A historical review is presented on the taxonomic and distributional status of the Sunda Coucal Centropus nigrorufus. It is concluded that this species is endemic to Java, and that it does not occur on Sumatra as has been suggested. Its distribution In Java and habitat requirements are discussed

Andrew, Paul

English

KUKILA

KUKILA 5 No. 1 (1990): 56 - 64 THE STATUS OF THE SUNDA COUCAL Centropus nigrorufus CUVIER By Paul Andrew Summary A historical review Is presented on the taxonomic and distributional status of the Sunda Coucal Centropus nigrorufus. It Is concluded that this species Is endemic to Java, and that it does not occur on Sumatra as has been suggested. Its distribution In Java and habitat requirements are discussed. Ringkasan DIkemukakan sebuah pandangan sejarahtentang status taksonoml dan sebaran wilayahdari Centropus nigrorufus. Disimpulkan bahwa jenis ini bersifat endemik untuk Pulau Jawa, dan bahwa jenis ini tidak ditemukan di Sumatera sebagaimana yang diperklrakan selama ini.Juga di diskusikan tentang penyebarannyadi Pulau Jawa serta kebutuhan habitatnya. The genus Centropus is represented on Java by the Greater Coucal C. sinensis, the Lesser Coucal C. bengalensis and the Sunda Coucal C nigrorufus. The first two are widespread in the Indo-Malayan region and common on Java. The Sunda Coucal, however, is probably endemic to the island and vulnerable to extinction (Collar and Andrew 1989). This review of historical and contemporary records is intended to clarify its distribution and status. The 'Sumatran' specimen. The Sunda Coucal had a colourful first hundred years in the ornithological literature, being the subject of fraud and considerable carelessness (see comments on Levaillant in Stresemann 1975:97, and Sharpe 1873:621). It was confused with the African C. grillii HARTLAUB 1861, for fifty years, until Finsch (1902) reviewed its synonymy (see Appendix 1) and determined that it was found on Sumatra (citing Shelley 1891) and Java (citing specimens received from Vorderman, see below). The Sumatran provenance persists in the literature though its basis is a single specimen, a syntype of Centropus purpureus SHELLEY1891 (see Warren 1966). Shelley (1891) had two specimens to hand. The first was purchased by the British Museum from the collection of Baron Laugier de Chartreuse in Jun 1837 at a sale in Paris and was labelled 'purpureus' and 'Mindanao'. The second was in the Raffles Collection from the India Museum and labelled 'Sumatra'. 57 1990 The Sunda Coucal Although Shelley adopted the name purpureus, he considered the Philippines an unlikely source (Shelley 1891:349; see also Hachisuka 1934:222) and determined that the species inhabited Sumatra. The label on the second specimen proves to be the sole basis for supposing that nigrorufus occurs on Sumatra; the only supporting reference in the literature can be discredited. Raffles (1822:286) used Cuculus [= Centropus] bubutus HORSFIELD 1821, in his account of his ornithological work on Sumatra, and specifically referred to Horsfield (1821:180). Nonetheless Shelley (1891:348) assumed the name had been incorrectly applied and took bubutus ('Cuculus bubutus RAFFLES [1822] (nec HORSFIELD [1821])') to be an unavailable name when he applied purpureus . 1 Finsch (1902) later adopted Shelley's findings. 2However, the description given by Raffles is consistent with Centropus bubutus HORSFIELD 1821; in fact, Horsfield subsequently listed 'Centropus bubutus RAFFLES' as a synonym of Centropus philippensis javanicus HORSFIELD (Horsfield 1824: text to P1.59; Oberholser 1921 for pagination), the latter name intended by him to replace his C. bubutus of 1821 (cf. Mees 1989) . 3 Until proved otherwise, nigrorufus is best treated as a Javan endemic, a course followed by van Marle and Voous (1988:114) and Holmes and Nash (1989:31), though not MacKinnon (1988:176). Distribution on Java Vorderman acquired six specimens of nigrorufus on Java. He noted that it occurred in the wastelands (= "alang-alang en kreupelhoutwildernissen") around Jakarta (Vorderman 1892:382). He later said it was a common bird in Saccharum and Imperata swamp (= "glagah- en alang-alang wildernissen") and that his hunters had procured specimens at Mantup and along the Kali Mas (=langsde Kalimaas 7°12'S,112°44'E) near Surabaya 1 If C. bubutus of Raffles (1822) were accepted as an available name, it would become a junior, objective homonym of C. bubutus of Horsfield (1821), and hence inapplicable on this basis (M.D. Bruce). 