SiteMap View

SiteMap Hidden

Main Menu

About Us

Notice

Our Actions

E-gen Events

Our Actions

Endangered Bird Species in Indonesia

by | 11-05-2015 00:34


Indonesia is home of biodiversity. You can find thousands of endemic plants and animals in its tropical forest. However, deforestation, forest degradation lead to destruction of their habitats. Threat also comes from illegal trapping in response to worldwide demand of endemic animals. Through this article, I would like to show you several endangered bird species in Indonesia. They are beautiful but nowdays, difficult to be found in nature.  

 


1. Jalak Bali (Bali Starling or Bali Myna)

Bali Starling (Source: http://www.dephut.go.id/INFORMASI/TN%20INDO-ENGLISH/image/bali_barat.jpg)

Bali Myna (Leucopsar rothschildi) is endemic to the island of Bali, Indonesia, where it formerly ranged across the north-west third of the island. Illegal poaching reduced numbers to a critically low level in 1990, when the wild population was estimated at circa15 birds. This stunning starling qualifies as critically endangered because it has an extremely small range and a tiny population which is still suffering from illegal poaching for the cagebird trade. Releases of captively bred birds have boosted the population, but it is uncertain how many of these have yet bred successfully in the wild.


 

A population of Bali mynas now exists on the island of Nusa Penida and its sister islands of Nusa Ceningan, Nusa Lembongan, which are 14 km off the south east coast of Bali. The islands have been transformed into an "unofficial" bird sanctuary by, an Indonesian NGO based in Bali. They have been working for many years with the 40+ villages on the islands and persuading every village to pass a traditional Balinese village regulation to protect birds, and effectively removing the threat of poachers. 

 


2. Cendrawasih (Bird of Paradise)

Papua is the natural home of the beautifully colored Birds of Paradise widely admired for their exotic plumage. In Indonesia these rare birds are called Cendrawasih, the Indonesian name for the Paradisaeidae bird family, considered the most beautiful birds on the planet.



Because of the Birds? unique and stunning colors, they have for centuries been hunted, their feathers used for decoration and supposed mystical powers. There was once a myth that the birds had come from the gods and never touched the earth, and this myth only served to accentuate the value of the birds until their feathers were in such demand that the species nearly reached extinction. Birds of Paradise are currently listed as endangered species, but this has not stopped the illegal trade and export of the birds on the black market.



a. Cendrawasih Kecil (Lesser Bird of Paradise)

 Lesser Bird of Paradise


The Lesser Bird of Paradise, (Paradisaea minor) is perhaps one of the best known among the many species of Birds of Paradise. Its body has a coat of reddish-brown, and crowned with a head of bright yellow. Male birds sport a dark, emerald green throat and a pair of bright yellow and white long tail feathers. These birds are native to the northern forests of Papua as well as the surrounding islands such as at Raja Ampat?s Misool Island and in Yapen.




b. Cendrawasih Merah (Red Bird of Paradise) 


Red bird of paradise

It gets its name from its dominant color being a deep crimson red with wisps of white slashing through, and a bright green head. Males have dark patches around the eyes, twirling black cork-screw tail wires, and ornamental red plumes atop their head that may take as long as 6 years to attain. The female is similar, but with a brown face and no plumes. The Red Bird of Paradise is found in lowland forests and is endemic to the islands of Waigeo and Batanta in Raja Ampat, West Papua. 



 3. Kakaktua (Yellow-crested Cockatoo)


Yellow-crested Cockatoo

Yellow-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) is endemic to Timor-Leste and Indonesia, where it was formerly common throughout Nusa Tenggara (from Bali to Timor), on Sulawesi and its satellite islands, and the Masalembu Islands (in the Java Sea). It has undergone a dramatic decline, which is still ongoing, particularly in the last quarter of the 20th century, such that it is now extinct on many islands and close to extinction on most others. 


Source: 

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=1398

http://www.fnpf.org/what-we-do/nusa-penida-bali/wildlife/bali-starling-conservation-project?lang=id

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/07/birds-of-paradise/holland-text