East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste (officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste) is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia.
Located in southeast Asia, the island of Timor is part of the Malay archipelago, and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. To the north of the mountainous island are the Ombai Strait, Wetar Strait and the greater Banda Sea, to the south the Timor Sea separates the island from Australia, while to the west lies the Indonesian Province of East Nusa Tenggara. The highest point of East Timor is Mount Ramelau (also known as Mount Tatamailau) at 2,963 meters (9,721 ft).
The local climate is tropical and generally hot and humid, characterised by distinct rainy and dry seasons. The capital, largest city and main port is Dili, and the second-largest city is the eastern town of Baucau.
The easternmost area of Timor-Leste consists of the Paitchau Range and Iralalaro area. This area has been proposed as to be the first conservation area in Timor-Leste as it contains the last remaining Tropical Dry forested area within the country as well as hosts a number of unique plant and animal species and is sparsely populated. The Northern coast is characterized by a number of important coral reef systems that have been determined as being at risk.
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Important Bird Areas in Timor-Leste
- Key Sites for Conservation by Michael J Crosby 86 pages, tabs, col photos, maps. BirdLife International - Distributed by NHBS
ISBN: 9780946888597Buy this book from NHBS.com
CloudBirders was created by a group of Belgian world birding enthusiasts and went live on 21st of March 2013. They provide a large and growing database of birding trip reports, complemented with extensive search, voting and statistical features.
2013 [July] - Petri Hottola
I did my birdwatching along the north coast road, east of Los Palos (Muapitine, Malahara) and in Ossu (Mundo Perdido). Here are the details of the sites…
2013 [November] - James Eaton
…A short stop in the heat of the day at a beautiful roadside pond revealed plenty of breeding and feeding activity – several pairs of Australian Grebes were busy feeding their well-grown young, Dusky Moorhen lurked in the shadows while Green Pygmy Geese (a tarts tick for James!) lounged out on the floating logs with several Pied Cormorants and a single Australian Darter…