*CATTLE EGRET Ardea ibis

Range Biak, Numfor, Yapen.

Status Occasional visitor. Possibly a recent colonist. First recorded 26 February 1992, a group of 15 at Biak airport (KDB). Subsequently observed at the same site, 26 July 1992 (KDB), with c.25 there 13 October 1997 (SvB). Perhaps surprisingly, just two additional records. 30 August 2015: one in non-breeding plumage in central Biak (KDB) and 14 November 2017, one at the tsunami swamp (A. Walker, eBird checklist S46415753). First observed in Indonesian New Guinea during December 1962 – April 1963 when flocks of up to 40 were seen near Manokwari in the Bird’s Head (Hoogerwerf 1971).