Indonesia Update 2: Central Sulawesi
After a quick pit stop to indulge in some Water Buffalo related activities, Ethan continued north to Bada and Napu valleys where he was in striking distance of Lore Lindu National Park. Unfortunately, once there he became distracted again, this time by a bunch of old rocks. I guess I just have to indulge him and hope it doesn’t take too long for him to tire himself out.
Who needs to go to Rapa Nui when you can see this much more ancient guy in Sulawesi? Sure he’s a bit smaller and has a less defined jawline but at least the endemics here weren’t all eaten by Birdmen. And where does the other guy think he is? A Dollar Tree parking lot?
Ethan seemed to like this one the best. I’m pretty sure it depicts a Water Buffalo but Ethan seemed to think it’s a scared person drowning in the mud.
Wow, yet another guy and also a jar for marinating bodies. Thank you Ethan, very cool.
Finally, back to some birds. Ethan ran into some more Sulawesi Blue Flycatchers as well as the equally endemic Blue-Fronted Flycatcher.
They look friendly but both Citrine Canary-Flycatchers and Sulawesi Drongos are absolute menaces, flying around wildly in crowded areas and distracting Ethan from more important birds.
The first owl of the trip was this Sulawesi Masked-Owl seen during the daytime.
More owls soon followed including the Australasian Grass-Owl and the Speckled Boobook which Ethan may have thought was called the Spectacled Boobook and therefore despised because of his well documented hatred of nerds.
Ethan found these Diabolical Nightjars and accidently woke them up. I’m not sure what crime they committed to deserve that name.
Ethan observed the Pale-Blue Monarch getting into all kinds of crazy situations like sitting on a nest or trying to sleep at night.
Ethan managed to salvage nearly decent photos of the Sulawesi Hornbill and Malia, two camera-shy endemics. The Malia in particular is a real freak, a mutant Locustellid who seems to spend all its time jumping around wildly and shrieking.
Ethan was happy to take what he thinks in one of the better pictures taken of the Sulawesi Thrush. After all, it is potentially the ultimate Thrush as its name, Turdus turdoides, simply means Thrush-like Thrush.
Neither this Black-Naped Fruit-Dove nor this Blue-Tailed Bee-eater are that exciting but the sat well for Ethan so I guess I’ll include them.
Ethan was able to summon the most important bird on Sulawesi, the monotypic Hylocitria, on his first attempt. Another family down.
Roadside stops yielded Yellow-Cheeked Lorikeets and Finch-Billed Mynas.
The Good Bird Lord blessed Ethan with this Ashy Woodpecker.
Ethan tragically missed the Geomalia and the Purple-Bearded Bee-Eater in Lore Lindu and neither the Golden-Mantled Racquet-Tail nor the Cerulean Cuckooshrike was able to cheer him up.
Ethan had to try a lot of little guys before he found a Sulawesi Bush Warbler that would cooperate.
The best bird Ethan managed to get was probably this Sombre Pigeon which is more commonly heard than seen.
Ethan met man’s most evil and twisted cousin in central Sulawesi. After bearing witness to its baleful eyes and terrible cry first hand, he no longer wonders why some people have begun calling tarsiers “God’s final mistake.”