Avifauna of the Ninigo and Hermit Islands, New Guinea

Abstract

An account is given of a short visit to the Ninigo and Hermit Islands Groups, New Guinea, in August 1970, with an annotated list of the known avifauna. The birds comprise a typical depauperate atoll avifauna, of strong affinities with the Bismarck Archipelago and not with mainland New Guinea, which is almost equi-distant. The records of the Whitney South Seas Expedition, which collected on the islands in 1934, show that the available habitat for landbirds has since improved, with an encouraging increase in the populations of birds. Several of the species on these islands show evidence of adaptation to niches not occupied in the major part of their ranges elsewhere. Details are given of a small number of specimens taken.