STERNIDAE

• Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus
• White-winged Black Tern (W-w T) Chlidonias leucopterus: Some sizeable flocks seen this year, especially off Manado.
• Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica: A couple of sightings over the fishponds near Ujung Pandang.
• Common Tern Sterna hirundo: Many off Manado including some still in smart summer breeding plumage. The birds we saw belong to the rather dark and dark-billed subspecies longipennis which is very different in appearance compared to our Common Terns.
• Aleutian Tern Sterna aleutica: Perhaps the major surprise of the tour. After some tantalizing glimpses of an adult off Manado we were able to get some good views from a boat as at least three of these previously unrecorded (in Wallacean waters!) visitors were watched associating with large flocks of Common and White-winged BlackTerns. Although superficially similar to the moulting longipennis Common Terns, the adults in breeding plumage could be picked out by their clear-cut, Bridled Tern-like head patterns and the diagnostic dark line along the underside of the secondaries. In jizz they differed too, being longer-winged and more buoyant in flight. A moulting bird was also seen and although it was a bit of a mess, the giveaway dark bar along the secondaries was very obvious. Will this prove to be a regular site for the species? The grey underparts and white rump eliminate any possibility that they could be Spectacled (Grey-backed) Terns. The best information for the identification of this species is in the June 1998 Oriental Bird Club bulletin.
• Bridled Tern Sterna anaethetus: Some great views off Manado.
• Little Tern Sterna albifrons
• Greater Crested Tern Sterna bergii
• Brown Noddy Anous stolidus: One off Manado appeared almost skua-like. Funny as a recent DNA study has shown that skuas are probably most closely related to noddies!

COLUMBIDAE

• Rock Dove Columba livia
• Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis
• Brown Cuckoo-Dove (Slender-billed C-D) Macropygia amboinensis: Two forms noted: albicapilla the pale-headed form on Sulawesi and albiceps on Halmahera. Interestingly the calls of the two forms were noticeably different.
• Sulawesi Black Pigeon (White-faced Cuckoo-Dove) Turacoena manadensis: A Sulawesi endemic, with its scientific name referring to the town of Manado, in northeastern Sulawesi. Great views of several of these elusive pigeons at Dumoga Bone.
• Emerald Dove (Green-winged Pigeon) Chalcophaps indica: Just a single seen by one team on Halmahera.
• Stephan’s Dove (S’s Ground Dove, S’s Pigeon) Chalcophaps stephani: The best encounter was the superb show put on by a rather tame individual at Kamarora. Interestingly the individual showed a yellow-orange bill contrary to the field guide. I suspect that we must have disturbed it from a nest.
• Sulawesi Ground Dove Gallicolumba tristigmata: Good though brief views for just a few of us as we walked down from Anaso.
• Pink-necked Green Pigeon vernans: Seen in the mangroves near Manado.
• Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon Treron griseicauda
• Red-eared Fruit Dove Ptilinopus fischeri: Some great views of these large and attractive pigeons up at Anaso.
• Maroon-chinned Fruit Dove Ptilinopus subgularis: Very cooperative this year with some great views in Dumoga Bone.
• Scarlet-breasted Fruit Dove Ptilinopus bernsteinii: Great scope views of one taped in for one team on the last morning on Halmahera. The bill is incorrectly shown as being basally red in Coates and Bishop unless this is the Obi subspecies?
• Superb Fruit Dove Ptilinopus superbus: Seen well on Sulawesi (where the subspecies is temminckii) and on Halmahera where it is represented by the nominate subspecies.
• Blue-capped Fruit Dove Ptilinopus monacha: Some great views of this tiny dove on Halmahera.
• Grey-headed Fruit Dove Ptilinopus hyogastra: Common on Halmahera but always great to see.
• Black-naped Fruit Dove Ptilinopus melanospila: Another tiny fruit-dove which eventually showed well at Dumoga Bone.
• White-bellied Imperial Pigeon Ducula forsteni: Great calls and unusually abundant at Lore Lindu this year.
• Grey-headed Imperial Pigeon Ducula radiata: Some great views at various places in Lore Lindu NP.
• Green Imperial Pigeon Ducula aenea: The interesting subspecies paulina found on Sulawesi sports an attractive rufous nape which forms a shaggy crest. A very distinctive form that must be a real temptation for the splitters!
• Spectacled Imperial Pigeon (White-eyed I P) Ducula perspicillata: Fairly conspicuous on Halmahera this year.
• Cinnamon-bellied Imperial Pigeon Ducula basilica: Elusive at first on Halmahera but it gave away its presence by its deep growling calls and eventually showed well.
• Pied Imperial Pigeon Ducula bicolor: Some nice scope views on Halmahera.
• Silver-tipped Imperial Pigeon (White I P) Ducula luctuosa: The first views at Karaenta Forest were the best and we were able to see the dark tertials and the silvery interior to the darker flight feathers which separate this species from the previous one.

PSITTACIDAE

• Violet-necked Lory (MoluccanRed L) Eos squamata: Some excellent views of perched birds on a number of occasions on Halmahera this year.
• Ornate Lorikeet Trichoglossus ornatus: Surprisingly few this year though the first views in Lore Lindu were superb.
• Yellow-and-green Lorikeet Trichoglossus flavoviridis: Very common in Lore Lindu this year and many excellent views.
• Chattering Lory Lorius garrulus: An attractive but sadly declining species which once again was all too often seen in a cage. Fortunately we managed some nice scope views on a couple of occasions. The birds sported yellow mantle patches contrary to the field guide.
• Red-flanked Lorikeet Charmosyna placentis: Some brief green bullets for some.
• White Cockatoo Cacatua alba: Great to see that this large cockatoo is still relatively common on Halmahera. However, one has to wonder how long this will be the case for. As the trees keep tumbling down the potential nesting sites must become scarcer and this combined with trapping does not bode well for the future.
• Eclectus Parrot Eclectus roratus: Still quite numerous on Halmahera. This species shows some of the most extreme sexual dimorphism in the bird world.
• Red-cheeked Parrot Geoffroyus geoffroyi: A common species on Halmahera but always nice to see.

Red-cheeked Parrot

• Yellow-breasted Racquet-tail (Red-spotted R-t Parrot) Prioniturus flavicans: We were lucky to get great views on two different dates in Dumoga Bone. This species is a superb vocalist and for this reason alone received a few votes in the bird of the trip contest.
• Golden-mantledRacquet-tail (G-m R-t Parrot) Prioniturus platurus: Many groups flying over at various sites. We eventually caught up with some perched birds at Dumoga Bone.
• Blue-backed Parrot Tanygnathus sumatranus: Fairly common in forested areas on Sulawesi and often seen very well. Frequently heard after dark, this parrot is often active at night, especially on moonlit nights.
• Great-billed Parrot Tanygnathus megalorhynchos: Only seen in flight this year unfortunately.
• Large Sulawesi Hanging-Parrot (S H-P) Loriculus stigmatus: We eventually got good views of this species in Dumoga Bone. The dull red rump is a diagnostic character and in one or two books the species is named Maroon-rumped Hanging-Parrot.
• Moluccan Hanging-Parrot Loriculus amabilis: Just a couple of brief encounters.
• Small Sulawesi Hanging Parrot (Green H P) Loriculus exilis: Only seen at Karaenta Forest this year.