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

The survey two months later by P. Harlow and R. Fisher was carried out in ideal
conditions thus the discovery of a good population of Brachylophus cf. bulabula.
Birds
Birds surveys during this visit were more opportunistic than methodical, conducted on
both days (31/10/09 – 1/11/09) on Makodraga with an extra day (2/11/09) for
Makogai Island.
Eighteen land birds were encountered on Makodraga, six of which are endemic to the
Fiji Islands while two are regional endemic species. Please refer to Table 2 for the list
of birds recorded during the survey.
Notable observations are that of the high frequency of Friendly Ground Dove
(Gallicolumba stairi) nests encountered, the lowest seen on a branch growing at
around 1.7m above ground. Apart from the nests, another sign of successful breeding
was the capture of a juvenile feeding on the ground beneath a strand of Beach
Hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus).
Figure 4 – signs of successful breeding for Friendly Ground Dove
An adult male was found dead with its head stuck in a notch on a dead tree trunk, in
which a pool of water had accumulated. (Refer to Figure 5)
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