Vol 3 Land Resource Inventory Report - Department of Environment ...

Goshawk (Accipiter rufitorques). From a human perspective birds were once commonly used
for sending and receiving messages (homing pigeon [a variety of the Fiji feral pigeon] -
Columba livia), for fishing (cormorant – Phalacrocorax spp.) and as food (eggs, poultry and
guano). As vast distances covered by migrating birds (e.g. Pacific golden plover – Pluvialis
fulva) they can become carriers of some diseases. Birds also make admirable flagships, totem
to some indigenous communities and area also environmental indicators. There is a growing
tourism in bird-watching throughout the world and Fiji‘s endemic birds are part of this
tourism adventure.
A summary of the historical account of Fijian birds can be found in Dick Watling‘s (2001) ‗A
guide to the birds of Fiji & Western Pacific‘. Bird exploration of Fiji can be categorised in
three phases. The first involves the early European exploration (1820s to late 1880s), which
included the French explorer Jules Dumont d‘Urville, who collected a few specimens from
Fiji. The US Wilkes Exploring Expedition followed with surveys from 1838-1842 with a few
species noted. The second phase (1920-1940) included the Whitney South Sea Expedition,
which is notable for applying scientific discipline in bird surveys. This made bird research
more coherent than previous expeditions. The third phase began in the 1950s and has
culminated in a modern treatise of the bird fauna of Fiji. There are numerous research
activities on the birds of Fiji, including the latest on documenting the population of the only
Fiji endemic nesting sea-bird the Fiji Petrel (Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi) coordinated by a
local non-governmental organisation Nature Fiji (Mareqeti Viti).
The bird biodiversity of Fiji is grouped into six categories (adopted from Birdlife
International, 2006); namely, Native breeding land-birds (57 species and 3 extinct species);
Introduced birds (11 species); Native breeding seabirds (19 species); Non-breeding migrant
(and vagrant) seabirds (29 species); Non-breeding migrant (and vagrant) waders (22 species);
Non-breeding migrant (and vagrant) land-birds (1 species).
From an island perspective this is a fairly rich fauna with a significant proportion of endemic
species. Thus a total of 142 bird species (including 4 extinct) are catalogued for the Fiji
avifauna.
BirdLife International survey undertaken in August 2008 failed to find the Red-throated
Lorikeet. However, the team concluded that more resources are needed to undertake
extensive research in order to find the lorikeet. In mid 2009, an expedition to find the elusive
Fiji Petrel proved successful and for the first time scientists were able to capture images of
the bird, as well as detailed descriptions of its flight and behaviour. A number of researchers
have undertaken some research on the distribution of birds throughout Fiji. This includes
Naikatini‘s research on forest birds (Naikatini, 2008). A few of Birdlife International‘s
sponsored students have completed their theses on the following areas; namely, spatial
relationships between forest birds and habitats in degraded and non-degraded forest, a
comparative study of bird abundance and diversity in non-degraded and degraded midaltitude
rainforests of the Viti Levu southern highlands.
3.9.2 LAND MAMMALS OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
Mammals of the class Mammalia belong to the phylum Chordata of the Animalia kingdom.
They are characterised by many traits of which sweat glands (including mammary glands in
female), air-breathing, and giving birth to live young (except the five species of monotremes
that lay eggs). About 5,400 species in about 1,200 genera are known ranging from the
smallest at 3 cm (a bat) to the largest at 33 m (blue-whale). The mammalian orders that are
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