Birds of Praslin and La Digue: black parrot, paradise flycatcher and more

Which birds can you see on Praslin and La Digue?

Praslin is the only home of the Seychelles black parrot, and La Digue holds the main population of the Seychelles paradise flycatcher. Both islands have widespread endemic forest birds, and the reserves of Cousin and Aride, by boat from Praslin, hold large seabird colonies and one of the rarest Seychelles land birds.

The main sites are the Vallée de Mai on Praslin, run by the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF); the Veuve Special Reserve on La Digue, run by the Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority (SPGA); Cousin Island Special Reserve, run by Nature Seychelles; and Aride Island Special Reserve, run by the Island Conservation Society (ICS).

Seychelles black parrot: where to see it on Praslin

The Seychelles black parrot breeds only on Praslin, and the Vallée de Mai is the place to look for it. SIF calls it the national bird of Seychelles, resident only on Praslin and totally dependent on the Vallée de Mai and the palm forest around it.

Numbers differ by source. SIF says its 2018 census estimated 1,382 individuals, which it gives as the global wild total. Nature Seychelles gives an undated range of 730 to 1,170. SIF's research led to the bird being declared a distinct species, Coracopsis barklyi, in 2014, when it was listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and that is still its Red List category.

Nature Seychelles says the parrot, kato nwar in Creole, is pale brown-grey rather than black, usually in small flocks, with a distinctive whistling call. SIF has monitored the parrots since 2009 and found that they are often seen at introduced fruit trees such as papaya, mango and guava mainly because those trees grow where people are; their preferred foods are the fruits of endemic palms, and dead coco de mer trunks are by far their most common nest site.

SPGA, which runs the Glacis Noire trail in Praslin National Park, describes the parrot as unique to Praslin and its surrounding islets, a slightly wider range than SIF gives.

Seychelles paradise flycatcher (veuve) on La Digue

La Digue is the place to see the Seychelles paradise flycatcher, and the Veuve Special Reserve on the island's western plateau exists to protect it. Nature Seychelles says the bird was once widespread on Praslin and its surrounding islands but became restricted to La Digue, where it is quite common.

Veuve is Creole for widow. The SPGA reserve leaflet says the name refers to the male's plumage: males are glossy black with very long tail streamers and a bright blue eye-ring and bill, while females and juveniles have a black head, white belly and chestnut upperparts.

SPGA says the reserve covers 21 hectares of a 200-hectare plateau, while the 1991 designation order in the legislation SPGA publishes describes an area of 7.817 hectares. SPGA also says the flycatchers prefer badamier and takamaka trees for nesting, and that the reserve alone is not large enough to hold a viable population, so the birds also depend on woodland elsewhere on the plateau. The leaflet advises looking at eye level, and reserve staff can help you find the birds.

Nature Seychelles records that 23 birds were moved to Denis Island in 2008, where about 70 now live, and that more were moved to Curieuse in 2018. It gives an undated population of 350 to 506 mature individuals, and the species has been reclassified from Critically Endangered to Vulnerable, its current Red List category. The SPGA leaflet says breeding traditionally peaked in the north-west rainy season (November to April) but now happens more at other times.

Seychelles bulbul, blue pigeon and sunbird

These three endemics are widespread on both islands.

The Seychelles bulbul (merl in Creole) is a dark brown bird with an orange bill and legs and a shaggy black crest. SIF says it is noisy, often seen and heard in the Vallée de Mai, and not shy of people. Nature Seychelles lists it on Praslin and La Digue with at least 20,000 birds in Seychelles, and SPGA names it among the birds of the Veuve reserve.

The Seychelles blue pigeon (pizon olande) has a dark blue body, a pale cream head and neck and red skin around the eye; SIF says the Creole name comes from its likeness to the colours of the Dutch flag. SIF says it is common in the Vallée de Mai, feeding on palm fruits, and Nature Seychelles records it breeding on Cousin and Aride.

The Seychelles sunbird (kolibri) is a tiny nectar-feeder with a thin, down-curved bill; males have an iridescent throat. Nature Seychelles says it occurs on almost all the granitic islands and is one of the few endemics to have thrived since people arrived. SIF, SPGA and Nature Seychelles list it for the Vallée de Mai, the Veuve reserve and Cousin.

