Compost, Alain

Milton, G Randy

English

KUKILA

Kukila 1986 2(4). AN EARLY ARRIVAL OF THE MALAYAN NIGHT-HERONGORSACHIUS MELANOLOPHUS IN JAVA?by Alain Compost and G. Randy Milton Received December 17 1985. Background. A member of Indonesia's avifauna that is rarely encountered is the Malayan Night-HeronGorsachius melanolophus. lt is described by Dammerman (1929), Kuroda (1936) and Hoogerwerf(1948, 1969) as a migrant from the Asian mainland, and a regular visitor throughout Java. Also amigrant to peninsular Malaysia, Medway & Wells (1976) provide extreme passage dates of 20October and 30 April for Fraser's Hill, and November and 5 April in the wintering habitat. Detailedinformation on confirmed dates is not available for Java, but ten specimens housed at the BogorZoology Museum provide extreme dates of 18 November and 25 March, while Kuroda (1936)records an earlier occurrence on 8 November. Thus previously published records and museumspecimens tend to agree on the period when the migrant is to be found within its wintering range. Arecent sighting of an individual outside this period poses an interesting possibility. Observations. During a photographic expedition in early August 1982 to the Cihandeuleum swamp (Figure 1) inthe Ujung Kulon National Park, on the south-western tip of Java, A.C. encountered an immatureMalayan Night-Heron. The bird was standing in an open area of the seasonally dry swampbetween the Cihandeuleum and Cigenter rivers. Although the bird immediately became aware ofthe presence of the observer,it initially made no effort to flee. This permitted a series ofphotographs (on file with A.C.) to be taken with an 80 200 mm zoom lens from different angles anddistances of less than ten metres. An examination of 22 photographs confirms its identity and status as an immature Malayan Night-Heron. A description of the bird's distinguishing features noted from the photographs follows: ablackish-grey nuchal crest with a white bar near the tips of the feathers; facial feathers blackish-grey with white giving a vermiculated appearance; pale yellow iris; a short stout bill with agreenish wash; black primaries with buff tips grading to white ends; black secondaries; greater primary coverts cinnamon with narrow white tips; greater secondary coverts andremaining wing coverts grey mottled, and concolorous with back; neck and underparts buffy streaked with black; and greenish legs. The flight feathers appeared well formed and complete,indicating the bird was fully fledged. When first observed, the bird was in the typical posture of foraging night herons and bitterns.When the bird saw A.C. it adopted a threat posture. This involved elevating the body, stretching the neck, erecting the crest, fluffing the facial and neck feathers, and dropping the wings.Approaching within six metres, the bird exhibited Increased nervousness and disappeared by walking into the undergrowth. This behaviour Initially caused us to believe that the bird was not yet fully fledged. However, the photo analysis and a report by Hoogerwerf (1969) that this specieswill often run into the undergrowth and only fly if approached too closely and presumably unexpectedly, convinced us of its fledged status. Distribution. The breeding distribution and movements of this species are poorly known. Hancock & Kushlan(1984) suggest that the migrants to Java originate from the breeding populations of north-east Indiaand south-east Asia (Thailand and Indo-China). The breeding area may extend north to Hainan 88 Vol02-04-1986-new Wednesday, September 03, 2003 4:31:17 PM Kukila 1986 2(4). (Hancock & Kushlan, op. cit.), but does not reach south to peninsular Malaysia (Medway & Wells1976). As stated above, passage and wintering times in peninsular Malaysia and Java are late October through March/April, while a high percentage of the migrants encountered in Malaysiaare immatures (D.R. Wells, pers.comm.). The sighting in Ujung Kulon in early August extends the period the Malayan Night-He.'on isknown to occur in its accepted non-breeding or wintering range by at least two months. A moreintriguing possibility is that this immature bird represents