A study of the birds of the Tabubil Region, Western Province, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

An annotated list of the 269 bird species of the Tabubil and Ok Tedi areas, with observations from July 1985 to October 1987. Comparison with the 1978 survey of the Ok Tedi region made by Coates and Lindgren indicates some changes in the avifauna due to the development of the town of Tabubil and surroundings. Thirty-one species had not previously been recorded in the area and many of these were found to be resident or regular migrants t o the town. Many highland species, formerly present on Mt Fubilan, site of the Ok Tedi mine, and recorded by Coates and Lindgren in 1978, were not observed in the present survey. This may in part be due to the fact that the majority of field work was done in the areas below 1000 m as access to the mine and surrounding mountains is extremely limited. Migration dates for a number of species are presented for the first time for this region and several new breeding records are given.