Malagufuk's Birds

Malagufuk, a small jungle village in Klasow valley of Sorong regency is a nice place for visitors who like birding. I introduced it for the first time to the outer world as a new destination for ecotourism activities in late 2014. At that time nobody in birding tourism industry knew its existence. The Tropical Birds Visitors who travel to Malagufuk will be able to watch a lot of tropical rainforest birds. Some of them are listed below:

Male Lesser Bird of Paradise

Beautiful Fruit Dove, Orange-bellied Fruit Dove, Wompoo Fruit Dove, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Ornate Fruit Dove, Brown Cuckoo Dove, Great-cuckoo Dove, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Western-crowned Pigeon, Magnificent Riflebird, King Bird of Paradise, Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Lesser Birds of Paradise, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Rainbow Bee-eater, Yellow-faced Myna, Golden Myna, Eclectus Parrot, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Black Lory, Black-capped Lory, Large Fig Parrot, Red-cheeked Parrot, Coconut Lorikeet Lorikeet, Greater Black Coucal, Lesser Black Coucal, Blue-black Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Sacred Kingfisher, Hook-billed Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Lowland Peltop, White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Boyer's Cuckooshrike, Red-bellied Pitta, Hooded Pitta, Shining Flycatcher, Grey-streaked Flycatcher, Variable Goshawk, Grey-headed Goshawk, Tawny-breasted Honeyeater, Spangled Drongo, Black Sunbird, Sahul Sunbird, Olive-crowned Flowerpecker, Hooded Butcherbird, Oriental Dollarbird, Glossy Swiftlet, Moustached Treeswift, Metallic Starling, Rufous Owl, Papuan Nightjar, Northern Cassowary, Emperor Fairywren, Blyth's Hornbill, Nankeen Night Herron, Torresian Crow, Papuan Babbler, Little Shrikethrush, Helmetted Friarbird, Yellow-bellied Longbill, Spot-winged Monarch, Frilled Monarch, Rusty Pitohui, Black-browed Triller, Black-sided Robin, Olive-crowned Flowerpecker, Oriental Cuckoo, Forest Bittern, and a lot more. 

Magnificent Riflebird

Some birders who went to Malagufuk said that they also saw rare species such as Green-naped Pheasant Pigeon, Blue Jewel Babbler, and Thick-billed Ground Pigeon.

My Photographic and Birding Devices

Every time I go to the jungle village, I will bring my camera to take pictures of birds, wild animals and unique plants. In the past, I brought Nikon Coolpix P600. After that I used a Fujifilm HS50EXR which I used for several years. In recent years, I bring Canon 200D with Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. For watching birds, my devices are quite modest, a pair of Visionking 10×42 mm binoculars and a Kinglux 20-60×60mm spotting scope. Malagufuk is located quite deep into the lowland forest of Klasow valley. Now, there is a 3.3 kilometers wooden boardwalk that connects Malagufuk and the main road. In the past, the path from mainroad to the village was muddy and the plants on both sides of the it were infested with mosquitoes and leeches. 

Alternative Birding and Wildlife Watching Sites They may not be suitable for tourists who could not walk for several hours. There is some good alternative places for birdwatching. My recommendation will be Sansapore Pacific Park in Sausapor town; Klabili village are located in the same valley and forest areas at the outskirts of Sorong city. 

For birdwatchers and nature lovers who are willing to travel further in the region to watch more different and endemic avifauna can combine their trips to Sonder town in Minahasa highland of North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. There is regular daily flights that connect Sorong city with Manado city.

BIRDWATCHING IN MINAHASA

As a tourist guide, I offer birdwatching tour to Minahasa highland in the Province of North Sulawesi of Indonesia.  It is a beautiful tourist destination. The duration of the tour is between 3 to 7 days depending on the number of birding sites that the participants want to visit during the tour.  The outskirt areas of Sonder town have got roads through forest and farmlands that allow visitors to enjoy birding easily.