a successful breeding effort somewherewithin the boundaries of the national park. A possible location is for a pair to have nested inassociation with the small colony of egrets and herons in the Niur swamp region approximately 12km north-north-west of the sighting (Figure 1). If substantiated, this would represent both a newbreeding species for Indonesia and a southern hemisphere breeding population. Acknowledgements. We wish to thank the Green Indonesia Foundation (Yayasan Indonesia Hijau) for funding thephotographic expedition, and the World Wildlife Fund for providing the facilities to prepare thisreport as part of WWF/1UCN Project 3132 Indonesia. Monitoring of species, habitats andconservation areas. Figure 1. Map showing location of Ujung Kulon National Park and sighting of the Malayan Night-Heron Gorsachius melanolophus. Map adapted from Hoogerwerf (1970). 89 Vol02-04-1986-new Wednesday, September 03, 2003 4:31:17 PM Kukila 1986 2(4). References. Dammerman, K.W. 1929. On the zoogeography of Java. Treubia 11: 1^88. Hancock, J. & J. Kushlan, 1984. The Herons Handbook. Croom Helm, London. Hoogerwerf, A 1948. Contribution to the knowledge of the distribution of birds on the island ofJava, with remarks on some new birds. Treubia 19: 83137. Hoogerwerf, A 1969. On the ornithology of the rhino sanctuary, Ujung Kulon in West Java(Indonesia). Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Soc. 23: 965. Hoogerwerf. A. 1970 Udjung Kulon the land of the last Javan Rhinoceros. E.J. Brill, Leiden, Kuroda. N 1936 Birds of the island of Java. Vol. II. Nonpasseres. Tokyo. Medway, Lord & D.R. Wells, 1976. The birds of the Malay Peninsula. Vol. V. Conclusion and survey ofevery species. Witherby. London and Penerbit University Malaya. Addresses; A. Compost, Green Indonesia Foundation, P.O. Box 208, Bogor 16001, West Java, Indonesia. G.R. Milton, World Wildlife Fund, P.O. Box 133, Bogor 16001, West Java, Indonesia. (FigureHeading:) NOTES ON SOME BIRDS OF TIMOR by Paul Andrew Received January 16 1986 The standard works on the birds of Timor were published by Hellmayr (1914, 1916) and Mayr(1944). Both authors described the resident avifauna carefully but dealt as cursorily with migrantsas had the collectors who provided the specimens. Consequently, after three short field trips madein 1973 to what is now the province of East Timor, McKean et al. (1975) added over 25 species to theTimor list (cf. Mees 1976). In 1985 the author made two trips to south-west Timor, the first from 27February 30 March and the second from 28 August 3 October. . A number of species which werepreviously either unknown or little known in Timor or the Lesser Sundas were recorded, often asquite common, and notes on 15 of them are presented here. A number of records were corroboratedby Tom M. Gullick and these are followed by his initials (T.M.G.) All the records were made in 1985and refer either to an area of mudflats at the head of the Bay of Kupang, West Timor (10° 2'S, 123°6'E), or to the Bina Plain beside the Mina river near the south coast of West Timor (10° 8'S, 124° 7'E). Seven species of Palaearctic waders are listed, all previously overlooked on Timor and not mentioned by Mayr (1944), McKean et al. (1975) or Mees (1976). All records refer to the mudflats atthe head of the Bay of Kupang. Pelecanus conspicillatus Australian Pelican At least 48 birds, all adult, were present throughout September in the Bay of Kupang and a further37 were regularly seen on ponds on the Bina Plain in the same month. Local residents at Tambak Oebelo, a complex of fishponds on the mudflats at the head of the bay, insist that the species isresident. They also claim to have killed a thousand pelicans in a few days, insist that exhaustedbirds were plucked from the sea or run down on the mudflats, but are not clear as to the year in 90Vol02-04-1986-new Wednesday, September 03, 2003 4:31:17 PM 

An early arrival of the Malayan Night Heron Gorsachius melanolophus in Java

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An early arrival of the Malayan Night Heron Gorsachius melanolophus in Java

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