An ornithological survey of Fergusson Island, D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, reveals new island records and noteworthy natural history observations

Abstract

Fergusson Island lies off the southeastern end of New Guinea and is the largest landmass in the DEntrecasteaux and Trobriand Island Endemic Bird Area. We conducted audiovisual and camera trapping surveys in eastern Fergusson in September 2022 and recorded 97 bird species, documenting breeding and vocalizations for several of the EBAs endemic taxa. Notably, we provide the first confirmed documentation of the "lost" insularis subspecies of Pheasant Pigeon Otidiphaps nobilis (often recognized as a distinct species, Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon), in 126 years, observations of eight bird species not previously recorded from Fergusson, and nesting of Goldies Bird-of-Paradise Paradisea decora and the endemic crookshanki taxon of Capped White-eye Zosterops fuscicapilla (or Oya Tabu White-eye). Our new distributional records were mostly either migratory species or species found in open habitats, highlighting the value of surveying across seasons and habitats. We summarise our results and provide comments on distributional records, breeding behaviour, and vocalizations.