwing
• tracking down Red-bellied and Ivory-breasted Pittas
• Satanic Nightjar in daylight - a presumed male photographed probably for the first time ever
• Moluccan Scrubfowl - very unexpected spotlighting bonus
• Aleutian Terns (probably the first record for Wallacea) and snorkelling on the coral reefs of Bunaken Island
• the undescribed 'Sulawesi' Flycatcher
• the dazzling array of kingfishers, rollers, bee-eaters and hornbills, among many others.

I hope this report whets your appetite for oriental birding!

Alan Wilkinson - aw@alanwilkinson.com

Note: these text, photos and sounds are reproduced with permission of Pete Morris/Birdquest, who retains the copyright in full.