05 Aug 2026 - 24 Aug 2026 (20 days)
USD7,495 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Adam Walleyn
Our Lesser Sundas birding tour takes us to this remarkably diverse and rugged chain of volcanic islands stretching across the Javan Sea between Bali and New Guinea, supporting over 80 Indonesian endemic bird species! Our tour visits four of these islands (Sumba, Timor, Flores and Komodo), targetting over 60 of these localized and highly sought-after birds. The Lesser Sundas fall within a region known as Wallacea and its avifauna is a startling mix of Asiatic and Australasian families. Starting and ending in Bali, we explore montane rainforests, lowland monsoon forests, wetlands, mangroves, coastal mudflats, grasslands and dry scrub.
We begin our tour in East Sumba, where mouth-watering specialties include Red-naped Fruit Dove, Sumba Hornbill, Great-billed Parrot, Mees’s Nightjar, Sumba Green Pigeon, Pale-shouldered Cicadabird and the little-known Sumba Buttonquail. Our next leg of the tour takes us to West Timor where avian specialties abound, including some of the island’s most highly regarded species; Banded Fruit Dove, Pink-headed Imperial Pigeon, Flame-breasted Sunbird, Orange-sided and Chestnut-backed Thrushes, Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher, Black-banded Flycatcher, Buff-banded Thicketbird and Timor Sparrow.
We end the tour on the island of Flores, where the magnificent Flores Hawk-Eagle, Glittering Kingfisher, sensational Elegant Pitta, Wallace’s (Flores) Hanging Parrot, Leaf (Flores) Lorikeet and the bizarre Bare-throated Whistler will be among the many targets on the island. One of the undoubted highlights of the trip will be the visit to Komodo Island just off of Flores, where 10ft (3m) Komodo Dragons roam this almost prehistoric paradise along with Green Junglefowls and Orange-footed Scrubfowls. Here we will also seek the beautiful and critically endangered Yellow-crested Cockatoo.
The Lesser Sundas has something very special to offer the keen birder and nature enthusiast and this eighteen day birding tour promises to be a classic among international birding adventures!
Red-naped Fruit Dove, Sumba Hornbill, Great-billed Parrot, Mees’s Nightjar, Sumba Green Pigeon, Pale-shouldered Cicadabird, Sumba Buttonquail, Banded Fruit Dove, Pink-headed Imperial Pigeon, Flame-breasted Sunbird, Orange-sided & Chestnut-backed Thrushes, Cinnamon-banded Kingfisher, Black-banded Flycatcher, Buff-banded Thicketbird, Timor Sparrow, Flores Hawk-Eagle, Glittering Kingfisher, Elegant Pitta, Wallace’s (Flores) Hanging Parrot, Leaf (Flores) Lorikeet, Bare-throated Whistler, Green Junglefowl, Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Yellow-crested Cockatoo.
montane rainforests, lowland monsoon forests, wetlands, mangroves, coastal mudflats, grasslands and dry scrub
mostly hot and humid in the lowlands, being very cool to warm in montane areas. Some heavy rain can be expected
8 with 1 Rockjumper leader & local birding leader
mostly relaxed with some longer walks
basic yet comfortable
moderate with some tricky species
beautiful beaches and tropical island scenery, 10ft (3m) Komodo Dragons!
excellent
This is a fantastic tour and it gave us a rare, unique and unforgettable experience. We are in awe of the complex logistics required to make this tour run so smoothly. Everything ran like clockwork. The leaders, Lev and David, the ship’s crew, the local teams of guides and the lovely drivers were amazing. Everyone was so friendly. The efforts that everyone went to to find the special birds of these remote islands were above and beyond! The food was very good throughout, in summary the experience was amazing!
This was a fabulous tour! Living on the Seahorse and going ashore each day to explore, in many cases, remote and under-birded locations was a truly exciting and wonderful experience. In addition, it was a fabulous and memorable experience to have Glen and Keith Valentine as leaders. They teamed seamlessly and ensured that everyone had a wonderful and got on to the birds. Oh, and of course, the sight of at least 4 male Wilson's Birds-of-Paradise displaying to multiple females was the stuff of dreams! Truly spectacular! And the local guides and drivers were all great, not forgetting the Skipper and crew of the Seahorse! The Buru extension for the Madanga and some of the owls was also so memorable, as were the few days in West Papua. All things considered, a truly wonderful and memorable tour!
The ultimate birding trip: stunning destinations, endemics galore, cruising through the Raja Ampats and Maluku on a lovely wooden boat with wonderful crew and great food, gorgeous sunsets, awesome snorkelling and two of the best Rockjumper guides - Keith and Glen Valentine. And to top it off, Wilson's Bird-of-Paradise!!!!!!!!!
This [was] my second tour with Glen Valentine and he is the most professional guide I have ever traveled with. It goes without saying (but shouldn't) that he knew every single species on the tour including all their calls. He found birds when I saw nothing and then managed to get all guests onto the birds. This was impressive in itself, however there were many secretive birds that made guiding much harder. We had few problems on the tour, but I don't doubt that he would have handled it without problem. He is to be highly commended for his guiding on this very tiring trip, especially considering he was not well. Paul was also a really great training guide and I thoroughly enjoyed his company.
Glen Valentine and Adam Walleyn were superb guides — honestly, they saw birds before they appeared! The local guides were outstanding and the logistics and accommodations were exceptional given our locations.
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Indonesia - Remote West Papuan Islands Cruise I 2024 - October 2024
Indonesia - Sumatra & Java 2024 - August 2024
Indonesia - Lesser Sundas Endemics 2024 - August 2024
Indonesia - Bali Birding Extension 2024 - August 2024
Indonesia - Sulawesi & Halmahera: Wallacean Endemics 2024 - July 2024
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Indonesia - Buru Extension II 2023 - November 2023
Indonesia - Remote West Papuan Islands Cruise II 2023 - November 2023
Indonesia - Buru Extension I 2023 - November 2023
Indonesia - West Papua: Arfak Extension 2023 - October 2023
Indonesia - Remote West Papuan Islands Cruise I 2023 - October 2023
Indonesia - Remote West Papuan Islands Cruise IV 2023 - October 2023
Indonesia - Buru Extension III 2023 - October 2023
Indonesia - Kai Islands Extension 2023 - September 2023
Indonesia - Banda Sea Cruise 2023 - August 2023
Indonesia - Allanson - Flores Endemics 2023 - August 2023
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Indonesia - Highlights of the East: Sulawesi, Moluccas & Papua II 2023 - July 2023