The September Wednesday 22nd Zoom meeting will include a presentation by Mehd Halaouate about the wild birds of Indonesia including Papua but it will focus mostly on the wild parrots of this vast country. There will be some Birds of Paradise, of course, and some other amazing species such as Paradise kingfishers, colourful Kookaburras, Flycatchers and Bowerbirds.
Indonesia has a total of 86 known parrot species and 34 of them are endemics, found nowhere else on the planet. There are 7 cockatoo species and some of the cockatoo species are shared with Australia.
Mehd writes: “These photographs have taken me few years to accumulate and many trips to the jungles of the country. Most of the time it was challenging to get decent pictures or to get close to the birds as Indonesia is far less friendly to wild birds than for example Australia. Birds are really scared and will immediately take to the wind. Illegal Trapping and smuggling of birds in this country is emptying the forests.”
“Alongside leading birdwatching tours in Indonesia for 14 years I have been working in the conservation of the parrot species of this country for 9 years with the Forestry department and other NGOs.”
