NATURAL HiSTO

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Natural History Museum Library

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Cover picture: Grosbeak Starlings Scissirostrum dubium, Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, 27 March 2007

by Christian H. Schulze

FORKTAIL

Number 31, 2015

CONTENTS

J. A. EATON, C. R. SHEPHERD, F. E. RHEINDT, J. B. C. HARRIS, S. (B.) van BALEN, D. S. WILCOVE & N. J. COLLAR

Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia . 1

N. J. COLLAR, J. del HOYO & F. JUTGLAR

The number of species and subspecies in the Red-bellied Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster complex: a quantitative

analysis of morphological characters . . . 13

ARNE E. JENSEN, TIMOTHY H. FISHER + & ROBERT 0. HUTCHINSON

Notable new bird records from the Philippines . 24

ANDREW DIXON, MA MING & NYAMBAYAR BATBAYAR

Importance of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau for the Endangered Saker Falcon Falco cherrug . 37

DING LI Y0NG& YANG LIU

Passage of Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias brunneatus through Singapore, with notes on wintering

status in South-East Asia . . . 43

WU FEI, LIU LUMING, GAO JIANYUN, YAN DAO, HU WANZHAO, YANG TING, XIA Jl, LIU QIANG & YANG XIAOJUN

Birds of the Ailao Mountains, Yunnan province, China . 47

KIRK A. HART, CHANG-YONG CHOI, ALEXANDER L. BOND, GRANT R. W. HUMPHRIES, JEONG-CHIL YOO & KI-BAEK NAM

Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas of the Korean Peninsula: distribution, status and potential threats . 55

BEA MAAS, TEJA TSCHARNTKE & CHRISTIAN H. SCHULZE

Loss of remnant trees causes local population collapse of endemic Grosbeak Starling Scissirostrum dubium

in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia . . . 64

CHRIS GOODDIE

Ornithological records from Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia . 70

CHONG LEONG PUAN, DING LI YONG, BADRUL AZHAR, MUI HOW PHUA & KIM CHYE LIM

Ecological correlations of nocturnal bird assemblages in Malaysian Borneo . 82

PARAS BIKRAM SINGH & DAVID L. BUCKINGHAM

Population status and habitat ecology of Bristled Grassbird Chaetornis striata in Chitwan National Park, central Nepal . 87

DAVID J. STANTON, JOHN A. ALLCOCK & PAUL J. LEADER

Wintering and migratory behaviour of Eurasian Bitterns Botaurus stellaris at Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong, China . 92

ANDREW HART REEVE, JOHN C. MITTERMEIER, PIERRE-HENRI FABRE, IRFAN ROSYADI, JONATHAN D. KENNEDY &TRI HARYOKO

New additions to the avifauna of Obi island, Indonesia, with comments on migration and breeding seasonality

of Moluccan birds . . . 98

LE MANH HUNG, MARK B. ROBBINS, NATHAN H. RICE & DIEGO ROLDAN-PINA

Survey of the avifauna of Van Ban Nature Reserve, Lao Cai province, Vietnam . 103

Short Notes

J. A. EATON &N.J. COLLAR

The taxonomic status of Pycnonotus bimaculatus snouckaerti . 1 07

CHANG-YONG CHOI, HYUN-YOUNG NAM & WOO-SHIN LE

Growth of Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis nestlings . 1 1 0

ANTHONY M. LOWNEY, MERLIJN VAN WEERD & SELVINO R. DE KORT

Species rank of Isabela Oriole Oriolus isabellae and White-lored Oriole O. albiloris reinforced by song playback responses . . 113

XUESONG HAN, YUMIN GUO, LIJIA WEN & CHUNRONG Ml

New Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis subpopulation recorded in southern Tibet, China . . 116

NATURAL Hv‘.

MUSEUM UBi

- 9 MAY 2016

L

Forktail 31 (2015)

QIANG LIU, PAUL BUZZARD & XU LUO

Rapid range expansion of Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans in China . 118

N. NAMWONG & G. A. GALE

Nest-site selection and nesting ecology of Red-breasted Parakeet Psittacula alexandri in dry dipterocarp forest,

western Thailand . 121

D. M. BROOKS & H. C. MIRANDA Jr.

Distribution of Palawan Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron napoleonis morphs . . . 124

Erratum . . . . . . . . . 126

Guidelines for contributors . . . . . . . . . . . ....inside back cover

FORKTAIL 31 (2015): 1-12

Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions

of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia

J. A. EATON, C. R. SHEPHERD, F. E. RHEINDT, J. B. C. HARRIS, S. (B.) van BALEN, D. S. WILCOVE & N. J. COLLAR

Commercial trade, almost always for pets, represents a major threat to bird species and subspecies in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java and Bali,

Indonesia. Thirteen species— Silvery Woodpigeon Columba argentine i, Javan Hawk-eagle Nisaetus bartelsi, Helmeted Hornbill Rhinoplax

vigil, Yellow-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea, Scarlet-breasted Lorikeet Trichoglossus forsteni, Javan Green Magpie Cissa thalassina,

Black-winged Myna Acridotheres melanopterus, Bali Myna Leucopsar rothschildi, Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotuszeylanicus, Javan White-eye

Zosterops flavus, Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush Garrulax rufifrons, Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor and Java Sparrow Lonchura

oryzivora — are identified as at greatly elevated risk of global extinction from trade pressures, plus the nominate Javan race of Crested Jay

Platylophus galericulatus, the races tricolor, hypolizus, opisthochrus, melanurus, omissus and barbouri of White-rumped Shama Copsychus

malabaricus, rac ejalla of Asian Pied Starling Gracupica contra, races miotera, robusta and (extralimital) venerata of Hill Myna Gracula religiosa,

and races rookmakeri and laurinae of Silver-eared Mesia Leiothrixargentauris. Scarlet-breasted Lorikeet Trichoglossus forsteni race djampeanus,

White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus races opisthochrus, omissus and nigricauda and Hill Myna Gracula religiosa race miotera may

already be extinct. However, this is a conservative list because (a) some candidates simply lack information to indicate trade as a threat, (b)

taxonomic revision will probably increase the number of full species at risk from trade, and (c) taxonomically undifferentiated populations

were not included in this review. As certain favoured species disappear, others are targeted as next-best substitutes (e.g. Grey-cheeked Bulbul

Alophoixus bres for Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus), and commercial breeders may hybridise taxa for better effects (e.g. non-

Indonesian subspecies of Asian Pied Starling Gracupica contra with Indonesian race jalla). Law enforcement, public awareness campaigns,

in situ management, conservation breeding, conversion of trappers to wardens and field, market and genetic surveys are all needed, but

commercial breeding, while attractive in theory, presents difficulties that are probably insurmountable in practice.

INTRODUCTION

There is growing concern over the impact of commercial trade (for

pets, food, ornaments and medicines) on animal populations in

South-East Asia, and over the number of species being pushed towards

extinction as a consequence (Nijman 2010, Duckworth etal. 2012).

Populations of numerous vertebrate taxa from fish to mammals are in

serious decline in the wild owing to the pressure exerted on them by

illegal and/or unsustainable legal trade, compounded by unchecked

demand, weak legislation, lax enforcement, institutional indifference

and systemic corruption (Nijman 2010). Birds are reportedly the

most traded among the higher classes of animals (Bush etal. 2014),

and Indonesia, with its long tradition of bird-keeping (Jepson &

Ladle 2005) and its high levels of biological diversity already under

great pressure from habitat loss (Myers et al. 2000), holds the

greatest number of globally threatened bird species for which trade

is registered as a significant threat — 28, with Brazil following at 24

and China at 18 (A. Symes in litt. 2015).

In recent years some first steps have been taken to document

the scale of the bird trade in Sundaic Indonesia (Jepson & Ladle

2005, Chngef al. 2015) and its impact on some species (Shepherd

2006, 2007, 201 1, Chng et al. 2015, Harris etal. 2015, Shepherd et

al. 2015), as well as to provide a safeguard against the extinction of

some of these species through the establishment of ex situ breeding

populations (Collar etal. 2012, Owen etal. 2014). These initiatives

have been largely extemporary in nature, with the ex situ work in

particular driven by alarm and opportunity, much of it led by what

is now called the Threatened Asian Songbird Alliance (TASA),

operating as a formal body of the European Association of Zoos and

Aquaria (EAZA). Here, therefore, we seek to assemble and assess

the evidence to provide an overview of how serious trade is as an

existential threat to avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia.