Yellow-billed Malkoha, Maroon-chinned Fruit Dove, Crimson Sunbird, White-breasted Woodswallow, Sooty-headed Bulbul

The hill forest, agricultural land and paddy field of Sonder are the habitat of the following birds:

• Barred Rail
• Black Sunbird
• Black-naped Oriole
• Black-faced Munia
• Black-crowned White-eye
• Brush Cuckoo
• Brown-throated Sunbird
• Cinnamon Bittern
• Collared Kingfisher
• Crimson Sunbird
• Chestnut Munia
• Cattle Egret
• Eurasian Treesparrow
• Eastern Yellow Wagtail
• Finch-billed Myna
• Glossy Swiftlet
• Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon
• Gray-sided Flowerpecker
• Gray-rumped Treeswift
• Hair-crested (White-eyed) Drongo
• Little Egret
• Mountain (Warbling) White-eye
• Pale Blue Monarch
• Purple Heron
• Sahul Sunbird
• Slender-billed Crow
• Sulawesi Drongo
• Sulawesi Myzomela
• Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher
• Scaly-breasted Kingfisher
• Scaly-breasted Munia
• Sulawesi Cuckoo-dove
• Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker
• Sooty-headed Bulbul
• Sulawesi Hanging Parrot
• Sunda Teal
• Rock Pigeon
• Yellow-sided Flowerpecker
• Yellow-billed Malkoha
• White-browed Crake
• White-breasted Woodswallow
• White-nest Swiftlet
• White-faced Cuckoo-dove
• Zebra Dove
• and etc. 

Scaly-breasted Munia, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher

It is not only birds that we will see during the walk through farmland. We could see butterflies and other animals as well. 

Black-naped Oriole

Agricultural Produce

Minahasan people grow food crops such as banana, sweet potatoes, taro, corn and rice. There are also vegetable and fruit gardens. Clove and nutmeg used to be important commodities in Sonder and other districts in Minahasa. The cultivation of vanilla is also popular among farmers in Minahasa highland. They also run fish, pig and poultry farming. Farmers in North Sulawesi diversify their crops in order to have stable income from agriculture. In Tincep village, people grow rice, they also sell various kinds of colorful flowers. For Rambunan village, one of the products that they sell is palm sugar. It is an important ingredients in various kinds of home made foods in Indonesia. 

Other birding sites in the Province of North Sulawesi that birdwatchers could visit include Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Mount Mahawu, Lake Linow, Pine Forest of Lahendong, Talawaan Road, Maleo Sanctuary in Tambun, and Mount Ambang.

Waterfall, flowers, birds and butterfly in Tincep village of Minahasa

Birding Devices 

Most tourists bring binoculars. For photographers, they like to bring D-SLR camera with telephoto lens. When I guide birding tourists, I bring my binoculars, spotting scope, laser pointer, and portable loudspeaker. I use field guide book Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea by James Eaton et al. A very good alternative for field guide is Android based Merlin App. by the CornellLab.

Purple Heron, Zebra Dove, Hair-crested (White-eyed Drongo), Sooty-headed Bulbul, Finch-billed Myna, Brown-throated Sunbird, Collared Kingfisher

Butterflies

In addition to birds, visitors could also see various species of butterflies such as Blanchard's Tree Nymph, Blanchard's Wood Nymph, Manado Yellow Tiger Butterfly, Lime Swallowtail, Meyer's Jay (Graphium meyeri), Blue Moon or Great Eggfly, Gigon Swallowtail (Papilio gigon), Sacred Tabby (Pseudergolis avesta) and etc.

Meyer's Jay Butterfly

Where is Minahasa and how to get there?

Minahasa is a region in the Province of North Sulawesi whose capital is Manado city. The birdwatching tour that I offer in this article will be conducted around the town of the district town of Sonder. It takes around 1 hour 30 minutes by car from Sam Ratulangi International Airport of Manado city to Sonder town.

Flight routes from major cities to Manado

Visitors need to fly from their country to Manado city. There are international direct flights from Singapore to Manado city served by Scoot Air. From Guangzhou to China, the flight is served by China Southern Airlines. 

For domestic flights between major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, Balikpapan, and Sorong, the flights are available everyday and are served by such airlines as Garuda, Citilink, TransNusa, Lion Air and Batik Air. 

District Town of Sonder, the birding activity will be conducted around this town

Book your birding tour now.

Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 if you are interested in taking the birdwatching tour.

Also read:

• Birds in North Sulawesi
• Birdwatching Tour in the Farmland and Forest of Minahasa Highland
• Manado City Tour: Birdwatching and Sightseeing
• Walking Tour, Birdwatching and Butterflywatching in District Sonder of Minahasa Highland
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa
• Birdwatching in Sulawesi
• Birdwatching in Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching in the Farmland of Sonder Town
• https://wildlifeminahasa.blogspot.com