| Tongan Birds |
| Seventeen species of terrestrial birds are found on Vava'u, and
several are resident in the Mt Talau park. They may be resident and some are very vocal,
but they are also hard to spot in the dense overhead tree canopy. Most of the birds we saw
along the road leading to the park entrance and at the lookouts where trees and brush had
been cleared. |
| Tonga's most beautiful bird is the Hengehenge
(Tongan Whistler) and is found only on Vava'u. We heard the darn bird in the tree tops and
Vlad stood close to one for almost 15 minutes imitating the call to try and attract the
bird closer with no luck. The Hengehenge has a melodic, whistling call, and striking
colouration. The head of the male bird is black and its belly is bright yellow. The
female is a duller version of the male. It feeds on insects and some fruits, its favourite
meal being the Mongomongatu'aniu, (Stick Insect) which is a pest that feeds on
coconut trees. |
| The beautiful Kulukulu (Purple-crowned Fruit
Dove) with a loud 'coo' call (again heard but not seen), and the more rare Manuma'a
(Many-coloured Fruit Dove) can be seen occasionally. The Lupe (Pacific
Pigeon) is a large bird with a distinctive rolling 'krooo' call. We may have seen this
bird fly by at one of the lookouts, but only Vlad spotted it and he may have had a 'senior
moment' and just 'thought' he saw this bird. Later on we spotted many Lupe at various
anchorages around Vava'u. We did spot a Green Fruit Dove among the trees, very similar to
the doves in French Polynesia. |
| The Fuleheu (Wattled Honeyeater) was easy to spot
because they flitted about in the shrubs at one of the lookouts and also sat along the
telephone wires at the side of the road. We did spot a Sikata
(White-collared Kingfisher) on our way up to the park, several hundred feet above the
harbour. There are lots of Pekepekatea (White-rumped Swiftlet) which
resembles a swallow as it darts around catching insects. The swiftlets like to rest on the
bowsprits of boats at anchor. |
| Many sea birds nest in Vava'u including the Tala
(Fairy Tern or White Tern), the Ngongo (Black Noddy), the Helekosi
(Lesser Frigatebird) and the Tavake (White-tailed Tropic Bird). The long
white tail feathers of the Tavake are highly prized as tekiteki,
an ornamental headdress worn during performances of traditional Tongan dances.
Traditionally only members of the royal family wear tekiteki made of the tail of
the Tavake. |
| back |
| Much of the information on this page is taken from the
Mount Talau National Park brochure. |