METHODS

By trade we mean both domestic and international, but in this

paper the focus is almost entirely on domestic commerce, almost

entirely for pets. By ‘Sundaic’ Indonesia we mean Sumatra, Java,

Bali and Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan) and the islands that are

biogeographically associated with them; these are largely the focus

of the bird trade in Indonesia (Nash 1993, Shepherd et al. 2004).

We exclude Wallacea and West Papua from consideration here,

although these regions also experience significant pressure from the

bird trade, notably in parrots (see, e.g., Smiet 1985, Inskipp et al.

1988, Lambert 1993, Pangau-Adam & Noske 2010), but we include

certain cases where the ‘Sundaic’ species under consideration have

populations or subspecies present in Wallacea.

We provide brief outlines of the situation of each taxon from a

patchwork of sources involving published and unpublished writings,

the CITES trade database, market observations, personal records

in the wild, and correspondence and conversations with other

ornithologists and birdwatchers. Our conclusions — including

the selection of taxa for treatment in the present paper — largely

derive from a combination of our own collective experience and

knowledge with those of others working on birds in the region.

We also benefited from the judgement and information of the

35 international experts (including authors JAE, CRS, FER and

NJC) who attended the first Asian Songbird Crisis Summit, held

in Singapore, September 2015, to discuss and formulate plans to

respond to trade-driven population crashes.

Taxonomy, sequence and geographical distribution follow del

Hoyo & Collar (2014) for non-passerines and Inskipp etal. (1996)

for passerines, except that in the latter case (a) we accept species

status for Javan Green Magpie Cissa thalassina (van Balen et al.

2013) and Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor (Collar

2006), (b) we acknowledge that ‘Black-winged Starling Sturnus

melanopterus is an Acridotheres myna and that Asian Pied Starling

Sturnus contra belongs in the genus Gracupica (Feare& Craig 1998,

Lovette etal. 2008, Zuccon etal. 2008) and (c) we use other sources

to supplement distributional information.

Information based on our own fieldwork and deriving from

our own enquiries is credited to the relevant author’s initials. We

present the results in taxonomic sequence of species, with subspecies

treated under the parent species, and the current IUCN threat status

is given in abbreviated form (CR = Critically Endangered, EN =

2

J. A. EATON etal.

Forktail 31 (2015)

Endangered, VU = Vulnerable, NT = Near Threatened and LC =

Least Concern). NP stands for National Park.

RESULTS

In this review we identify 13 species in Sundaic Indonesia that

we believe to be at risk of global extinction with trade as the

major threat; in the case of four of these species, 11 subspecies

are recognised, all of which are necessarily also threatened. We

also identify 14 further subspecies (marked *) that we suspect on

the evidence we muster probably to be at risk of global extinction

from the same cause but which belong to five species that are

globally (relatively) secure (IUCN Least Concern). Regrettably

five subspecies — Scarlet-breasted Lorikeet Trichoglossus forsteni

djampeanus , White-rumped Shama Copsychus malaharicus

opisthochrus , C. m. omissus, C. m. nigricauda and Hill Myna Gracula

religiosa miotera — are probably already extinct, at least in the wild,

due primarily to trade (although the Trichoglossus evidently suffered

also from habitat loss).

Silvery Pigeon Columba argentine) (CR)

This species is historically known from a small number of locations

on or islands associated with Sumatra and Borneo, including the

South China Sea (Yong 2009); fewer than 50 mature individuals

are estimated to survive (BirdLife International 2015). Without

providing details, Nash (1993) reportedly observed birds in trade

in Indonesia and Singapore in 1991-1993. However, the factors

that have brought it to its current IUCN status were not thought to

include trade (BirdLife International 2001), and the species was only

rediscovered this century after a 75-year absence of records (Lee et

al. 2009, Eaton &c Roussow 201 1). However, the near-simultaneous

appearance on the internet of an image taken in July 2000 by

Crimson Lam, an aviculturist (http://www.borneobirdimages.

com/bird/silvery_pigeon /6l47#navigation), of two birds in a

Hong Kong aviary prompted concern that trade might compound

the difficulties the species faces (Lee et al. 2009). Certainly on

present evidence, with only a few sites known and tiny numbers at

each, trade could easily cause insular extinctions and quickly lead

to global extinction.

Javan Hawk Eagle Nisaetus bartelsi (EN)

This raptor, known from over 60 forested sites on Java from Ujung

Kulong (far west) to Alas Purwo (far east), is threatened by habitat

loss and trade, with 30-40 individuals, conceivably equivalent

to the species’s annual output, being taken each year (BirdLife

International 2001). Only 300-500 mature individuals are

estimated to survive (BirdLife International 2015), although new

sites for the species have been found on Java, perhaps as escapes —

reflecting the intensity of trade, which has taken birds to Lombok

(Nijman et al 2009); in recent years it has also been seen on Bali

(Mason 2011, SvB). Fears that the elevation of the species in 1993

to ‘national bird’ (with special protection status) would actually

stimulate rather than stifle demand for birds (BirdLife International

2001) proved well-founded, with surveys in the 1990s and 2000s

showing an increase in zoo holdings (resulting from confiscations)

and the commercial availability of the species (Nijman etal. 2009).

Given that relatively little deforestation is currently occurring on

Java (Miettinen etal. 2011), trade in the Javan Hawk Eagle is almost

certainly the most serious modern threat to the species.

Helmeted Hornbill Rhinoplax vigil (CR)

Restricted to the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, this is

the only hornbill species whose casque is solid keratin and therefore

carvable. A sudden and unexpected revival of demand in China for

its ‘ivory’, beginning around 201 1, has triggered an extremely rapid

and widespread decline in its Indonesian populations (Sumatra

and Kalimantan) (Collar 2015a). Organised crime is believed to be

operating networks of hunters who are prepared to shoot any large

hornbill in the hope that it is this species (BirdLife International

2015, Collar 2015a, b, Beastalle/W. in press). Between March 2012

and August 2014, heads and casques of 2,170 Helmeted Hornbills

were seized in China (1,117) and Indonesia (1,053) (Beastall et al.

in press), which indicates the scale of the trade (although probably

only ‘the tip of the iceberg’). As a result, the extinction of the species

from Indonesian territory must be contemplated unless major

conservation interventions now being evaluated and developed

prove successful.

Yellow-crested Cockatoo Caeatua sulphured (CR)

This species is essentially Wallacean, but it is known from two areas

in Sundaic Indonesia as we define it. The catastrophic decline of the

species throughout its range is — as its recovery on Sumba following

international curbs in 1994 indicates (Cahill etal. 2006) — almost

entirely due to trade (BirdLife International 2001).

Taxon ahhotti (Masalembu and Masakambing, south of

Borneo). This form was present on Masalembu in ‘hundreds’

a century ago, but is now extinct there; and it just survives on

Masakambing, where 8-10 were present in 1994, and 13 in 2011

(BirdLife International 2001, Collar & Marsden 2014). The near¬

destruction of the subspecies dates back to the 1980s, when palm

oil plantation workers on Masalembu either shot birds for sport or

exported them as souvenirs, while simultaneously on Masakambing

‘hundreds’ were caught and exported by gangs of trappers from

Bali and Ujung Pandang (Cahyadin et al. 1994); pressure was

compounded by fishermen from Sumbawa (Metz et al. 2009).

Today the remnant population is probably too small for traders to

target, but if numbers improve in response to current conservation

measures, this cannot be ruled out in the future.

Taxon occidentalis (Bali, Nusa Penida, and the Lesser Sundas

chain from Lombok to Alor: Collar & Marsden 2014). On Bali it

was recorded in the late nineteenth century and subsequently as a

presumed visitor (BirdLife International 2001). On the adjacent

small island of Penida, birds were reported from 1911 and recorded

from the 1930s; this population was trapped partly (reportedly)

in response to its impact on maize crops, although the birds’ high

market prices could equally explain the trapping pressure (Setiawan

1996, BirdLife International 2001). In April 2015, a single bird was

thought to survive from a small population of unknown origin

on Penida (S. Jones per C. R. Trainor in litt. 2015). If trapping —

apparently still rampant (JBCH) — explains the loss of recently

released Bali Mynas from Penida (see below), any remaining

cockatoos would be targeted opportunistically.

Scarlet-breasted Lorikeet Trichoglossus forsteni (NT)

This newly defined species (del Hoyo & Collar 2014) occurs in four

subspecies, all in Indonesia and although Lombok, Sumbawa and

the Tanahjampea Islands are outside ‘Sundaic Indonesia’, they are

included here for completeness.

