Natewa Silktail
Lamprolia klinesmithi
Natewa Forest, Vanua Levu, Fiji - October 20 2018
Dorsal view of a very wet Natewa Silktail.
The ever lasting bad weather that haunted us throughout our days in Fiji almost killed our desire completely to see the unique silktails. The two species has been split recently, so very few birders have made the attempt to them both. Fortunately we saw the least known one, the Natewa Silktail, albeit in very dark and wet circumstances. We missed the Taveuni Silktail, that is usually more accessible, since we failed to find a driver that was willing to take us up to Des Vouex Peak due to the miserable weather. So we had to walk all the way up, from 0 to 1000 m asl, but arrived too late for the “Silktail morning dance”.
The ever lasting bad weather that haunted us throughout our days in Fiji almost killed our desire completely to see the unique silktails. The two species has been split recently, so very few birders have made the attempt to them both. Fortunately we saw the least known one, the Natewa Silktail, albeit in very dark and wet circumstances. We missed the Taveuni Silktail, that is usually more accessible, since we failed to find a driver that was willing to take us up to Des Vouex Peak due to the miserable weather. So we had to walk all the way up, from 0 to 1000 m asl, but arrived too late for the “Silktail morning dance”.