Short Samoa Trip Report - July 2025

[Mike Bickerdike]

I managed to fit in some birding each day on a weeklong vacation to Samoa, and thought I’d provide a short report here. I stayed at a coastal hotel resort on the north west coast of Upola and much of my birding was done in the extended resort grounds. Two general impressions are worth making: Firstly there are no European introductions here, though the two most common species seen - Common Myna and Red-vented Bulbul - are both South Asian introductions. There are also introduced Rock Pigeons in the towns (especially Apia), though where they are from, I’m not sure, as they are found worldwide. The second thing I noticed was that there are not that many species to see. I guess this is due to the small size of Samoa. In the week I was there, I saw only 25 species in total; the most species seen by anyone in the eBird records is only 54! So, Samoa is a good destination to see attractive new endemics, but not somewhere to really pad out your worldwide list.

I recorded my sightings on eBird, and ran a trip report that collated all the data, so from this I can provide a list of the birds seen in order of total number of each species observed (in brackets, below), which gives some impression of the abundance and scarcity of each species, although I didn’t record every rock pigeon I saw in Apia, and some single birds were surely recorded in multiple eBird lists (such as the Wandering Tattler and the scads of banded rail on the lawns outside my hotel room), so it’s an approximation of abundance (or indicates ease of observation) only:

Common Myna (396) – Most common bird seen in Samoa
Red-vented Bulbul (217)
Banded Rail (108) – Seem to occupy the niche held by Pukeko in NZ (and no Pukeko were seen)
Samoan Starling (103) – Common, though Polynesian Starling was not seen at all
Polynesian Triller (61)
Eastern Wattled-Honeyeater (37) - Samoa's answer to the Bellbird
Pacific Imperial-Pigeon (27) - The most common pigeon (I dipped on Metallic Pigeon)
Samoan Myzomela (23) – A striking small passerine with a bright crimson-red head and long decurved black bill
Black-naped Tern (20) – The most common seabird seen
Jungle Myna (18) - Also an introduced Myna, but at least it was new to me!
Rock Pigeon (18) – Only seen in towns/Apia, not at the resort or countryside
Pacific Golden-Plover (17) – Several seen each day at the resort, quite confiding
Crimson-crowned Fruit-Dove (15) – Most common dove, and beautiful
Reef Heron (13) - Clearly common here, with nice views, though they are just as nervous as in NZ
Flat-billed Kingfisher (12) – Very like Sacred Kingfisher, endemic to Samoa
White-rumped Swiftlet (9) – Observable best in late afternoon
Brown Noddy (6) – Only seen flying high above hills inland, not at the coast
White Tern (5) – Seen flying between treetops inland (they roost in trees)
Wandering Tattler (4) – Most common wader after PGP, and the only other wading species seen
Samoan Flycatcher (2) - Found two, with good views on one day, but then not seen again
Many-colored Fruit-Dove (2)
Samoan Whistler (1) - Just the one seen, a pretty yellow-bellied songbird
Great Crested Tern (1)
Great Frigatebird (1) – Only one seen flying high above hills, in the distance
Samoan Fantail (1)
Red Junglefowl (Escapee; many)

Interestingly, while a search of Samoan eBird observations would suggest several other seabirds might be relatively easy to see, I dipped out on any species of Tropicbird or Booby and didn’t see any terns apart from Black-naped, the single Great Crested Tern and some very distant Brown Noddy in flight. I think this may reflect a lack of comprehensive eBird data - no locals seem to use eBird, with only really dedicated tourist birders having recorded long lists there to date I think. Some of the tropicbirds and boobies may require some luck, and more travel and skill to spot them, than I could bring to bear on a family vacation.

All-in-all though it’s a nice place to bird, and if you’re going there anyway for a vacation, definitely take your bins – the Samoan Myzomela is worth it alone.