Birdwatching in Kei & Aru Islands

Photographs and field recordings from a young Kei naturalist.

Noah grew up in the Kei Islands, and has spent his whole young life listening to their forests. Before most people his age had left the archipelago, he was already documenting its birds — not only with a camera, but with a microphone, recording the calls of endemic and range-restricted species across Kei Kecil, Kei Besar and the Aru Islands.

His sound recordings are published on xeno-canto, the world reference library for bird vocalisations, where his work joins a global scientific archive. Among the species he has captured are the Australasian Figbird, taped among the mangroves at the water's edge, the Tanimbar Friarbird, and the crimson Red Lory — each one a small piece of the living map of these islands.

Two worlds of birds meet here. In Kei, mangroves, coconut groves, forest and shoreline shelter endemic species alongside migrants that ride the seasons across the Banda Sea. A little further east lie the Aru Islands — the legendary ground where Alfred Russel Wallace once came in search of the birds-of-paradise, still among the richest birdlife on earth.

On this page, Noah shares his photographs, his recordings and the discoveries of someone who has grown up reading these skies — the species he has found, the places they favour, and the secrets you only learn by listening. If you love birds, Noah is the person to walk the trails with, at the hour the forest wakes.

Birdwatching in the Kei archipelago

One of the most common birds around the villa, the endemic kei fantail (Rhipidura assimilis) easily

The kei archipelago is home to about 200 species of which around 10 are endemic and there are 23 endemic subspecies.
See the full bird checklist here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSX3hNwYPjR5gHAwZ9YZxhESM0YMiPBH-vC26UUepHoKNJ5iCc3aS9adB0I4Xa07m5mQgWr4t0maIOL/pub?output=xlsx

The restricted range Great kei endemic Kei besar white-eye (Zosterops grayi). You can see this target species will booking a trip to Kei Besar were all of the endemics are more easily seen + kei leaf warbler and Cinnamon-chested Flycatcher that can only be seen there

One of the most emblematic bird species in Kei is the Common Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) easily seen on roadsides on Kei kecil.

Salvadori's Flowerpecker (Dicaeum keiense) hard to photographe but common endemic ssp splitted from Australian "Mistletoebird" if you are lucky you can observe the species feeding on the flowers of the garden.

The endemic South Moluccan Sunbird ssp keiensis (Cinnyris clementiae) very common in all habitats.

Kei endemics :

- Kei Coucal (Centropus spilopterus)

- Kei Fantail (Rhipidura assimilis)

- Kei kecil White-eye (Zosterops uropygialis)

- Kei besar white-eye (Zosterops grayi)

- Kei Spangled Drongo (Dicurus megalornis)

- Kei Cuckooshrike (Coracina pollens)

+ 5 debated species/subspecies status

The elusive endemic ssp of Grey Whistler (Pachycephala simplex rupifennis) very hard to see but present in the forest near the villa.

Kei is homme to 4 species of Whistlers Grey, Drab, island and Wallacean with that last one only found in kei and tanimbar with ssp tianduana endemic to Tayandu (islands part of the Kei archipelago) but hasn't been seen in Tayandu since 1923, possibly extinct but no o

Raptors

Kei is home to 9 species of raptors of which 5 breed on the island.

- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

- Pacific Baza (Aviceda subcristata)

- Crested Honey-Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhyncus )

- Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)

- White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)

- Variable Goshawk (Tachyspiza hiogaster) spp albiventris endemic to kei

- Chinese Goshawk (Tachyspiza soloensis)

- Australian Kestrel (Falco

Variable Goshawk (Tachyspiza hiogaster) this species is more often heard then seen but is fairly common specially in Kei besar where I shot this photo, a breeding pair nests every year in a coconut tree behind the villa, the subspecies albiventris is endemic to kei and is much paler then the nominate race, here a juvenile.

In Kei, can also found the Chinese Goshawk (Tachyspiza soloensis) a rare vag

The most emblematic raptor in Kei is undeniably the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus cristatus) a couple is often seen fishing in front of the villa and the nest is located at Perek beach. I also suspect the presence on the island of Gurney's Eagle but no confirmed sightings so to search for...

Falcons are easily observed in degraded forests and plantations in Kei kecil and the Peregrine Falcon should occ

Birdwatching in Aru

Bright yellow and brown bird perched on a tree branch.

There are numerous birds species in Aru. The avifauna is fairly similar to Kei but with more of an Australian influence. There are two species of birds of paradise observable in Aru and two Manucodes.

Here a mâle Greater Bird-of-Paradise.

A vibrant red bird perched on a tree branch.

The other species of bird of paradise in Aru is the King Bird-of-Paradise that is fairly common in non degraded forest patches.

Aru in contrary to Kei has still huge primary forests and is home to 'bigger'' species like the Southern Cassowary and the same is true for mammals like wild deers, ground cuscus, dusky pademelon and more.

Bird of paradise spreading wings in forest.

The best season for the Birds of paradise is between July and October and the island is joined by plain from Ambon or by ferry from Kei every week.

to find the entire bird list :

https://www.kasoartravel.com/sites/www.kasoartravel.com/files/uploads/PDF/aru_birds_list.pdf

Three colorful hammocks in a forest campsite.

Aru is much more remote then Kei and if you want to discover the heart of the island and all of the flora and fauna be prepared to sleep in hammocks eat rice and noodles get eaten alive by mosquitoes, it isn't for everyone but trust me it is worth it ! The wilderness is magical and beeing woken up by the song of the Greater birds-of-paradise is truly an amazing feeling

A group of six men posing in a forest with camera equipment and water bottle.

To plan a birdwatching trip in Aru I recommend going to Badi Gaki https://www.kasoartravel.com/fr/content/aru-%E2%80%A2-au-pays-perles-paradisiers

Where you can see Birds-of-paradise in dedicated photographic hides in the canopy. And sleep in a confortable bungalow in the middle of the jungle.

The White-naped Pheasant Pigeon in an endemic bird to Aru, It is an elusive species and there are no pictures of the species in the wild. During my last trip to Aru I searched for it by placing camera traps around the village of Toengwatu but didn't get any results. The species may be extinct in the wild and if you go to Aru, finding it would be a huge accomplishment, The local name of the species