Matava Resort is remote, isolated and only accessable by boat. Surrounded by dense primary and secondary tropical and sub-tropical rainforrest, several village trails lead off the resort grounds providing ideal walks for Matava Resort is remote, isolated and only accessable by boat.
Surrounded by dense primary and secondary tropical and sub-tropical rainforrest, several village trails lead off the resort grounds providing ideal walks for ornithologists.
Guides are not necessary though advisable if you wish to travel deep into the bush.
Many birds can be seen within the resort grounds. All but one of the following pictures of land birds were taken by me, wandering around the resort with a little digital camera over the past few days. (Apologies for the amateur photography !)
A wide variety of habitats are just a few minutes walk from your bure from dense rainforrest to mangrove and reef flats.We can advise guests on the best bird watching spots, and if required provide guides for excursions to the rainforest or mangroves.
Endemic Species
Kadavu Island has four species of birds that are found nowhere else in the world.
All four species endemic to Kadavu can be seen in and around the vicinity of Matava Resort. All Fiji’s native birds are protected by law both with respect to capture and confinement and to hunting.
- Kadavu Shining (Musk) Parrot (prosopeia splendens)
- Kadavu Honeyeater (xanthotis provocator)
- Kadavu Fantail (Rhipidura personata)
- Whistling Dove (chrysoenas layardi)
Other land bird species found on Kadavu Island
- Fiji Goshawk
- Pacific harrier
- Banded rail
- Barn Owl
Friendly ground dove- Barking pidgeon
- Many coloured fruit dove
- Collared lory
- Fiji Bush-warbler
- Slaty Monarch
Vanikoro Broadbill- Blue crested broadbill
- Fiji white-eye
- Silver-eye
- Orange-brested myzomela
- Wattled Honeyeater
- Fiji parrotfinch
- Polynesian starling
- Polynesian Triller
- Fiji Woodswallow
- Fan-tailed cuckoo
- White-rumped Swiftlet
- Lesser Shrikebill
- Black-faced Shrikebill
- Golden Whistler
Sea and shoreline birds often seen from the resort or resort boats:
- White-collared Kingfisher
- Mangrove heron
- Eastern reef heron
- Wandering Tattler
- Pacific black duck
Seashore birds
- Brown booby
- Masked booby
- Red-footed booby
- Tropicbird
- Frigatebird
- Wedge-tailed Shearwater
- Short-tailed Shearwater
- Sooty Shearwater
- Fiji petrel
- Storm Petrel
- Black-naped tern
- Crested tern
- Grey-backed Tern
- Brown Noddy
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Recommended Field Guide
“A Guide to the Birds of Fiji & Western Polynesia” by Dick Watling
Available from Environmental Consultants (Fiji) Ltd , PO Box 2041, Government Buildings, Suva, Fiji.
Dick also has a great summary list/check list of birds in Fiji.
Mongoose
The mongoose was deliberately introduced into the main Fiji islands by G.T. Barker of the Rewa sugar refining company around 1885 to control rats which damage sugar cane. The first noticlible result was the killing off of practically all of the snakes which used to eat the rats…..then the ground nesting birds, terrestrial lizards and frogs were virtually brought to extinction on the main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. The Fiji Petrel for example is extinct on all islands that have the mongoose. Fortunately, the mongoose has not made it to Kadavu island and the only threat to ground nesting birds here is the feral cat.
For detailed information about the life found on Kadavu see the following pages.
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