RECORDS OF BIRDS AND REPTILES 
FROM TONGA 
B. J. GILL 
AUCKLAND INSTITUTE AND MUSEUM 
Abstract. Records are presented of birds seen, and reptiles collected, in July 1988 on 
Tongatapu and three islands of the Ha’apai group (Lifuka, Foa and Lofanga), Kingdom 
of Tonga. Sightings of birds on Tongatapu, ’Eua, Vava’u and Niuatoputapu by A.P. and 
E.F. Fabian are given, as are a few records of birds and reptiles based on specimens in 
Auckland Museum collected before 1988. The White-faced Heron Ardea 
novaehollandiae is reported from Tonga for the first time, and European Starlings 
Sturnus vulgaris seen on Foa are the first record of that species from the Ha’apai group. 
Blue-crowned Lorikeets Vini australis, now rare in Tonga, were seen on Lofanga and 
Niuatoputapu. 
Very little has been published on the distribution of birds and reptiles in the 
Tongan archipelago. The few recent papers are by Dhondt (1976), Rinke (1986a, 
1986b, 1987) and Gill (1987). In this paper I have assembled distributional records 
based on the following: 
(1) Observations of birds and reptiles, and collections of reptiles, made by me in July 
1988. I spent 10 days on Tongatapu, and 14 days in the Ha’apai group — the 
latter comprising 6 days on Lofanga, and the rest on Lifuka with day excursions 
to Foa. Where no observer is given the record is by me at this time. The records 
of birds and reptiles on the three Ha’apai islands are summarised in Tables | and 
2. The reptiles collected are in the Auckland Museum collection and the 
registration numbers (prefix H) are given here. 
(2) Specimens of birds (prefix B) and reptiles (prefix H) in the Auckland Museum 
collection, not collected by me. 
(3) Observations of birds on Tongatapu, "Eua, Vava’u and Niuatoputapu in 1987 
and 1988 kindly provided by Mr Paul Fabian (British High Commissioner, 
Nuku'alofa) and Mrs Eryll Fabian. 
Where weights and snout-vent lengths (SVL) of lizards are given, I took these in 
July 1988 from freshly killed specimens. Morphometrics of adults of three commonly 
collected lizards are summarised in Table 3. 
All sightings of dark noddies (Anous stolidus or A. minutus) and most sightings 
of frigatebirds (Fregata minor or F. ariel) were ignored as the birds were not seen 
closely enough to identify the species. 
Rec. Auckland Inst. Mus. 25: 87-94 19 December 1988 
