Pacific Islands Birding Tours
Our birding and logistical experience across the islands of the Pacific Ocean is unrivalled, and our tours have recorded the vast majority of endemic birds dotted across this vast water body. Divided into three main regions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia), some of the endemic birds found here are amongst the most challenging to reach in the world.
Bird tours in the Pacific visit idyllic tropical paradises from the culturally-rich and laid-back Fijian islands of Taveuni and Kadavu to remote and uninhabited atolls like Henderson and Rapa. We operate luxury cruises in French Polynesia, endemic-filled birding trips across the Federated States of Micronesia, and remote camping expeditions in the Solomon Islands. There's something for everyone, with amazing birds to be seen from Palau and Kosrae in the north, all the way south to New Caledonia and New Zealand.
If you are also interested in our birding tours to New Guinea, click here.
Eastern Polynesia
Dream birds like Tuamotu Sandpiper, Ultramarine Lorikeet and Henderson Crake at the edge of the world! Throw in some poorly-known seabirds like Phoenix Petrel and Polynesian Storm Petrel, this is a once-in-a-lifetime expedition on the ocean! Includes all of French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands.
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Fiji & New Caledonia
Must-see birds such as Kagu, Taveuni Silktail, and Orange and Golden Fruit Doves amidst some incredible tropical island scenery. Great resorts, excellent food, and world-class snorkelling too!
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Micronesia
Comprehensively target all ~50 endemics of Micronesia, travelling from Palau through Guam and the Northern Marianas to Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and all the way to Kosrae. Highlights include Guam Rail, White-fronted Ground Dove, Pohnpei Lorikeet, Chuuk Monarch, Long-billed White-eye, Teardrop White-eye, and Golden White-eye.
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New Caledonia
Must-see birds such as Kagu, Cloven-feathered Dove, Horned Parakeet, the highly-threatened Crow Honeyeater, and tool-using New Caledonian Crow. This short tour aims to record all of the endemics in just over a week of birding, and now includes a site for New Caledonian Island-Thrush.
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New Zealand: Subantarctic Islands
Our professionally-led version of the world's best seabirding cruise, with enticing island endemics like Snares Penguin, Erect-crested Pengin, Royal Penguin, Campbell Teal, Auckland Shag, Subantarctic Snipe, Antipodean Parakeet, and Shore Plover. Already guaranteed with an Ornis leader!
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Solomon Islands
Target 85+ endemics, including Black-faced Pitta, Solomons Frogmouth, and Rennell Shrikebill as we hop between all the major island groups on this true adventure. Be prepared for the toughest trip we offer, but look forward to some glorious birding!
Solomon Islands: Highland Expedition
We have arranged access to the highlands behind Honiara where we will search for a suite of exciting and poorly-known Melanesian endemics on the flanks of Mount Popomanaseu. These include Moustached Kingfisher, Guadalcanal Thicketbird, Guadalcanal Thrush, and more!
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Solomon Islands: Highlights
Our easier half-length tour to this fabulous country. Target 60+ endemics, including Black-faced Pitta, Solomons Frogmouth, and Rennell Shrikebill as we hop between Guadalcanal, Malaita, Santa Isabel, Rennell, and the Western Isles!
Vanuatu: Highland Expedition
Climb through pristine forest flanking a newly-accessible mountain in search of all the endemics and specialties of Vanuatu. We expect several encounters with every target, from the stunning Royal Parrotfinch and Buff-bellied Monarch to the rare Mountain Starling, Vanuatu Thicketbird, and Santa Cruz Ground Dove!
The Ornis Birding Strategy across the Pacific Ocean
From gaudy stunners like Ultramarine Lorikeet and Orange Dove, to evolutionary oddities like Tuamoto Sandpiper and the Kagu of New Caledonia. Rare endemics only found in the montane forest of islands scarcely 50km long include Bougainville Thicketbird and Moustached Kingfisher, while Endangered species range between Golden White-eye in Micronesia and Gizo White-eye in the Solomon Islands. Many of our tours in the Pacific include phenomenal snorkelling opportunities, and we can set up custom itineraries upon request.
While we have a few regular departures like Fiji, Micronesia, New Caledonia, and the Solomon Islands, lots of our tours in the Pacific are opportunistic and we set up one-off itineraries to take advatage of new flight schedules or charter boats. While designing our tours, we intend for each itinerary to cover all the realistic targets within a multi-week itinerary. You can be assured that any trip with Ornis Birding into the Pacific will have you encountering more of the special species than you could have expected, due to our highly specialised and flexible itineraries.