2 Raffles (1822) said; "The whole body is of a deep blue colour with a green gloss. The wings are of a bright-red brown". These features are characteristic of C. sinensis. The body of C. nigrorufus is strongly glossed purple and the wings are extensively dusky; the coverts and all retrices are tipped brown. 3 Horsfield's "javanica [ = javanicus] is not affected by C javanensis (DUMONT 1818), although the latter is sometimes spelled javanicus (cf. Peters 1940:72), and is therefore a junior, objective synonym of Centropus bubutus HORSFIELD 1821 (M.D. Bruce). 58 P. Andrew KUKILA 5 No. 1 (Vorderman 1900:209). Bartels (1902:142) added that it was not uncommon around Surabaya and Kediri . 4It was certainly locally common once: between 1895 and 1927 Max Bartels collected 25 specimens (in Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historic, Leiden, Netherlands [RMNH]) in the estuarine swamps 0 0around Jakarta, mainly in the Citarum delta north of Karawang (e.g. Muara Gembong 6 01'S, 107 01'E; 0 0 0 0Tanjung Karawang 5 57'S, 107 E; Tanjung Sedari 5 57'S, 107 18'E, co-ordinates in Anon. 1968). In the same area he collected the only eggs known, three clutches in March (1) and June (2), at Cabang 0 0 0Bungan 5 56'S,107"05'E [presumably = Tjabang Bungin 5 56'S, 107 05'E], and Telar Cilisang [presumably = Telar Tjilesung 5°58'S,107°17'E] (cf. Hellebrekers and Hoogerwerf 1967). There are a few more recent records from the Jakarta area. Hoogerwerf saw the bird twice in the vicinity of Jakarta, once in alang-alang near the coast and once beside a pool at the edge of mangrove (Hoogerwerf and Siccama 1938:67). Rengers Hora Siccama also reported shooting one of several seen during a day spent on one of the rivers near Jakarta (Hoogerwerf and Siccama 1938:68). In the years 1939 to 1941 nigrorufus was still locally common in the swamps of the Citarum delta and also recorded 0 0in the marshes west of Jakarta at Cenkareng (6 9'S,106 .43'E) (J.H. Becking). It was also found in mangrove patches in the Jakarta area in 1949 (G.F. Mees). Citing Vorderman and Bartels, Finsch (1902), and later Kuroda (1936:474), concluded that nigrorufus was widespread on Java, though to date it has been recorded at few'localities (see Map 1). In 1927 Verbeek collected a specimen in a teak wood (="djatibosch") near Randublatung (Hoogerwerf 1948). In 1941 Hoogerwerf saw one about a mile from the coast on the Cikarang in Ujong Kulon (Hoogerwerf 1970:490). The only other observations are from Segara Anakan where it was rather common in Avicennia, Acrostichum and associated swamp vegetation in 1939 -1942 (J.H. Becking) and in 1986 and 1988 (Andrew 1988, Erftemeijer et al. 1988 Habitat. Hoogerwerf (1970:491) suggested that nigrorufus was primarily a bird of tidal forest, including swamp-fern Acrostichum. It was found to be common in November 1988 in degraded mangrove at the mouth of the Cimanuk, where sinensis was not recorded (S. van Balen), but at Segara Anakan sinensis occupies the solid stands of Rhizophora and Bruguiera (Erftemeijer et al. 1988:53) and nigrorufus occurs in the fringing swamps, including the pioneer Avicenia. Indeed, mangrove is not explicitly mentioned in the historical literature though estuarine rivers are a consistent feature. The vegetation noted include Acrostichum, Nypa, Saccharum and Imperata, all swamp vegetation usually associated with rivers and estuaries (see Silvius et al. 1987). Randublatung, a locality Hoogerwerf (1948) thought unusual, is on the Solo (see Map 1), and inland grass swamps are still a feature of this river (Silvius et al. 1987:97). 4 "Nicht selten bei Soerabaya und in Kediri". Max Bartles spent two years in East Java. His use of Kediri is uncertain. There are no specimens from Kediri and Bartels (1902:142, 1906:511) is the sole authority for the locality. Kediri, however, is on the Kali Branta and the species may have occurred that far inland. 59 1990 The Sunda Coucal It is difficult to determine a species' ancestral habitat on an island that has been so substantially modified. The majority of specimens are from estuarine areas where, until recently, mangrove and brackish-water swamp predominated (see Whitmore, 1984). The only recent records are from areas where extensive mangrove still exists and mangrove-associated swamp can be considered the primary habitat. The areas of freshwater swamp and grassland scrub adjacent to brackish-water swamp are probably a secondary habitat that may not support the species in the long term. Unfortunately, tambak (= fish and shrimp ponds) may not support nigrorufus either; only sinensis was reported from