Taxon mitchelli (Bali and Lombok). Reportedly common

on Bali above 1,300 m in the 1910s and 1920s (Stresemann 1913,

Rensch 1930) but, following years of exploitation which brought

large numbers to Europe (R. Wiist in litt. 2015), it can no longer

be found despite repeated searches (T. Arndt per R. Wirth verbally

2015). However, on Lombok, where its survival was in doubt owing

to lack of records for many years, a flock of 18 was found above 1 ,500

m on Gn Rinjani in September 2015 (FER). Captive populations

are reported to exist at Prague and Plzen Zoos (Czech Republic),

Birdworld and Paradise Park (UK), the Begawan Foundation (Bali),

and the private collections of a few German breeders (R. Wirth and

R. Wiist in litt. 2015), but the characters that define this taxon need

to be carefully re-examined.

Forktail 31 (2015)

Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia

3

Taxon forsteni (Sumbawa). The fact that large numbers would

appear annually for a few weeks on the Sembalun plateau (Rensch

1931) suggests that status assessments might be liable to major

bias depending on encounter. However, limited modern evidence

(Trainor 2002a) suggests this form may be secure. Several small

Bocks were found visiting flowering trees daily in the foothills of

a forested mountain (identity withheld), 2-4 September 2008 (F.

Verbelen in litt).

Taxon djampeanus (Tanahjampea, Flores Sea). 'Trapped almost

to extinction on Tanahjampea’ by the early 1990s (Dutson 1995),

the taxon was not found in three visits to the island in October

2011, October 2013 and October 2014 (F. R. Lambert verbally

2014, JAE), and it must be presumed extinct there. According to

residents, although formerly common, it disappeared ten years ago,

apparently owing to the felling of the large trees in which it nested

(Bashari & Arndt in prep.). On Kalao, unconfirmed reports by

residents stated that the species, while still present in the western

forest, was now absent from the drier eastern forest (T. Arndt and

H. Bashari in litt. 2015).

Taxon stresemanni (Kalaotoa, Flores Sea). Two were heard

during a brief visit, 23 September 1993 (Dutson 1995). Apparently

no subsequent visits have been made but, in the light of what we

know of the other subspecies, we cannot assume it is secure.

Crested Jay Platylophus galericulatus (LC)

A near-endemic to the Greater Sunda region, this species is found

from just north of and throughout the Thai-Malay Peninsula

(subspecies malaccensis ), Sumatra and northern Borneo ( lemprieri ),

the remainder of Borneo ( coronatus ), and Java (nominate) (Madge

2009). It appears that all taxa persist in moderate numbers except

for the nominate.

Taxon galericulatus * (Java). This form, considered ‘not

uncommon’ two decades ago (MacKinnon & Phillipps 1993), is

now rarely recorded in the wild (SvB, JAE), to the point where it is

regarded as ‘almost extinct’ (R. Sozer in litt. 2015); in recent years it

has only been sighted in one national park, Gn Halimun-Salak (SvB,

JAE). In the five years 1997-20Q1, nine birds were recorded in the

bird markets of Medan, North Sumatra (Shepherd etal. 2004), and

in weekly surveys of the same markets, July-September 2012, seven

birds were recorded (Giyanto in litt. 2014). The above evidence may

indicate a small surplus over demand on Java, but during surveys of

the three largest Jakarta bird markets in 2014 eight coronatus and no

galericulatus were observed (Chngc/ al. 2015), and a survey of East

Javan bird markets in 2015 produced seven coronatus and only one

galericulatus (Chng& Eaton in prep.). In bird markets y galericulatus

has evidently virtually disappeared, being generally substituted by

the form coronatus.

Javan Green Magpie Cissa thalassina (CR)

This corvid was recognised only in 2013 as specifically distinct

from Bornean Green Magpie C. jefferyi (montane Borneo) and

simultaneously documented as in grave danger of extinction owing

to trade pressure (van Balen etal. 2013); it is known from 18 localities

in the West and Central Javan mountains from Gn Halimun east

to Gn Merapi. In direct response to van Balen et al. (2013), TASA

initiated a programme of captive breeding, seeking whatever birds

could still be found in Javan bird markets and maintaining them

initially at Cikananga Wildlife Center, Sukabumi, Java (Collar et

al. 2012, Owen et al. 2014). In late 2015, the captive population

was divided up for security and propagation, and in January 2016 it

comprised five males and 1 1 females (Cikananga), two pairs (Taman

Safari, Bogor, Java), four pairs (Chester Zoo, UK), one pair (Durrell

Wildlife Preservation Trust, Jersey, UK) and one pair (Prague

Zoo, Czech Republic) (A. Owen in litt. 2016). It is conceivable

that this ex situ population outnumbers the in situ. Evidence that

the species persists in the wild comes from its occasional presence

in urban bird markets or in roadside cages (R. Sozer verbally 2015,

FER); birds were heard in Gn Halimun-Salak NP in 2013 (A.

Owen in litt. 2015); in 2014, trappers reported birds from three

sites in Gn Simpang Forest Reserve, east of Bandung (SvB), where

birds were heard again in 2015 (A. Tritto in litt. 2015). However,

it was not found by Mittermeier et al. (2014), and the high current

prices of captive birds, together with the low encounter rates in

the wild, point to massive reductions in many populations and the

elimination of some.

White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus (LC)

Widespread in South Asia, continental South-East Asia and

the Greater Sunda Islands, the White-rumped Shama is widely

recognised for its extraordinary song (Collar 2005) which has long

made it a favourite cagebird in Indonesia (Shepherd et al. 2004,

Shepherd 2006). However, an increase in the popularity of bird

singing competitions in Java caused the keeping of the species to

rise ‘dramatically’ between 1996-2006, with as many as 121,000

estimated to be captive in six cities on Java and Bali in 2006 (Jepson

& Ladle 2009). The species is easily trapped owing to its combative

response to playback (JAE, FER). Jepson & Ladle (2009) judged

that it had been ‘caught out’ from Java before 1997 and demand for

it then caused ‘rolling’ local extinctions across western Indonesia

and ‘decimated populations in south-west and northern Sumatra...

and West Kalimantan’. Despite this, birds were common in trade in

Medan markets in 2012, when 4,447 were counted during weekly

surveys from July to September (Giyanto in litt. 2014).

This excessive exploitation has significantly compromised

the survival of several taxa in Indonesia, some so distinctive they

might better be treated as species themselves (see Discussion).

Collar (2005) recognised seven subspecies in Indonesia, but

treated mallopercnus (West Malaysia), javanus (West and Central

Java), omissus (East Java), eumesus (Natuna Islands) and ochroptilus

(Anamba Islands) as synonyms of tricolor , and opisthopelus (Batu

Islands) and opisthus (Banyak Islands) as synonyms of melanurus. In

this review, however, we accept all these taxa except javanus, as well

as hypolizus (Simeulue) and opisthochrus (Lasia and Babi), pending

in-depth genetic and morphological analysis (FER).

Taxon tricolor * (Sumatra, Bangka, Belitung, west and north¬

west Java). Until 15 years ago, this taxon was present in good

numbers in several parts of Sumatra (SvB), but its persistence

anywhere in walking distance of roads or towns must be in doubt.

In Bukit Tigapuluh NP, eastern Sumatra, November 2015, no wild

birds were observed, but one in a cage in a village enclave was said

to have been caught locally (SvB). During a visit to Belitung in

February 2014 four days were spent in suitable habitat and no birds

were found (M. Iqbal in litt. 2015). In the last five years it has been

recorded with certainty in Sumatra only from the wilderness of Gn

Leuser NP several days’ walk from the nearest road (T. Wahyudi

verbally 2015) and in Way Kambas NP, where its survival appears

to be related to its comparative silence (JAE). JAE made nine visits

to the latter park, 2005-2015, totalling 38 days, encountering birds

four times, all silent when discovered and only singing, very quietly,

in response to playback, without venturing closer. This surprising

behaviour may conceivably have been selected for by years of

trapping, or be learnt, or have arisen in response to artificially low

densities created by trapping (reflecting loss of song in the Olomao

Myadestes lanaiensis as it died out: Collar 2005: 561). It offers

the remotest hope that small numbers of silent birds may remain

elsewhere on the island. On Java it survives only (indeed perhaps

the entire species: see omissus below) in Ujung Kulon NP, where it

was still to be seen in 2012 (SvB).