Seabird islands: Cousin and Aride

Cousin and Aride are reserves off Praslin, reached by boat, where seabirds nest in large numbers.

Cousin lies 2 km off Praslin. It was bought in 1968 by the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP), now BirdLife International. Nature Seychelles says the government made the island and 400 metres of surrounding sea a Special Reserve in 1974; the designation order in the published legislation is dated 17 November 1975. Nature Seychelles lists seven nesting seabird species and five endemic land birds. Visits are arranged through tour operators, and the reserve's own boats make the final landing to keep pests off the island.

Aride, 9 km north of Praslin, is described by ICS as one of the most important seabird colonies in the Indian Ocean, with around half a million birds of up to 10 species, the world's largest populations of tropical shearwater and lesser noddy, and a roost of thousands of non-breeding frigatebirds.

White-tailed tropicbird, white tern and lesser noddy

White terns and white-tailed tropicbirds nest on Cousin all year, while lesser noddies nest during the south-east monsoon.

White-tailed tropicbird (payanke). The Cousin Island site says about 3,000 pairs breed there each year and that it is common on rat-free islands such as Aride, where ICS studies its feeding. Nature Seychelles says that on predator-free islands it often nests on the ground at the base of trees.

White tern (golan). The only all-white tern. It builds no nest and lays a single egg on a branch. About 4,000 pairs nest on Cousin each year, and Nature Seychelles says it is seen on all islands. Nature Seychelles now uses the name Gygis candida for the Seychelles birds after a taxonomic split.

Lesser noddy (kelek). Nature Seychelles says the three largest colonies in the world are on Aride, Cousin and Cousine. Its sources give different seasons: the species page says April to October, the Cousin Island site June to August, with about 80,000 pairs on Cousin. Aride takes visitors only from October to May, so Cousin is the likelier place to see noddies nesting.

Seychelles magpie robin on Cousin and Aride

The Seychelles magpie robin lives on five islands, and two of them, Cousin and Aride, can be visited from Praslin.

Nature Seychelles says about 23 birds survived in 1970, all on Frégate. A recovery programme moved birds to other predator-free islands, and about 500 now live on Frégate, Cousin, Cousine, Denis and Aride. The species was downlisted from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2005. For Cousin, the Nature Seychelles bird conservation page gives over 60 birds and the Cousin Island site around 50.

Best places and times for birdwatching

Visit the Vallée de Mai for the black parrot, the Veuve reserve for the flycatcher, and Cousin, or Aride from October to May, for seabirds and the magpie robin.

• Vallée de Mai, Praslin: open daily from 8.30 to 16.30, last entry 15.30, closed 25 December and 1 January. SIF recommends binoculars for birds high in the canopy and rain protection from December to March.
• Veuve Special Reserve, La Digue: open Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm and Saturday 9am to 3pm, according to SPGA. Guided tours are available.
• Cousin: Monday to Friday, 9.45 to 12.30, with a warden-led tour of about 75 minutes. Your hotel or guesthouse on Praslin can put you in touch with an operator.
• Aride: open October to May, normally Monday to Friday. It often closes in the south-east trade winds and at short notice when surf makes landing difficult, so keep a fallback date.
• Curieuse: SPGA lists birdwatching among the activities in Curieuse Marine National Park, and Nature Seychelles records flycatchers moved there in 2018.

For entry fees, see each operator's page.

Rules for watching birds in the reserves

Do not touch or disturb birds, eggs or nests, and follow the wardens: disturbing wildlife in the Veuve, Cousin and Aride reserves is an offence under regulations made under the National Parks and Nature Conservancy Act.

The regulations for these reserves, published by SPGA, make it an offence to kill, capture, disturb or destroy any animal, egg or nest, to bring in any living creature or plant, to light fires or to drop litter. Cousin's visitor code asks you not to use bright flashes or tripods that disturb the animals, not to smoke, not to take natural materials, and to follow the wardens' instructions. On Aride, access is only on the reserve's own boats, and ICS asks visitors not to try to land themselves, even by swimming ashore, so that invasive species stay out. The Vallée de Mai is a strict no-smoking area because of the fire risk, and Nature Seychelles notes that the black parrot is protected by law.