Birding the Kai Islands of Indonesia

Great Kai White-eye

The next chapter in our just concluded trip to the southern Moluccas and the Tanimbar islands of Indonesia. After visiting Yandema Island in the Tanimbars and Buru Island, we flew to Tual on the island of Kai Kecil in the Kai group of islands in far eastern Indonesia. Our accommodation here was the pleasant Suita Indah Hotel. We saw Kai Coucal on the drive from the airport and in beachside scrub at nearby Ohoililir, we tracked down another Kai endemic, the White-tailed Monarch.

Black-eared Friarbird

The following day we boarded our chartered ferry early in the morning to visit Kai Besar Island, where our efforts were concentrated in the scrub around the Bukit Indah Mission.

Landing on Kai Besar

We found Kai Leaf-Warbler easily enough after a short hike up the trail along with plenty of Great Kai White-eyes, a species that is endemic to this islana. Also added to the list was Yellow-capped Pygmy-Parrot. In the afternoon we returned to Kai Kecil and found Island Whistler at Ohoililir.

Island Whistler

Our third day was spent on the recently completed road to the airport, where there are numerous trails leading into nice stands of rainforest and small areas of cultivation. The birding here was excellent and this area appears certain to replace Ohoililir as the main birding destination for the Kai Islands. We found plenty of Little Kai White-eyes - a species endemic to Kai Kecil - along with Pied (Little) Bronze-Cuckoo (supposedly rare in the Kai islands but we ended up seeing quite a few) and Red-bellied Pitta.

Island Whistler

We were back at the airport on our final morning, seeing Kai Cicadabird and an unusually large flock of 18 migrating Channel-billed Cuckoos. Among other birds were distinctive Kai endemic subspecies of Australasian Figbird, Northern Fantail, Variable Goshawk and Arafura Fantail.