Taxon eumesus (Natuna Islands). Not recorded in a three-day

visit to the Natunas, March 2015 (FER).

Taxon ochroptilus (Anamba Islands). No recent surveys on these

islands; status of the population unknown.

4

J. A. EATON etal.

Forktail 31 (2015)

Taxon hypolizus * (Simeulue). This endemic form, which

together with races opisthochrus and melanurus constitutes a

highly distinct cluster of taxa, is now seriously endangered as its

forest habitat has dwindled to hilltops and steeper slopes while

trapping pressure remains strong. Several recent visits to Simeulue

by JAE and FER independently failed to record it in the wild. On

two visits in 2014 and 2015, FER saw 10-20 birds in the only pet

shop in the capital, Sinabang, where the owner explained that the

rate of receipt of wild birds has recently fallen from 1-2 per week

to one per month. Residents told FER there are only a few places

in the highest hills, often many hours’ walk from the nearest road,

where there is a chance of finding a bird in the wild.

Taxon opisthochrus* (Tapah Islands [Lasia, Babi]). This taxon,

long synonymised with melanurus or hypolizus, is quite distinct

morphologically and in belly colour (FER). Formerly confined to

the pristine, uninhabited islands of Lasia and Babi, its continued

existence in the wild is in doubt. During a visit to Simeulue’s capital

Sinabang in 2015, FER saw a captive bird said to have been trapped

2-3 years earlier on Lasia. On a visit also in 2015 to Babi, the radio

antenna warden (the sole permanent inhabitant) confirmed to

FER that this form was common as little as 5-7 years before, but

was then virtually or totally extirpated by ‘hundreds of Javanese

trappers descending upon the island and catching thousands of

shamas’. Targeted searches over 24 hours using sound recordings

were unsuccessful (FER). Lasia is even smaller than Babi and

according to the antenna warden was also visited by the Javanese

trappers. If this taxon is extant in the wild, it must be exceedingly

rare.

Taxon opisthus (Banyak Islands [Bangkaru, Tuangku] ). Current

status unknown.

Taxon melanurus* (Nias, Siberut, Sipora, North Pagai and

South Pagai). Birds from both Nias and the Mentawai group

(which includes Siberut, Sipora and Pagai) are classified as the same

subspecies, although they occupy two never-connected parts of the

west Sumatran island chain; the two populations need checking for

differences. On Nias its status is very poorly known. On Siberut

and Sipora, according to local sources, numbers were greatly

depleted about 5-7 years ago by trapping parties of ‘hundreds of

Javanese men who caught thousands of birds’ because their song

is said to be more complex and commands a higher price than

Sumatran mainland birds (FER, JAE). A visit in 2015 to Sipora

located 37 melanurus in 12 houses, with both sellers and trappers

saying that wild birds are now ‘very rare’, some trappers not having

encountered birds for 1-2 years (C. Naza Bocos in litt. 2015). A

visit to Siberut’s extensive western rainforests in 2014 produced a

single record of a distant singing bird (JAE, FER); these forests

may provide the best survival chances for melanurus in particular

and for the complex of distinct dark-tailed forms from the west

Sumatran islands in general.

Taxon opisthopelus (Batu Islands [Pini, Tanahmasa,

Tanahbala]). Current status unknown.

Taxon mirahilis (Panaitan [Prinsen] Island, off westernmost

Java). Current status unknown; common in the 1980s (SvB).

Taxon omissus including javanus* (Java except far west and

north-west as far as Indramayu.^/fifi? Mees [1996]). This form has

always been relatively rare (de Visard de Bocarme 1829, Vorderman

1884, Spennemann 1907), perhaps ‘due to a genuine reduction of

numbers caused by the capturing of many for the market as it is a

beloved cage bird’ (Hoogerwerf 1969). In the 1980s, it was known

from only five localities in west and east Java (van Balen 1999), and

although at Pangandaran, West Java, in 1990 it was considered

common (Basuni et al. 2005), there are no recent records and it

may be extinct. The species is only known to survive — barely — on

Java in the race tricolor (see above) (SvB).

Taxon nigricauda* (Kangean Island, off north-east Java). Forest,

mostly secondary and teak, is still extensive on the island, but the

species was not recorded during five surveys in 2007-2008, and is

now feared extinct (SvB).

Taxon suavis (Borneo except the north). Still widely distributed

throughout Kalimantan (JAE), but heavily trapped for trade, e.g.

two seizures in Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, East Java (November and

December 2015), included 1,180 White-rumped Shama (http://

bbksdaj at im.org/polhut- am an kan-2 -71 1-burung-di-tanjung-

perak.php).

Taxon stricklandii (north Borneo). In Malaysian territory this

form appears to be relatively secure, e.g. it was still common at

Poring Hot Springs, Sabah, in 2010 (Harris etal. 2012). However,

its present status in North Kalimantan province is unclear (SvB).

Seven birds were seen in two shops in Singapore, November 2015

(JAE), and although they may not have originated in Indonesia, it

did confirm that this form is being traded internationally.

Taxon barbouri* (Maratua, Celebes Sea). The recent collapse

of the population of this form, from ‘abundant’ to ‘in danger of

extirpation’, coincided with an influx, 2-3 years ago of Javanese

construction workers who presumably took the opportunity to

trap birds (Chua et al. 2015, Q. Phillipps in litt. 2015).

Asian Pied Starling Gracupica contra (LC)

Four of the five subspecies of Asian Pied Starling occur from South

Asia to the Thai-Malay Peninsula; the disjunct fifth form ,jalla, is

endemic to Indonesia (Feare & Craig 1998, Craig & Feare 2009).

Taxon jalla* (eastern Sumatra, Java, Bali). Feare & Craig

(1998) and Craig & Feare (2009) mapped this form throughout

Sumatra, but in reality it appears to be known only from Lampung

province, adjacent to Java, whence it perhaps spread ‘with the

extension of cultivation and deforestation’ (van Marie & Voous

1988). Although it was common in Lampung in 1975-1977 (van

Marie & Voous 1988), there is no recent evidence of its survival on

Sumatra: no records were uncovered by Harris etal. (2015) and no

correspondent contacted for this review had seen the bird on the

island (M. N. Janra, M. Iqbal and W. Novarino in litt. 2015). On

Java and Bali, too, the taxon, ‘common’ according to MacKinnon

& Phillipps (1993), has disappeared and apart from obvious

escapes in downtown Jakarta (JAE), it has not been recorded

in the wild for several years. A survey of 100 correspondents

contacted via social media for information on wild populations

produced records of single birds on Pulau Dua Nature Reserve,

West Java, in 2005-2006 and 2013, a bird in north Jakarta a few

years ago, three (undated) escapes on Serangan Island, Bali and

an unspecified number trapped in the limestone hills between Gn

Kidul, Wonogiri and Pacitan, Central Java, in 2010 (R. Sozer in litt.

2015). All the evidence points to this taxon being virtually if not

totally extinct in the wild, and to trapping for the cagebird trade as

the principal threat, possibly compounded by the use of pesticides

(see Discussion, first paragraph). One bird was found in a Singapore

bird shop, December 2015, indicating some international trade

in this species, but this is possibly the only time it has knowingly

been encountered in trade in Singapore (L. Neves in litt. 2015).

This is particularly disturbing given that the distinctiveness

of jalla is sufficiently great to be considered for biological species

status (del Hoyo & Collar in prep.). However, significant numbers

may survive in captivity, where they are bred commercially for

the cagebird market, e.g. 100 breeding pairs were being kept at

Jimbung, Klaten regency, Central Java, in May 2015 (http://

anfbirdfarm.com). This clearly offers an opportunity for a

population to be established for «0«-commercial captive breeding

with a view to eventual reintroduction at a time when the security

of the birds can be guaranteed. However, other subspecies are

believed to have been traded into Indonesia from continental

Asia and, if so, they will probably have been cross-bred with jalla

captive stock. Moreover, selective breeding for colour mutations in

captivity f urther threatens the genetic purity of this taxon.

Forktail 31 (2015)

Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia

5

Black-winged Myna Acridotheres melanopterus (CR)

This species, which occurs in three fairly distinct subspecies, is

endemic to Java and Bali (with a few records from Lombok) and

was once widespread and common (Feare & Craig 1998), but has

been eliminated from most of its range (for which 81 localities

were mapped) principally by trade, with pesticides and habitat

loss postulated as, but not proven to be, compounding problems

(BirdLife International 2001). Evidence for the plight of this species,

apart from its absence from the field, includes the four-fold fall in

numbers recorded in bird markets since the 1990s, a startling rise

in prices (US$3 for a bird in 1987, $15-35 in 2009, $100-200 in

2014), and the theft by organised crime of 151 individuals from

Cikananga Wildlife Center in June 2014 (Tritto & Sozer 2014,

Shepherd etal. 2015).

