Watching Pigeons and Doves in the jungle Manokwari

Great Cuckoo Dove (Reinwardtoena reinwartii)

The tropical rainforest in Manokwari are very nice place to watch pigeons and doves. I have guided a lot of birdwatchers on birding trips in both lowland and highland forest in the region. Today I will write a little bit about pigeons. The common name for pigeons in local language is Kumkum. The indigenous Papuan people hunt pigeons for their delicious meat. I introduce trekking and birdwatching trips in such areas as lowland forest of Arfak mountains and north coast of Manokwari to empower the local people in protecting the birds. During my birdwatching trips with international birders, we saw Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Western Crowned Pigeon, Great Cuckoo Dove, Beautiful Fruit Dove, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove.
Doves have got similar appearances with pigeons. They usually find food near fruit trees or on clear grounds. When I accompanied visitors in the jungle of Arfak mountains, we saw Cinnamon Ground Dove in the slope of Mt. Soyti.
Birdwatchers usually bring binoculars and spotting scope to magnify the image of distant birds. For taking pictures, or making videos of the birds, professional birdwatchers use D-SLR camera with telephoto lens. For budget travelers, an affordable but powerful compact camera that is equipped with super zoom lenses will be a perfect choice. I highly recommend Sony HX300, Canon SX50, Nikon Coolpix P520, and Fujifilm Finepix SL1000.
Don't forget to bring extra batteries when traveling in the jungle of Manokwari. For more information about birding and traveling in the rainforest of West Papua, please contact me by email to peace4wp@gmail.com