Improving the perception of Christmas Island Frigatebirds by local fishermen on Pulau Untung Jawa, Jakarta, using the Penyuluhan method

Human-wildlife conflict is a major threat to many declining wildlife species worldwide. The roosting population of the endangered Christmas Island Frigatebird at Pulau Rambut, Teluk Jakarta, is prone to entanglement in fishing lines and nets used by local fishermen for catching fish. We  conducted interviews with local fishermen during May-July 2018 in order to quantify their perception of the frigatebird. Subsequently we conducted an educational program about frigatebirds by means of penyuluhan, an Indonesian style, culturally-sensitive, informal discussion technique. There was significantly greater positive perception of Frigatebirds in the group attending a series of informative penyuluhan meetings compared to the control group. As Indonesia has a strong oral tradition, we believe that this method offers potential benefits as a tool to improve conservation outcomes for threatened species

Rück’s Blue-flycatcher Cyornis ruckii: the evidence revisited

Photographs and measurements of all four known specimens of Cyornis ruckii are provided. One of the two adult males has the underparts entirely blue, the other has the lower belly and vent greyish-white; a widely available illustration shows far too much white on the underparts. Contrary to speculation, the specimens are not aberrant Pale Blue Flycatchers C. unicolor. Review of early texts reveals that no locality was ever given for the first two specimens and that the second two, from near Medan, Sumatra, were almost certainly taken in primary forest, not exploited forest as currently stated. Searches should target primary lowland forest in northern Sumatra

Distribution and abundance of introduced Common and Javan Mynas in metropolitan and suburban areas of Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo

Counts of the invasive Common Myna Acridotheres tristis and Javan Myna A. javanicus were carried out in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, Borneo, and in surrounding suburbs, over a period of 30 months from July 2013 to December 2015. Ten areas were sampled each month using 3 km-long line transects. Combining all 30 months, a total of 3,913 mynas were counted, of which 75% were Common Mynas, and 25% Javan Mynas. Population densities were estimated at 0.78 and 0.72 individuals ha-1 for Common and Javan Mynas, respectively. The Common Myna was widely distributed in Kuching and suburbs of Kota Samarahan division, whereas the Javan Myna was confined to metropolitan Kuching. The distribution of these two species was thought to be influenced mostly by food and nest site availability

Breeding season of the Endangered White (Umbrella) Cockatoo, and possible competition for nest holes with Blyth’s (Papuan) Hornbill in North Maluku, Indonesia

The White Cockatoo Cacatua alba is endemic to the North Molucca islands and is considered Endangered mostly due to unsustainable levels of trapping for the pet trade. Little is known about its breeding biology in the wild, except that it nests in tall trees during the early part of the year. We made brief observations of two active nests of White Cockatoos on Halmahera and another on Ternate in February and March 2014, and estimate the egg laying dates of two of these nests as mid-October and mid-November. Combined with other data, the breeding season appears to extend from October to May or June. All three nests were visited by Blyth’s Hornbills Rhyticeros plicatus, a species which occurs throughout North Maluku, as well as New Guinea. One nest was subsequently abandoned. In September and November 2014, we observed two active nest cavities of hornbills, one of which was inspected by a cockatoo, and the other, approached closely by cockatoos. Both hornbill nests were reported to have been used previously by White Cockatoos, suggesting that the two species may either share or compete for the same nest cavities. Sharing of cavities may be facilitated by partly non-overlapping breeding seasons, as Blyth’s Hornbill reportedly lays eggs from August to October in the region. However, as the nest cycle of both species is c.4 months, it is possible that early nesting pairs of one species may attempt to usurp nest cavities occupied by the other species. The potential for nest competition may be exacerbated on small islands where deforestation has reduced the number of nest cavities available for hole-nesting species

New and Significant Bird Records from Bintan Island, Riau Archipelago, Indonesia in 2018

Pulau Bintan is the largest island in the Riau Archipelago, Indonesia. During two brief visits in 2018, a total of eight species new to the island were recorded, increasing the island’s bird checklist to 189 species. These new records are Grey Heron Ardea cinerea, Intermediate Egret Ardea intermedia, Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus, Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo Chalcites basalis, Tiger Shrike Lanius tigrinus, White-headed Munia Lonchura maja, Sooty-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus aurigaster and Javan Myna Acridotheres javanicus. Three of our new records appear to be new for the Riau Archipelago, increasing the avifaunal checklist for the archipelago to 232 species. Following years of development, little primary vegetation remains on Bintan Island, and our failure to detect any woodpeckers by sight or sound during our visits is worrying in terms of the importance of these birds to ecosystem sustainability. Nonetheless, the island retains sizeable area of natural forests, including some swamp forest patches, and our new and significant records suggest its avifaunal diversity is still understudied and underestimated. We call for relevant Indonesian government agencies and the Bintan Resorts, which manage the northern portion of the island for tourism development, to strengthen efforts in biodiversity research and conservation, as well as habitat restoration, so as to attain the development goal of making Bintan a true “eco-island” for international tourism

Nest, egg and vocalisations of the Green-backed Robin Pachycephalopsis hattamensis in the Arfak Mountains, West Papua

The Green-backed Robin Pachycephalopsis hattamensis is a near-endemic species of Papua (Indonesian New Guinea; Irian Jaya). Its breeding behaviour is poorly known, and its nest, egg and clutch-size were unknown prior to our study. We describe the nest and egg of a Green-backed Robin found near Kwau village in the Arfak Mountains, Papua, in mid-November 2012. A second nest with one young in late January 2012 confirms that the breeding season occurs during the wet season, at least from November to January, in the Arfak Mountains. The nest and egg are similar to those reported for the congeneric White-eyed Robin P. poliosoma in Papua New Guinea, and both species may have clutch-size of one. In our study area, the most frequent and persistent vocalisations of the Green-backed Robin, depicted in two spectrograms, were tu-wee sounds, uttered by both sexes. Other vocalisations heard were a piping whistle and a raspy chur-chatter. The function of these vocalisations is discussed and compared with other Australasian robins. We also describe interactions between the sexes and neighbours

Ongoing illicit trade of Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor: one-year market monitoring in Medan, North Sumatra

Many Indonesian birds are severely threatened or already at the brink of extinction due to the flourishing illicit bird trade. One such species is the Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor, endemic to Sumatra. From March 2015 to February 2016 we assessed the extent of trade of Sumatran Laughingthrushes by recording monthly turnovers from the six most prominent bird vendors in Medan’s Jalan Bintang market. In total, 2610 wild-caught individuals were traded, despite a considerable decline in market supply over the year. Total market mortality reached 16%. Mortality varied significantly during the year but was not dependent on the number of traded individuals each month. Monitoring revealed that the most frequently harvested localities were located in Aceh, North and West Sumatra and Riau province. Since the current estimate of the maximum population size of the species in the wild is 10,000 mature individuals, the level of trade is clearly unsustainable, and if not stopped, could lead to its extinction in near future