Taxon melanopterus (Java [except where tricolor occurs] and

Madura Island). Despite having much the largest range, the nominate

is probably the most threatened. Natural populations are believed to

survive at two sites near Jakarta, with possibly as few as 20 birds (some

perhaps escapes) at either site (BirdLife International 2015, JAE).

However, attempts have been made in recent years to re-establish

populations at RawaDanau (a protected area in far north-west Java)

and Pongkor (a guarded mining concession at the boundary of Gn

Halimun-Salak NP), using surplus birds from Cikananga Wildlife

Center (Tritto 2014a,b) and involving the acquisition of some stock

from Klaten regency (see under Asian Pied Starling).

Taxon tricolor (Java approximately east of Gn Bromo). Remnant

populations (numbers unknown, but likely to be very low) recently

survived in Baluran and Alas Purwo NPs (flock of 25, May 2009:

S. P. Mahood in litt. 2009; flock of 35, 2011: H. Kusumanegara

in litt. 2014), and one may also do so in Meru Betiri NP, although

there is no recent information from here (SvB).

Taxon tertius (Bali, Nusa Penida and [presumably] Lombok).

On Bali, Collar et al. (2012) guesstimated that 100 individuals

survived in Bali Barat NP, although more recent surveys suggest

190 birds may survive there (H. Kusumanegara in litt. 2014), with

another 12 birds recorded between 2007 and 2015 at an undisclosed

site in south Bali (JAE). On Nusa Penida, birds of this species

(taxon unknown) were released during an official visit by President

Soeharto in 1986 (Dijkman 2007). Birds were still present in 201 1

(A. Owen in litt. 2011), but none was found during more than two

days in August 2014 (JBCH) or in two days, October 2015 (D. F.

Jeggo in litt. 2015), despite being reported on adjacent Lembongan

at Puaji Temple in 2014 (Dijkman 2014).

Bali Myna Leucopsar rothschildi (CR)

The repeated efforts to reverse the remorseless decline of this

iconic species, only known from the west and north-west of Bali

and confined for the past forty years to Bali Barat NP, have been

documented in detail (van Balen etal. 2000, BirdLife International

2001). Domestic and international trade in the species occurred as

far back as 1968, and in the mid-1970s illegal extraction from the

wild was estimated to be 40-60 birds per month; supplementation

of the wild population with captive-bred birds may have prevented

the species from ever quite disappearing, although there was a

period in 2003-2005 when birdwatching groups could never find

it despite the reassurances of park staff (JAE), and independent

evidence suggests that it ‘became extinct in the wild in 2006’

(Jepson 2015). Even the supplementation process fell victim to trade

demand when in 1999 an armed gang with suspected military links

stole 39 birds from pre-release holding cages (BirdLife International

2001). Poaching is acknowledged to persist in the park (T. Sutedi

verbally 2015), and all birds now at liberty on Bali must be assumed

to derive from locally sourced captive stock, given that there has

been no international engagement with the conservation of the

species this century, other than maintaining captive populations

as a reserve (Jepson 2015).

An attempt has been made to establish a population on

Nusa Penida (Dijkman 2007, 2014), an initiative portrayed as

demonstrating the superiority of bottom-up community-supported

conservation — which ‘embraced the affordances of the Bali

starling’s phenotype (its beauty and simple ecology) to construct

(or adopt) identities suitable to local cultural contexts’ — over the

top-down internationally driven work that preceded it (Jepson

2015). However, recent evidence suggests that other affordances

(the species’s market price) have been rather more tightly embraced,

since the birds have almost or entirely disappeared from the island,

seemingly as a result of poaching (M. Halouate, D. F. Jeggo and

A. Owen verbally or in litt. 2015, JBCH). Meanwhile, in October

2015 an international meeting was convened on Bali to review the

status and needs of the current endeavours with the species, and re¬

engagement of foreign interests and stakeholders is developing — a

move that further subverts the conclusions in Jepson (2015).

Hill Myna Graeula religiosa (LC)

With a range from south and east India to South-East Asia, the

Greater Sundas and east to Alor and Sumba in the Lesser Sundas,

this species has always been a heavily traded, very popular pet,

beyond Indonesia’s borders, owing to its exceptional capability as

a sound mimic (Bertram 1970, Nijman 2010). In recent years, its

taxonomy has been unsettled; moves to separate the forms indica,

robusta and enganensis as species (Feare & Craig 1998, Rasmussen

& Anderton 2005, Craig & Feare 2009) have been resisted on the

grounds that ‘DNA studies are indicated’ and ‘broader sampling...

is needed’ (Dickinson & Christidis 2014). The separation of indica

is, however, validated by the neglected evidence of Bertram (1969),

mentioned by Inskipp et al. (1996), but apart from this, pending

a new morphological analysis (Collar & Marsden in prep.), we

here address the five Indonesian forms of G. religiosa as treated in

Dickinson & Christidis (2014) with the addition of miotera from

Simeulue (an island not mentioned by Feare & Craig 1998, Craig &

Feare 2009 or Dickinson & Christidis 2014) and of distributional

data from van Marie & Voous (1988) and Collar & Marsden (in

prep.). Although the subspecies venerata occurs outside ‘Sundaic

Indonesia’, it is treated here briefly for completeness.

Taxon religiosa (Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Bangka,

Belitung, North Natuna Islands, Java, Bali, Kangean, Bawean and

Borneo). The nominate form is still common and widespread in

parts of mainland South-East Asia (JAE). Good numbers can still

be found in several Indonesian national parks, including Sungai

Wain, Kalimantan, and Way Kambas, Sumatra, but on smaller

islands and on Java the birds have been locally trapped out (JAE);

the only recent observations on Java are from Ujung Kulon NP

(SvB), and in the last ten years it has become extremely rare on

Kangean (Irham & Marakarmah 2009).

Taxon miotera * (Simeulue). Not seen on Simeulue during

several visits between 2010 and 2015, and doubtless very rare now

(if not extinct) owing to extensive trapping and a degree of habitat

degradation (FER, JAE).

Taxon robusta * (Banyak Islands [Tuanku, Bangkaru], Babi,

Nias). This large form is reputedly the most accomplished mimic

of all Hill Myna taxa and has therefore been very heavily exploited.

Sixty-five individuals were observed during monthly surveys

carried out in the Medan bird markets, with only one observed

between 1997-1999 and the rest in 2000-2001 (Shepherd et al.

2004). These birds were sold to collectors in Indonesia (CRS). The

form was not observed during a 17-day visit to Nias in May 1990,

although nest-boxes for it were noted (Dymond 1994), and recent

surveys have clearly established that it is almost extinct, with just

a single pair (only one certainly this taxon) being found in 2015

(Anon. 2015a). A visit to Babi in 2015 established that the species

has also disappeared there following the visit by Javanese trappers,

5-7 years ago, according to the radio antenna warden (see above

6

J. A. EATON eta/.

Forktail 31 (2015)

under White-rumped Shama); dawn vigils atop the antenna, with

almost perfect views over the canopy of nearly the whole island,

yielded no visual or aural evidence of Hill Mynas (FER). A small

number of birds are currently known to survive in captivity, but

are held in private hands with no known concerted attempt to

breed them (NJC).

Taxon batuensis (Batu Islands [only Telo reported] and

Mentawai Islands [Siberut, Sipura, North Pagai, South Pagai]).

Now rare on Siberut but probably still present in secure numbers in

the larger, inaccessible, western rainforests, where in 2014 one was

seen in flight, and a pair was seen on a separate visit (JAE, FER).

Taxon enganensis (Enggano). Status unclear and extent of

trapping unknown; but up to three birds were recorded on each

of three visits between 2010-2014 (P. Morris and J. Olah in litt).

