Slender-Billed Cuckoo Dove

When I was guiding two Australian and one Chinese birders in Arfak mountains to watch Magnificent Bird of Paradise, I saw a bird landed on a tree near me. It was feeding on small yellow fruits some 10 meters above my head. I slowly moved under the branches and leaves and then carefully aimed my Fujifilm HS50EXR at the bird. There was a small window among the thick green leaves above my head where I could see the bird.

Slender-billed Cuckoo Dove in Arfak Mountains

I turned the lens of my camera to maximum zoom (1,000 mm) and pressed the shutter button to shoot the bird. This bird was called Slender-billed Cuckoo Dove also called Brown Cuckoo Dove. He turned his body on the same branch and sat for a while perhaps trying to find out what happened downed there. I thought the sounds of my camera had attracted his attention.

Slender-billed Cuckoo Dove in Arfak range of Manokwari

Again, I aimed my camera at the Cuckoo Dove and shot him several times. I was happy with the results. Birding in tropical rainforest was quite difficult because we could not see the birds easily. Most birds sat on the branches of trees on the canopy of the forest. Birders could not easily find them because of obstructions from the branches, twigs, vines, and leaves.
Most often, the birds sit in tall trees making it difficult to take picture of them using ordinary pocket camera. Carrying a D-SLR camera with telephoto lenses is a good solution. However, such camera is very expensive. I recommend bridge camera with telephoto lens such as the Nikon B700, Nikon P900 and Nikon P1000. The camera is suitable for wildlife watching and birding.
Birding tours in Manokwari
Birding tours in rainforest of Manokwari