Photo : H. Paugam
50 cm. White or gray, the Reef-heron launches raucous cries at the time of the parades or of disputes.
Photo : D. Saulnier
35 cm. Common at the start of the 20th century this endemic sub-species currently exists only on Tahiti where it numbers an estimated 100 individuals. Its habitat is coastal vegetation and river mouths where it prefers the undergrowth of purau (Hibiscus tiliaceus), but also occasionally travels up valleys. The development of coastal areas and associated loss of preferred purau habitat threatens its existence. The green-backed heron normally has a loud call, but remains quiet and still if disturbed. It feeds on fish and shrimp
Photo : P. Raust
48 cm. The only breeding duck in Polynesia, the gray duck is found in wetlands of the Society islands and Austral islands.
Photo : F. Chong (dit J. Kape)
15 cm. Known from all the archipegoes of French Polynesia, the spotless crake often remains hidden in vegetation. Its calls, which are varied and often surprising, are heard regularly.
Photo : P. Raust
17 cm. The Tuamotu Sandpiper lives in a small number of atolls of the Tuamotu archipelago where the cat and the rat are absent. It is a bird far from savage and very curious, which likes beaches and dry zones covered with scattered bushes.
Photo : C. Blanvillain
Society
Islands Ground-dove, Gallicolumba erythroptera, Amaho ou U'uairao
(Tahiti), Tutururu (Tuamotu), Itikoe (Mangareva).
25 cm. The Ground-dove has disappeared from Tahiti. This bird is now only
found in some remote atolls of the Tuamotu archipelago. The Polynesians
drove out it to nourish themselves. The introduction of cats and rats
was certainly fatal to him since this bird dwells especially on the ground.
Photo : P. Raust
Marquesas
ground-dove, Gallicolumba rubescens, Kotue.
20 cm. The Marquesas ground dove exists on no more than two very small
islands that are free of rats and cats in the Marquesas archiplego. Being
predominantly a ground dwelling species it feeds on small seeds.
Photo : P. Raust
20 cm. The Gray-green Fruit-dove lives in forests up to 1 000 m high or sometime not far from houses. It feeds on fruits of moto'i (Cananga odorata), gujava, banian tree and lantana (Lantana camara). It has a caracteristic call : a mournful series of oos, slow paced at first, then accelerating.
Photo : P. Raust
20 cm. Widespread in the Tuamotu, the Fruit-dove of this archipelago disappeared from the Gambier where it was formerly present. It lives the forests of the atolls, where it eats the leaves of the "tafano" or "kahaia" (Guettardia speciosa), tree with odorous flowers. it also eats fruits and seeds.
Photo : C. Blanvillain
20 cm. The Makatea Fruit-dove is an endemic species found in all forested areas of the island where it feeds on berry like fruits.
Photo : C. Blanvillain
31 cm. The Rapa Fruit-dove is an endemic species from Rapa. It is threatened by the reduction of the native forests where he usually lives. He eats fruits but also flower nectar.
Photo : A. Gouni
20 cm. The white-capped fruit-dove lives in the wet secondary forests of the low valleys of the Marquesas islands. Staying below 500 m, this bird builds a flat nest with brushwood, located between 3 and 20m high. It feeds on fruits, berries and coffee beans; he likes banians. Observed often alone or in pair, they move in group in the search of food. Its song is a length call emitted by inflating the belly.
Photo : C. Blanvillain
50 cm. The Pacific Pigeon was formerly hunted for its flesh. Today it is only found in Makatea and Tahiti where it becomes extremely rare. Recognizable to its heavy flight, this big pigeon lives in average altitude forested areas. It emits a loud and strong call once or several times. It feeds on fleshy fruits 3 to 30 mm in diameter (banian, guettardia, inocarpus, guava, fei, freycinetia…).
Photo : P Raust
55 cm. Only present on Nuku Hiva, the Imperial Pigeon is threatened by hunting and destruction of the forests. this frugivorous bird is found on the trees in the small valleys, between 250 and 1 300m of altitude. He likes the badamier or 'auteraa' (Terminalia catappa) at the fruits season.
Photo : C. Blanvillain
18 cm. The species has disappeared from Tahiti and high Society Islands as a result of the introduction of the swamp harrier (Circus approximans, Peale, 1848). Man's actions have probably further altered the distribution of this bird as the Polynesians kept them in captivity and took them on their movements between islands until the end of the 19th century. They are still found on certain atolls (Rangiroa, Scilly, etc), where they feed on fruits and especially the nectar of flowers.
Photo : P. Raust
18 cm. The Marquesas Lorikeet lives only in the wooded areas of the island of Ua Huka. It is very rare in Nuku Hiva and Ua Pou. It was introduced in Fatu Iva in 1993. It feeds on nectar, pollen of flowers, fruits and sometimes insects.