Taxon venerata* (Sumbawa east to Alor). ‘Populations have

recently declined notably, due to trapping for the cage-bird trade’

(Coates & Bishop 1997). On Flores, young were reported to be

taken from the nest for trade, producing ‘a considerable recent

decline’ (Verhoeye & Holmes 1998). During 11 visits to Flores,

2005-2015, totalling 90 field days, one observation of two birds

was made (JAE), although small numbers may survive in remote

areas (FER). Populations on Gn Tambora, Sumbawa, and on

Adonara were subject to such heavy trapping pressure that none

was seen during fieldwork in 2000 (Trainor 2002a, b). On Lembata

(Lomblen) local informants reported that populations ‘had

declined greatly in the past decade because of captures for the bird

trade’ and that birds, ‘like those from Nias Island, were in great

demand because they were clever ( pintar ) at mimicking sounds’

(Trainor 2003). This left Alor as a ‘regional stronghold’, with birds

‘locally common' (Trainor 2005), but during three visits there,

2011-2014, a single bird was sighted once (JAE) and only 5+2+4

were seen in November 2015 during 1 1 days fieldwork covering

large areas of the centre and east of the island (FER).

Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus (VU)

This large bulbul, possibly the most sought-after songbird in

Sundaic Asia (a range which includes southernmost Myanmar

and Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java and Borneo),

has been driven by trade — possibly compounded by loss of its

rather specific habitat and clearance of lowland forest along rivers

(BirdLife International 2015) — from being widespread and

common to the brink of global extinction. Its Vulnerable status

is no longer appropriate for a species which has been pursued

with a relentless intensity, possibly unmatched for any other bird

species on the planet (BirdLife International 2001, Shepherd et

al. 2013). Historical evidence indicates that it was considered

common virtually everywhere in its range until at least the 1950s,

but it has gone from Thailand and probably Myanmar, which has

had no records since 1904 (BirdLife International 2001), and is

judged to be extremely rare now in Malaysian Borneo, having

disappeared from everywhere except the best-protected sites

such as Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary and Danum Valley (F.

H. Sheldon in litt. 2015, JAE), although even in the latter it has

recently been trapped out in places (Q. Phillipps in litt. 2015); the

last populations in Brunei are also being trapped out (Q. Phillipps

in litt. 2015). In Peninsular Malaysia, it has experienced a ‘near¬

total collapse’ (Wells 2007), and this, as elsewhere, will be due at

least in part to the demand for the species from Indonesia rather

than locally (Shepherd et al. 2013); birds found in Javan markets

reportedly from ‘Lampung’, Sumatra, probably originate from

Malaysia. Only Singapore, possibly colonised by escaped birds,

provides any haven from the trade (Wells 2007), and there is

currently no ex situ programme to serve as a reserve.

In Indonesia, of localities mapped by BirdLife International

(2001) for the species on Sumatra (57), Java (20) and Kalimantan

(42), only three, none and ten respectively (11%) referred to post-

1980 records. The species can confidently be pronounced extinct

on Java, Nias and Sipora, and there are no records from Sumatra

since 2010 (Harris et al. 2015, SvB). A 1937 record from Maratua

Island (BirdLife International 2001) is evidently a misreading of a

museum label for a site in Sabah (Mann 2008). It clings on in tiny

numbers in remote parts of Kalimantan where ‘most bird shops’ still

stock them but charge US$300 per individual (Q. Phillipps in litt.

2015), and its rarity and high price are now so great that, in West

Kalimantan at least, it has been replaced in markets by Grey-cheeked

Bulbul Alophoixus bres (A. Miller verbally 20 15). In Java the species

has disappeared from song contests, partly because only the very

wealthy can afford contemporary prices (SvB), and the continuing

demand for the species is now to an unknown degree being met

by an Association of Straw-headed Bulbul Breeders’, which had

63 members in 2010, each with an average of 15 breeding cages, in

Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java (Jepson et al. 2011).

Javan White-eye Zosterops flavus (NT)

This species of mangroves and coastal woodlands has a unique,

very restricted and fragmented range along the northern coastline

of Java and the southern coastline of Borneo (van Balen 2008); a

record from southernmost Sarawak ‘may not be valid’ (Mann 2008).

On Kalimantan the species is very little known; it may occur

in areas seldom visited by birdwatchers. On Java it was widespread

along the north coast of Java and south coast of Madura between

2006 and 2009 (SvB), but on recent visits to Javan mangroves it

has become increasingly difficult to locate, and only observed in

very small numbers where larger flocks were previously recorded

(JAE). BirdLife International (2015) does not mention trade as a

threat, but during the most recent visit mentioned above trappers

using decoy birds were present, and captive birds were seen in local

villages (JAE). The species is a poor songster (SvB), but is presumably

trapped and sold either as a companion bird or in a conscious fraud;

white-eyes in general are increasingly popular (see also Iqbal 2015),

with thousands sold in markets, as they are still affordable for the

poorest bird-fanciers, although champion birds in song contests

can fetch up to US$5,000 (SvB). A survey of Singapore bird shops,

November 2015, yielded a single individual for sale (JAE).

Rufous-fronted laughingthrush Garrulax rufifrons (EN)

After the discovery that Javan Green Magpie was at great risk of

extinction from Javanese trade pressure (see above), an assessment of

other Javan endemic species led to the identification of this species,

which shares much the same range as the magpie, as almost equally

at risk (Collar et al. 2012, Collar & van Balen 2013, Owen et al.

2014, BirdLife International 2015). Despite its small range, it occurs

in two fairly distinct subspecies.

Taxon rufifrons (West Java). Collar & van Balen (2013)

identified fourteen localities for the species, but only Gn Gede-

Pangrango had records from the previous twenty years down to

the present in small numbers (JAE). Evidence from several sources

clearly implicated trapping pressure, since at least the 1990s, as the

cause of serious declines in the wild, resulting in a tenfold rise in

prices in the first decade of the century (Collar & van Balen 2013).

During surveys carried out in the Medan bird market, 1997-2008,

14 individuals were observed for sale (Shepherd 2011). An ex situ

programme is now being developed using the last few birds to be

found in markets (Owen et al. 2014).

Taxon slamatensis (Gn Slamet, Central Java). No records since

1925 (Collar & van Balen 2013) despite recent fieldwork in the

area (Mittermeier et al. 2014), but one individual is currently held

in Cikananga Wildlife Center (Owen et al. 2014).

Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor (V U)

Over the past ten years this little-known Sumatran endemic has

been tracked in markets in Indonesia and judged to be in serious

Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia

7

Forktail 31 (2015)

decline, partly owing to habitat loss but principally because of

the bird trade (Shepherd 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013). In Aceh, the

species is still considered widespread, but very localised and

heavily trapped: up to 30 were regularly observed in dealers’ cages

in Takengon, Aceh regency, between 2013 and 2015 (A. Nurza

in litt. 2015). As many as 3,000 individuals (some presumably

the same) were counted in weekly surveys of markets in Medan,

capital of North Sumatra province, from July to September 2012

(Giyanto in litt. 2014), whereas by contrast from March to

December 2013 156 transects (300 m each) on five mountains in

North Sumatra produced a record of just one individual (JBCH).

Trappers in Padang, West Sumatra, state they can still find the

species in forests three days’ walk from the nearest road (C. Naza

Bocos in litt. 2015). Eight birds were found during market surveys

in East Java province in 2015 (Chng & Eaton in prep.), and a

three-day survey in Jakarta found 76 birds in 12 shops (Chng

et al. 2015). The species is now the subject of an ex situ breeding

programme (Owen et al. 2014) and a joint Czech-Indonesian

initiative to attempt to generate information on its ecology (www.

icsp.or.id).

Silver-eared Mesia Leiothrix argentauris (LC)

This species, long a popular cagebird, occurs in five subspecies

from the Himalayas patchily east to southern China and south to

Peninsular Malaysia, with two more subspecies on Sumatra; the

assertion that one of these is the nominate (van Marie & Voous

1988) was mistaken (see Collar & Robson 2007).

Taxon rookmakeri * (Aceh, north Sumatra). In steep decline

(Harris etal. 2015 ,JAE) although still found in fairly large numbers

in Jakarta bird markets: 59 individuals were observed in a three-day

survey in 2014 (Chng etal. 2015), with others noted at Takengon,

Aceh (C. Naza Bocos and A. Nurza in litt. 2015).

Taxon laurinae* (montane Sumatra except Aceh). Not seen in

the wild by bird tours since 2008, although prior to 2000 it was one

of the most frequently encountered birds on Gn Kerinci (JAE, D. L.

Yong verbally). The species was not encountered between March and

December 2013 during montane transect surveys (see above under

Sumatran Laughingthrush), but three were seen near Gn Sinabung,

North Sumatra, on 12 August 2014 (C. Putra/« litt. 2016). Despite

the lack of field records, it was found in a Padang bird market in

October 2015 and may survive in more remote areas (C. Naza

Bocos in litt. 2015). This form was not recorded in any 2014-2015

Javan market surveys, despite the presence of many other Sumatran

montane species (Chng etal. 2015, Chng & Eaton in prep.).

