282 species of birds are found on New Britain, including 51 which are endemic to the region. These include the New Britain Buzzard, the Slaty-backed Goshawk, the New Britain Grey-headed Goshawk, the New Britain Sparrowhawk, the New Britain Bronzewing, the White-necked Coucal, the Blue-eyed Cockatoo, the New Britain Friarbird, the Red-knobbed Imperial Pigeon, the Bismarck Hanging-Parrot, the Violaceous Coucal, the Pied Coucal , the Golden Masked-Owl, the New Britain Boobok, the Bismarck Kingfisher, the Black-headed Paradise- Kingfisher, the White-mantled Kingfisher, the Red-headed Honeyeater, the Scarlet Bibbed Honeyeater and the New Britain Honeyeater. Recently, the Heinroth Shearwater, feared extinct, has been identified near Walindi.
An organised seabird watch off West New Britain can offer
sightings of many species including: Tahiti Petrel ; Streaked , Wedge-tailed , Flesh-footed and
Heinroth Shearwater; Brown and Red-footed Booby; Bridled, Sooty, Crested and
Black-naped Tern; Lesser Frigate-bird and Brown Noddy.
For a detailed field list of nearly 200 birds which can be sighted around the Kimbe area in West New Britain, click here.
There
are a number of marsupials found in WNB including bandicoots, sugar gliders and
wallabies. Other mammals include the Cuscus, whose fur is often used
decoratively, in bilums and on head dresses, for example.
There are 91 species of bat found in Papua New Guinea, 34 of which are in the group commonly referred to as "flying foxes". These feed on fruit, flowers and nectar. People of Unea tribe, West New Britain, make use of fruit bat teeth to make jewellery.
West New Britain has populations of many bats found only in PNG, such as Andersen's Bare-Backed Bat (Dobsonia anderseni) and the New Guinea Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus euryotis) , as well as bats found only on New Britain, such as the New Britain Bare-Backed Bat (Dobsonia praedatrix).
Of
the 655 species of butterfly identified in PNG, over 190 have been observed to
fly in WNB. The species found represent nine families, including
Swallowtails and Birdwings, and Monarchs. There are also many unusual
moths.
The variety, size and colour of WNB's flying insects appeals to all visitors.
Many geckos, lizards and skinks are to be found, including the unforgettable colourful skink, Scincidae Emoia Caeruleocauda, which sports an electric blue tail. The skin of the mangrove monitor, the largest lizard in WNB, is traditionally stretched over a hollow log to form a kundu drum. There are also 16 species of snake, including pythons and small tree snakes, and none of them is poisonous.
The rich mixture of forest types and climates as well as a long history of connection with and isolation from neighbouring landmasses has left PNG with some of the biologically richest forests on earth. Indeed New Guinea (including Irian Jaya) is considered to be the most floristically rich island on the planet.
PNG contains important representatives of the flora of the
ancient super continent Gondwanaland including a large contingent of southern
conifer species and southern beeches (Nothofagus) and a number of ancestral
families of the flowering plants. These forests also provide the habitat for the
majority of PNG's unique bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian species.
The lowland tropical and subtropical moist forests of PNG have been ranked among the world's ten most distinctive forest regions and PNG's mangrove forests are recognised as the most extensive in the world with many unusual species.
In total an estimated 20,000 species of higher plants have been found in PNG accounting for perhaps 7.5 per cent of the world's total number of species.
Among these is the
world's greatest diversity of orchids, about 3,000 species, with over 600 species of Dendrobium and over
700 species of Bulbophyllum. The rare Dendrobium wulaiense is found on WNB's Wulai
Island while Talasea Pink (Dendrobium limeala), Pomio Brown (Dendrobium helix)
and a colourful form of Dendrobium bracteosu can all be found on New Britain.
