India: South

Nicobar Island Endemics (plus Narcondam Hornbill extension)

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A pioneering 13-day small group birding tour of the spectacular Nicobar Islands, until recently off-limits, in search of the island endemics restricted to this remote part of the archipelago.

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From an ornithological perspective, the Nicobar Islands are among the most exciting and least-explore areas anywhere in Asia. These islands make up the southern portion of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, part of a submarine mountain range extending from Myanmar to Sumatra that divides the Bay of Bengal from the Andaman Sea. Geographically closer to Southeast Asia than India, they share an interesting avifauna, with a considerable number of endemic species that have evolved here out of sheer isolation.

Although parts of the Andaman Islands are easily accessible, the Nicobars have until recently been off-limits due to strict entry restrictions and challenging travel logistics. With foreigners now permitted access to Great Nicobar, the largest and southernmost island in the group and travel via passenger ferry, it is now possible for birders to explore its pristine rainforests.

Our tour is a focused expedition targeting the Nicobar Island endemics available on Great Nicobar. Although few in number, this is an opportunity to look for highly prized species that very few birders have ever seen: Nicobar Hooded Pitta, Nicobar Parakeet, Nicobar Jungle Flycatcher, Nicobar Megapode, Nicobar Serpent-Eagle, and Nicobar Scops-Owl, with the chance of Nicobar Bulbul on the island of Kamorta enroute. This will be a challenging yet highly rewarding tour which goes beyond the conventional to explore one of India’s last frontiers; with much still to be learnt about these islands and their birdlife, there is an element of the unknown and likely more to be discovered here in this idyllic tropical island paradise. We also include some time in the Andaman Islands, where we look for Andaman Island endemics, while an optional extension adds the chance to see potential split Andaman Bush Warbler, as well as Narcondam Hornbill on a boat trip to the isolated dormant volcano of Narcondam Island.

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