tambak in the Brantas and Solo deltas (Erftemeijer and Djuharsa 1988:81), and only bengalensis and sinensis have recently been recorded in the extensive tambak near Jakarta. Whether tambak is inherently unsuitable or nigrorufus is excluded by .rine/uu is not known. Status Swamp, both fresh and brackish-water, is now mostly under rice or convened to tambak or salt pans. According to Erftemeijer and Djuharsa (1988:23) the area of tambak on Java was 50,000ha in 1915 (cf. Koningsberger 1915), 80,000ha in 1952 (cf. Schuster 1952) and 98,680ha in 1983 (cf. Silvius et at 1987). In some areas a band of mangrove is left between the tambak and the sea, but such stands are normally narrow and lack the diverse vegetation that accompanies natural mangrove forest. Silvius et al (1987) identified 34 wetland sites on Java; few of these can be expected to maintain viable populations of nigrorufus as most are areas of tambak, small islands, or coastal sites on coral platforms that contain little brackish-water swamp. At the moment, there is no evidence that nigrorufus survives outside of the relict patches of mangrove and associated swamp between Tanjung Karawang and Indramayu (including, possibly, swamps at the mouth of the Bobos 6°13S,107°47E) and Segara Anakan. The viability of populations in these isolated areas is uncertain, but the prognosis is poor; the total area of mangrove between Karawang and Indramayu is estimated at less than 4,000 ha (Silvius et al. 1987). The estimated 18,000 ha of mangrove at Segara Anakan is not protected though management plans have been proposed (Erftemeijer et a.l 1988:12). Given the paucity of recent records, it is surprising that nigrorufus turns up so frequently in bird markets. It is not an attractive cage-bird, yet one was purchased in a bird-market in 1982 in Jakarta, another in 1985 in Yogyakarta (see Andrew 1988), and three were found for sale in 1989 in Jakarta (A. van den Berg). It can be hoped that nigrorufus has been widely overlooked; only sinensis and bengalensis have been seen in the northern coastal swamps of Ujong Kulon in recent years, though nigrorufus presumably survives there as much of the tidal forest remains undisturbed (see Andrew 1988, S. van Balen). However,, without a better understanding of the ecological requirements of nigrorufus, particularly with regard to competitive exclusion by sinensis, the future of the enigmatic Sunda Coucal cannot be secured. 60 P. Andrew KUKILA 5 No. 1 Map 1 Java and Bali showing the major rivers and localities where Centropus nigrorufus has been recorded. 1. Ujong Kulon (Hoogerwerf 1970); 2. Jakarta (= Batavia; Vorderman 1892, 1900 and 1901, Koningsberger 1901, van Oort 1910, Hoogerwerf and Siccama 1938); 3. Karawang (RMNH 1895-1927 Bartels); 4. Indramayu (= Indramajoe; RMNH 1925 Sody, B.van Balen); 5. Segara Anakan (Andrew 1988, Erftemeijer ef ai 1988); 6. Randublatung (= Randoeblatoeng; Hoogerwerf 1948 and see Sody 1953); 7. Cepu (= Tjepoe; RMNH 1926 Verbeek); 8. Kediri (Bartels 1906); 9. Mantup (= Mantoop; Vorderman 1900); 10. Surabaya (= Soerabajasche; Vorderman 1900, = Soerabaya; Bartels 1902 and 1906). 61 1990 The Sunda Coucal Appendix 1 The following references are attributable to Centropus nigrorufus CUVIER. The localities in parentheses are the provenances given by the author. ['Le Coucal noirou'] Levaillant 1806:78 P1.220; Cuvier 1816:426 (Africa); [Corydohix bicolor] Vieillot 1819:297 (Africa); Horsfield 1824: footnote to text accompanying P1.59 (Africa); Stephens 1826:213 (Africa); Lesson 1831:135 (Africa); Gray 1846:455 (Africa); Bonaparte 1850:107 (Africa); Sundevall 1857:48 (Africa); Cabanis and Heine 1863:107 (Africa); Schlegel 1862:64 (Africa and Java); Layard 1867:245 (Africa); Vorderman 1892:382 (Africa and Java); [Centropus purpureus] Shelley 1891:348 P1.13 (Sumatra); Vorderman 1900:208 (Sumatra and Java); Neumann 1902:75 (Sumatra and Java); Finsch 1902:157 (Sumatra and Java). Acknowledgements I would like to thank S. van Balen, J.H. Becking, A. van den Berg, M.D. Bruce, P. Erftemeijer and G.F. Mees for the use of their personal notes and generous help with earlier drafts of the paper. References Andrew, P. 1988. Little known Oriental birds: the Sunda Coucal. Bull. Oriental Bird Cl. 7:24-26. Anonymous 1968 Indonesia. 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The status of the Sunda Coucal Ceiitropus nigrorufus Cuvier.

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The status of the Sunda Coucal Ceiitropus nigrorufus Cuvier.

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