Photo :C. Blanvillain
18 cm. This lorikeet is only on Rimatara (Austral islands), where he is traditionnaly protected by the inhabitants, but also on some atolls of Kiribati where he was introduced in the past. He lives in forested and cultivated areas or in coconut plantations where he is found in small flocks..
Photo : T. Zysman
Tahiti
swiftlet,
Aerodramus leucophaeus, Ope’a.
10 cm. The Tahiti swiftlet numbers regressed much, goal remains present
in some valleys of Tahiti where it nests in altitude. It generally flies
high, in direct flight with moments of gliding. The Tahiti swiftlet emits
has shorts cry. It feeds one insects.
Photo : P. Raust
10 cm. The Marquesas swiflet build her nest in caves. This high flying bird is mostly seen early in the morning and late in the afternoon.
Photo : T. Zysman - R. Seitre
18 cm. The Tahiti kingfisher lives in the "purau" forests, of the valleys of Tahiti and Moorea. It digs its nest in a trunk, between 4 and 13 m above ground-level, and defends its territory up to 700 m high by pushing sound cries. It hunts sitting on a branch from where it springs, to catch on the ground or on branches insects, small lizards or molluscs.
Photo : J.-F. Butaud
19 cm. The Chattering kingfisher lives in the Leeward Islands and is present locally on Tahiti. It is found in forests, coconut plantations, gardens, where its presence is often announced by an alarm call when it is disturbed. It feeds on insects, small lizards, snails, even small freshwater prawns that it catches by diving from a branch where it is perched.
Photo : A. Gouni
17 cm. There are two subspecies : T. g. gambieri collected on Mangareva by Dumont d'Urville's expedition in 1838 now extinct, and T. g. gertrudae, still occuring on Niau. These birds build their nests in hollow trunks of dead coconut trees.
Photo : A. Gouni
17 cm. Not very common and little known, the Marquesas kingfisher lives in the wet forests preferably and feeds mainly on insects. It digs its nest in tree trunks.
Photo : P. Raust
13 cm. Seen in the valleys and the mountains, up to the cloud forest, the Pacific swallow breeds in cliffs near the rivers. The flight is nervous, with no glides such as those of the swiflet. It feeds on insects caught while flying.
Photo : P. Raust
15 cm. Two varieties of the Tahiti reed warbler, one light in colour the other darker, frequent the valleys of Tahiti where they prefer purau and bamboo thickets below 800m in altitude. While fluttering its wings, it sings a blend of various whistling notes, which it repeats forming a characteristic song. The reed warbler is constantly on the move in search of insects, and more rarely small lizards and seeds, which it finds among dead leaves, in vegetation, and even on trunks and branches.
Photo : P. Raust
15 cm. There are approximately six subspecies of Tuamotu warblers in this archipelago. This bird often sings while moving, more frequently in the evening and the morning. Its varied diet is composed mainly of insects.
Photo : C. Blanvillain
18 cm. The Marquesas Reed-warbler is very common and is found in almost all the islands of the Marquesas archipelago.
Photo : P. Raust
17 cm. Lives in bushes and forested areas where he searchs for insects foragind in the leafes and branches. The song is made of different short calls.
Photo : P. Raust - C Blanvillain
15 cm. A few tens of couples only nest in the forests of the West coast of Tahiti. The Tahiti Monarch sings to defend a forest territory several of hectares, where it silently moves from trees to trees, emitting short and strong alarm calls from time to time. he eats insects collected here and there in the vegetation.
Photo : P. Raust
17 cm. The Allied flycatcher only survives on the island of Ua Huka where he is common ; the Eiao subspecies is now extinct. This bird is found in coconut plantations and forested areas, fom the sea level and up to700 m. Mobile, active, mainly insectivorous, the Allied flycatcher rarely captures his preys flying. He nests in high trees between 3 and 15 m high. The male is different from the female that lays one or two eggs per clutch.
Photo : D. Saulnier
17 cm. There are several sub-species of the Marquesan flycatcher. Pomarea m. motanensis (Motane) is the most widespread, but the others include P. m. mendozae on Hiva Oa, P. m. mira on Ua Pou, and P. m. nukuhivae on Nuku Hiva. Males are quite aggressive, vigorously defending their one to two hectare territories, even outside the breeding season. Females lay one to two eggs in nests placed in the branches of large trees where they can remain relatively undisturbed. Their preferred habitat is dense, lush vegetation and they feed predominantly on insects and spiders.
Photo : P. Raust - C. Blanvillain
19 cm. The Fatu Iva monarch is an endemic species of the island that gave him his name, where it lives in forests. It was discovered officially only in 1923, during Whitney Expedition. More secretive than the other Marquesan monarchs, this bird does not systematically alarm when one crosses his territory.
