In total, 58 species of waterbird were recorded on the grassed floodplain of the Middle Fly during surveys
in December 1994 and April 1995. The floodplain is an important dry-season habitat both in New Guinea
and internationally, with an estimated (+/- s.e.) 587249 +/- 62741 waterbirds in December. Numbers
decreased 10-fold between December and April to 54914 +/- 9790: the area was less important during the
wet season when it was more deeply inundated. Only magpie geese, comb-crested jacanas and spotted
whistling-ducks were recorded breeding on the floodplain. The waterbird community was numerically
dominated by fish-eating species, especially in December. Substantial proportions of the populations of
many species that occurred on the Middle Fly in December were probably dry-season migrants from
Australia, suggesting that migration across Torres Strait is important to the maintenance of waterbird
numbers in both New Guinea and Australia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.