Endemic Animals of Vanuatu

The white-bellied honeyeater (Glycifohia notabilis ), also known as the New Hebrides honeyeater, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to the Melanesian island nation of Vanuatu. Less

The Vanuatu megapode or Vanuatu scrubfowl (Megapodius layardi ) is a species of bird in the family Megapodiidae. It was formerly known as the New Hebrides scrubfowl. It is found only in Vanuatu. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. The species is threatened by habitat loss and egg collecting. Less

The Vanuatu kingfisher or chestnut-bellied kingfisher (Todiramphus farquhari ) is a medium-sized kingfisher found only on the islands of Espiritu Santo, Malo and Malakula in Vanuatu.It is dark blue above with richly coloured orange underparts. There is a white spot in front of the eye and a broad black band on the side of the head. It has a white throat and collar. It measures 19–21 cm in length and weighs 32-42 grams. The call is a series of lo ...
ud, shrill, piping notes. The only other kingfisher in Vanuatu is the Pacific kingfisher which has paler blue-green upperparts, whiter underparts and a buff stripe above the eye.The Vanuatu kingfisher mainly eats insects, especially beetles, and will also take spiders and small lizards. It usually hunts by perching on a branch and waiting for prey to appear. When it spots something it flies into the air or dives down to the ground or a tree trunk to catch it.The nest is sometimes built in a hole in a palm tree or tree fern but usually a pair will excavate a burrow in a termite mound in a tree. They dig with their large bill and clear out material with their feet. After about fifteen days the burrow is completed and the termites seal off their sections. Three or four white eggs are laid. The breeding season is mostly from November to February with eggs laid in December.The birds mainly inhabit dense rainforests in the interior of the islands, particularly above 200m. They are believed to be declining due to loss and degradation of the forest. Less

The Vanuatu imperial pigeon or Baker's imperial pigeon (Ducula bakeri ) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Vanuatu and lives in forests. It is threatened by forest clearing, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as a vulnerable species. Less

The buff-bellied monarch (Neolalage banksiana ) is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is monotypic within the genus Neolalage. It is endemic to Vanuatu, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.The buff-bellied monarch was originally described in the genus Lalage. Alternate names include Banksian monarch, buff-bellied flycatcher, New Hebrides flycatcher, New Hebrides monarch, Pacific monarch (a name ...
shared with the pale-blue monarch) and Vanuatu flycatcher. Less

The mountain starling (Aplonis santovestris ), Vanuatu starling, Santo mountain starling or Santo starling, is a bird species in the family Sturnidae. It is endemic to the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu. It is restricted to cloud forest on that island. The species was seldom seen in the 20th century and was at one point feared extinct, although a 1991 expedition managed to find a population high in the mountains. Less

The southern shrikebill (Clytorhynchus pachycephaloides ), or brown flycatcher, is a songbird species in the family Monarchidae. It is found in New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Less

The south Melanesian cuckooshrike (Coracina caledonica ) is an uncommon species of bird in the cuckooshrike family.It is found in New Caledonia, Bougainville Island, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The species is a large (32–37 cm) cuckoo-shrike with a long square tail and all over dark grey plumage. The eye of adults is yellow, whereas that of the juvenile is dark. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and su ...
btropical or tropical moist montane forests. Less

The Vanuatu white-eye or yellow-fronted white-eye (Zosterops flavifrons ) is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Zosterops in the white-eye family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Vanuatu, where it is one of the most common birds.It is 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in) long. The adult male is yellow-green above while the underparts are bright yellow or yellow-green depending on the subspecies. The forehead is yellow and there is a white ring around the e ...
ye. The legs and feet are dark grey and the bill is brown above and pinkish below. Female and immature birds are similar to the male but paler. The immatures also have a narrower eye-ring.The contact call is short and high-pitched. The song is a repeated warbling.There are seven subspecies distributed almost throughout Vanuatu from the Banks Islands in the north to Aneityum in the south. The species occurs in a variety of habitats including forest, plantations and gardens from sea level to the mountains. It forages in bushes and trees, moving around in pairs or small flocks. The varied diet includes insects, nectar and fruit such as lantana berries and wild figs.The neat, cup-shaped nest is built 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) or more above the ground and is made of grass, pieces of bark and spider webs. The eggs are bluish-white and there are three in a clutch. Less

The grey-eared honeyeater (Lichmera incana ), also known as the dark-brown honeyeater, is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family which is found in Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the south-west Pacific. It is sometimes known as the silver-eared honeyeater, but this name is also used for the silver-eared honeyeater (Lichmera alboauricularis ) of New Guinea. Less

Lepidodactylus buleli is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Espiritu Santo, an island in the Vanuatu Archipelago. Less

The Vanuatu flying fox or white flying fox (Pteropus anetianus ) is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Vanuatu. It is most closely related to the Samoa flying fox. Less

The Banks flying fox (Pteropus fundatus ) is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Vanuatu. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical swamps. These small fruit bats are about 15 cm. long with grey and brown on its head and back with a yellow-orange neck and yellow-gray bellies. Its diet consists of coconut flowers and Vaveli trees fruit since its home is tropical. Less

Liotipoma magna is a species of small sea snail with calcareous opercula, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Colloniidae. Less