Java Sparrow Lonchura oryzivora (VU)

Ironically, as a result of the sheer volume of trade (numbers of

escapes presumably being proportional to numbers traded) and its

ready adoption of secondary habitats and ricefields, this estrildid

finch — traded to China at least 900 years ago (Payne 2010) — has

become naturalised in many parts of the world although it has all-

but vanished from its native Java and Bali (BirdLife International

2001). This population collapse, a product of trade pressure

compounded by persecution as a rice pest (Restall 1996), has led

to nestbox schemes being initiated e.g. at the Prambanan temples

complex. Central Java, where birds were seen in August 2015 (SvB),

although lack of funding has recently suspended the scheme (S.

Kurniandaru in lift.); another is on Madura, where a village was

engaged in the (apparently sustainable) harvesting of large numbers

of nestlings from bamboo tubes hung in trees (SvB). The only

other known colonies are inside hotel and government building

complexes in East Java and Bali, e.g. Melia Hotel, Yogyakarta,

August 2014 (JBCH); unfortunately two have disappeared in

recent years due to renovations. Birds are occasionally recorded

in Bali Barat NP, although no breeding colonies have been found

there to date (H. Kusumanegara in litt).

DISCUSSION

Trade is the main culprit

Trade appears to have played a decisive part in the deterioration

of the conservation status of all the taxa treated above. However,

it is impossible in some cases to know how great the influence of

other factors has been, most obviously habitat loss and pesticides.

All forest and woodland species are likely to have suffered to some

degree from habitat clearance; on small islands clearance will have

a disproportionate effect, and for example must have contributed

significantly to the near- or total extinction of the endemic

subspecies of White-rumped Shama and Hill Myna on Simeulue.

Meanwhile, species such as Asian Pied Starling, Black-winged Myna

and Java Sparrow that make use of open and semi-open country on

Java (and Bali) may have suffered from the direct and/or indirect

effects of long-term pesticide use to protect crops like rice and chili;

this use greatly intensified after laws were changed in 2002 (Fox

2014). Nevertheless, the available evidence continues to indicate

that the main driver in the endangerment of all these taxa is trade.

This Is a conservative list

We found that 13 avian species and 14 additional subspecies are at

risk of extinction in Sundaic Indonesia primarily as a result of trade.

However, the most salient observation to be made here is that this

is a conservative list, for three reasons.

First, a number of candidates were excluded from the review

largely for want of serviceable information. For example, we know

that certain subspecies of the Red-breasted Parakeet Psittacula

alexandri are now rare — nominate alexandri on Java and Bali

(SvB), dammermani on Karimunjawa (Susanto 2012) — but despite

the popularity of parrots as pets in Indonesia we have no evidence

that trade is to blame. Moreover, besides identifying the (songbird)

species of major concern, itemised above under Results, the Asian

Songbird Crisis Summit in Singapore also produced a secondary

list of taxa declining in response to trade, comprising: Asian Fairy

Bluebird Irenapuella (Javan race turcosa ), Long-tailed Shrike Lanius

schach, Chestnut-capped Thrush Zoothera interpres , Chestnut-

backed Thrush Z. dohertyi , Orange-headed Thrush Z. citrina ,

Sumatran Leafbird Chloropsis media , Greater Green Leafbird

C. sonnerati, Hill Blue Flycatcher Cyornis banyumas (Javan races

banyumas and ligus). Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saularis

(Javan populations), Javan Myna Acridotheres javanicus (native

populations), Black-crested Bulbul Pycnonotus melanicterus dispar

(Sumatra, Java and Bali), Orange-spotted Bulbul P. bimaculatus

(race snouckaerti ), Grey-cheeked Bulbul Alophoixus bres (all

populations), various Zosterops (including Oriental White-eye

Z. palpebrosus and Lemon-bellied White-eye Z. chloris ), Sunda

Laughingthrush Garrulax palliatus (Sumatran nominate palliatus)

and Pin-tailed Parrotfinch Erythrura prasina.

Second, taxonomic revisions are likely to render this depressing

situation worse in the near future. Asian ornithology generally has

suffered from taxonomic neglect (Collar 2003), and this is certainly

the case in Indonesia, where there are numerous impending revisions

involving relatively cryptic taxa (Eaton etal. in prep., del Hoyo &

Collar in prep.) that may trigger new evaluations of the impact of

trade. Thus in our primary list the Sumba race citrinocristata of

Yellow-crested Cockatoo remains a strong candidate for species

rank (Collar & Marsden 2014), a decoupling which would leave

the remaining taxa with a far smaller global population. The

White-rumped Shama complex is a major potential source of

revision, with cases to be made for species rank for Copsychus

melanurus (incorporating the forms hypolizus , opisthochrus and

mirabilis), C. barbouri and C. stricklandii (Eaton et al. in prep.).

The forms robusta and venerata in the Hill Myna complex would

immediately be classified as Critically Endangered if, as appears

plausible, they were to be elevated to species. One taxon from the

8

J. A. EATON etal.

Forktail 31 (201 5)

secondary list above, Pycnonotus melanicterus dispar , has already

been elevated as Ruby-throated Bulbul P. dispar (Fishpool & Tobias

2005), while P. bimaculatus and Cyornis banyumas are currently

undergoing taxonomic revision which will result in ‘new’ species

under significant pressure from trade (Eaton & Collar 2015, Eaton

et al. in prep.).

Third, our focus on taxa has led us to exclude threatened but

taxonomically undifferentiated populations which, however, should

not be forgotten as a conservation issue. The decline and extinction

of many island populations in Indonesia is a significant loss of

patrimonial if not genetic biodiversity, and the documentation of

this phenomenon is urgently needed. Apart from some of the cases

in the secondary list above, a good example is the Brahminy Kite

Haliastur indicus , a widespread scavenger, once very common on

Java but now extremely rare there (van Balen etal. 1993, SvB, JAE).

Its disappearance has been compounded and perhaps even driven by

trade, since stuffed raptors have long been popular ‘souvenirs’, while

live birds, taken from the nest, are also very popular, despite a law

proscribing their keeping (SvB) ; trade pressure probably intensified

after the species became the ‘official mascot of Jakarta’ (Widyastuti

1993, Anon. 2015b).

Genetic contamination: another bird trade threat

The threat to species caused by trade does not merely involve the

removal from the wild of large numbers of individuals of those

species. A much less well documented but potentially grave threat

comes from the escape, deliberate release or deliberate hybridisation

of individuals of other species imported into areas to which they

are not native (Severinghaus & Chi 2004).

Hybridisation (or simply out-competition) resulting from

accidental escapes of ‘exotic’ taxa is a serious potential risk. On

Nias, for example, Hill Mynas now kept by villagers have been

imported from mainland Sumatra (T. Ouhel verbally 2015);

clearly the chances of birds escaping are high, placing any remnant

population of the native robusta in further peril. Various species

of Acridotheres myna have been imported into Java and escaped,

putting great pressure on whatever native populations remain of the

endemic (but itself elsewhere exotic) Javan or White-vented Myna

A.javanicus (SvB). Escaped Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot Loriculus

galgulns , a species native to other Sundaic islands, have appeared

occasionally on Java and may have established local populations with

as yet unknown consequences for the closely related Javan endemic

Yellow-throated Hanging Parrot L. pusillus (van Balen & Lewis

1991, SvB). Escaped White-rumped Shamas can become invasive

(Fan et al. 2009), and the mixing of gene-pools of this variable

species — or complex of species — would clearly be unwelcome.

Releases can be deliberate, for religious reasons, to gain merit

and fortune, or as a well-intentioned way of disposing of confiscated

birds; they may even be done by forestry authorities or city park

officials to add lustre to their conservation programmes (SvB). All

such releases, however, may bring disease to native populations

(Gilbert et al. 2012, Collar et al. 2015), and, as with accidental

escapes, there is also the danger of either out-competition or

hybridisation (or both) with close relatives.

Captive stock is deliberately hybridised to enhance plumage

characters to make progeny more attractive to prospective buyers

(Techchoochert & Round 2013). Cross-breeding of the Javan

endemic form jalla with other Asian Pied Starling forms, mentioned

above as a risk, is probably already widespread, since there is a general

liking among Indonesian bird-fanciers for individuals with more

white in their plumage (R. Sozer verbally 2015).

