Grey-streaked Flycatcher

Last month I guided an American tourist in Klasow valley. It was part of one-week trip birding and snorkeling tour in Sorong and Raja Ampat. In Sorong, we stayed in a house that belonged to a villager. In the first day it rained a lot so we did not go out. While watching birds from the verandah of the the homestay, we saw a very small bird on the top branch of a tree. I tried to identify it but I could not. So, I installed my spotting scope and aimed it at the bird. He flew several times in the air, perhaps to catch some insects, and then returned to the tree again. Sometimes he returned to the same branch and on the other times, he landed on different branch but still on the same tree top. Using my telephoto camera, I made some photographs of the bird.

Grey-streaked Flycatcher in Klasow valley

Later, when I had returned to home, I did some identification works. After comparing it with my other photographs that I made in the same valley, I concluded that it was Grey-streaked Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseisticta). From the field guide book of Birds of New Guinea written by Thane K. Pratt and Bruce Beehler, it said that the bird was a migrant from Asia (China, North Korea) or Siberia (Sakhalin and Kamchatka). Well, it was a nice little bird. He performed long flight from such a very far place in the north down to lowland forest of Sorong regency in West Papua which was close to the equator.
There are tens of villages in Klasow valley which tourists can choose to visit for watching birds. Some of them include Klatomok, Klasow, Klayeli, Klaluk, Malaumkarta, Asbaken, Malagubtuk, and etc.
If you are interested in taking a birdwatching tour in Sorong forest before or after your trip in Raja Ampat islands, and want me to be your guide, please, contact me by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.