Papua New Guinea-Port Moresby and Varirata National Park

We visited Papua New Guinea (PNG) on a birding tour from mid-July until August 2010. We flew from Brisbane, Australia.  Above is a Papuan Frogmouth in its cryptic pose at the Pacific Adventist College grounds in Port Moresby, the capital of PNG. (X)

Potoos are in a related family of birds and are found in the New World. This is a photo of the Common Potoo I took in Bolivia of a well-hidden bird...found by a guide of course!  They share the habit of assuming near invisibility once they have perched and freeze. (X)

On the left are some epiphytic "ant plants" (Hydnophytum / Myrmecodia?) which provide a home for ant nests. Below is one which had fallen, so I cracked it open to show the multitude of chambers which the ants can live in. (X)

On the right are some "Jewel " orchids, a group of orchids whose most attractive attribute are its leaves, not the flowers. These leaves are almost black. These were found at Varirata Park on the outskirts of Port Moresby. (X)

Our first first Bird of Paradise (BoP)was the Raggiana BoP. The males display together in a group of trees, and were unfortunately not easy to take a photograph. I think David Attenborough had a little more set-up time. They are a sight and sound spectacle since they call loudly while displaying. They are the inspiration for one of the Huli Wigman dances, which I will write about later.