Species depletion and substitution: a vicious cycle

A key indicator of the increasing rarity of a taxon is the price it

commands in markets. In some cases the inverse relationship

between the price and volume of a traded species is a dependable

signal of its wild status and much cheaper to use as a guide than field

investigations into population sizes and trends (Harris etal. 2015).

However, this method will work best when the species in question

possesses some desirable characteristic in terms of colour or song

but it may not work so well if there are similar taxa to substitute

for them when their numbers are depleted. For example, the Javan

nominate of Crested Jay is now being replaced in markets by the

Sumatran and Bornean subspecies coronatus, and — although we

do not have records to prove it — we doubt that the price of the

nominate has risen in line with its rarity, simply because a similar

relative can easily substitute for it.

The Asian Songbird Crisis Summit’s secondary list reflects

the pattern in which declines and disappearances of popular

cagebird species drive shifts to other taxa, and this in turn reveals

the relentless demand within Indonesian societies that drives the

bird-trapping industry. When popular birds become scarce and

too expensive, trappers and traders look for the next-best and more

readily available species, such as Grey-cheeked Bulbul substituting

for Straw-headed Bulbul in West Kalimantan (see above). Indeed,

new species in the market may create their own fashion, in many

cases presumably as buyers discover their traits and specialities.

In 2015, Bar-winged Prinia Prinia familiaris and tailorbirds

Orthotomus became popular, even appearing in song contests and

already disappearing locally (SvB, JAE). A bird surprisingly absent

from trade until recently is the Common Iora Aegithina tiphia, with

the Java and Bali endemic race scapularis ; it has an attractive song,

and seems easy to keep judging by the large number now found in

markets (SvB, JAE). However, in 2014 and 2015 it is leafbirds that

have been in highest demand, with most trappers encountered in

Sumatran forests exclusively looking for Greater Green Leafbird

Cblo7'opsis sonnerati , owing to its melodious imitative song (SvB,

JAE). With these changes in supply and demand it would be

relatively straightforward to devise a third-tier list of species that

are already appearing in the bird markets in sufficient numbers to

compensate for the secondary species that are steadily declining

under the inexorable pressure of trade.

A disturbing phenomenon highlighted here is the organised

trapping expeditions that ruthlessly aim to take out as many

birds in a targeted population as possible. We indicate this for the

Helmeted Hornbill everywhere in its Indonesian range, Yellow-

crested Cockatoo on Masakambing, White-rumped Shama on

Lasia, Babi, Siberut and Sipora, and Hill Myna on Babi. When set

alongside other evidence — the village on Sumbawa specialising in

trapping insular populations of Chestnut-capped Thrush Zoothera

interpres (BirdLife International 2001: 2530), the ‘rolling’ local

extinctions of Orange -headed Thrushes Z. citrina on Java ( Jepson

2008) and of White-rumped Shamas across western Indonesia,

the seemingly spontaneous eradication of the shama on Maratua

by migrant workers, and the gangs that stole Bali Mynas at Bali

Barat NP (BirdLife International 2001: 2383) and Black-winged

Mynas at Cikananga — the industrial scale and societal scope of the

exploitation of wild birds in Indonesia begin to register.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The impending and apparently actual extinctions identified in

this review starkly highlight the need for a major new programme

of well-coordinated activities in order to prevent further losses

and create the conditions for the eventual recovery of depleted

populations. Proposals relating to the Helmeted Hornbill are in

Collar (2015a) and Beastal \etal. (in press); for the remaining species

we offer the following outline.

Law enforcement and improvement. Most wildlife trade

in Indonesia is illegal, yet enforcement is almost non-existent

(Shepherd et al. 2004). This cannot continue: ‘The successful

Forktail 31 (2015)

Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia

9

conservation of biodiversity requires... the enforcement of the rule

of law’ (Lopez-Bao et al. 2015). The illegal trade that can be found

in most towns and cities throughout Sundaic Indonesia, involving

in our estimation millions of birds annually, must now become the

target of serious government attention, most importantly focusing on

the largest urban markets but also with a tightening of regulation of

smaller, often part-time markets in towns and villages, of middlemen

with their individual shops and warehouses, and of closed online

trading groups (Iqbal 2015). Given its social, cultural and political

ramifications, such an intervention will require a national debate

that considers all aspects of wildlife trafficking, a major investment

of human and financial resources, an overhaul of current laws to

accommodate all taxa at risk from trade, and the participation of

a wide range of interested parties, international as well as national.

Public awareness campaigns. The Indonesian and in particular

Javanese preoccupation with birds means that many avenues and

opportunities exist to raise awareness of the effects of the bird trade

on wild populations, and to campaign for changes in behaviour

that lead consumers away from using markets as sources of pets and

from seeking species that are threatened and protected under law.

Social media, magazines and television need to be harnessed by the

conservation lobby, and respected public figures recruited to provide

the messages. We see this as a full-time project for at least a decade.

In situ management. Difficult and expensive as it may be, the

maintenance of viable populations through site-based management

must remain a key activity wherever possible. In this regard, all non¬

passerines in our list and many of the passerines need to be conserved

in situ by strategically sound deployment of resources to improve

the wardening of existing protected areas. Some passerine taxa — e.g.

certain subspecies of White-rumped Shama and Hill Myna, plus

Javan White-eye and Java Sparrow — that do not occur in protected

areas must be managed through carefully designed plans of action

at remote, defensible sites (possibly with the creation of protected

areas as the ultimate ambition). Collaboration will be needed in

tourist areas (e.g. Brahminy Kites on Thousand Islands beach

resorts, White-rumped Shamas around diving resorts on Maratua

Island, Java Sparrows nesting in the Prambanan temple complex).

Taxa that have already disappeared will require the identification

and preparation of release sites for their speedy return to the wild.

Conservation breeding. Many taxa at risk from trade have little or

no short-term chance of survival owing to the continuing financial

incentive they represent to trappers. One solution is to establish and

maintain viable populations in captivity until cond itions in the wild

have improved and reintroductions can be implemented. In the past

few years, the Cikananga Wildlife Center, Sukabumi, West Java,

has developed into the main repository for species that are feared

to be at the brink of extinction, including Javan Green Magpie,

Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush, Sumatran Taughingthrush and

Black-winged Myna (Collar etal. 2012, Owen etal. 2014). However,

the running cost, paid by western institutions, is already high and

space (despite recent refurbishment) already limited. A working

agreement with Taman Safari Indonesia, Bogor, has allowed a

number of birds and species to be moved there for security and as

a means of distributing these taxa to zoos and parks outside the

country (Singapore, Europe), both for security and to share the

financial and logistical burden of growing and maintaining the

stock. However, as yet there is no provision for (e.g.) the various

threatened forms of White-rumped Shama, Asian Pied Starling

or Hill Myna, or for Straw-headed Bulbul, Javan White-eye or

Java Sparrow. Indeed, the entire suite of species outlined in this

paper needs rigorous evaluation in order to put in place a coherent

programme of conservation breeding within the shortest possible

time-frame, but clearly more institutions, more training and more

money are all crucial to any such initiative.

Commercial captive breeding. Expansion of commercial breeding

of threatened species has been advocated as a ‘market-based policy

instrument’ to substitute for wild-caught birds (Jepson & Ladle

2009, Jepson et al. 2011). However, while this idea has a strong

theoretical appeal, it has several practical drawbacks. First, to date

it has achieved little success, apparently because demand continues

to outstrip supply and wild-caught birds continue to cost less than

captive-bred ones. The claim that the mobilisation of ‘Java’s bird

breeders to supply Bali Starlings commercially’ made ‘the supply of

wild-caught birds financially unattractive for the crime syndicate

involved’ (Jepson 2015) may or may not be correct, but there is no

evidence that catching wild birds became financially unattractive

to local poachers, or that breeding on Java had any effect on what

happened with the wild or released birds in Bali. Second, genetic

contamination by cross-breeding with closely related forms can and

does occur when breeders seek to enhance their selling prices by

hybridising with closely related taxa that confer desirable phenotypic

properties (see, e.g., Asian Pied Starling above). Third, commercial

breeding currently provides a convenient conduit for the laundering

ofwild-caught animals (Nijman & Shepherd 2015a,b) and may even

encourage illegal trapping. Certainly it is only likely to work if it

is both scrupulously regulated and carefully synchronised with a

package of legal, financial and moral incentives and disincentives

aimed at changing cultural attitudes so that already domesticated

species are seen as better choices for pets than wild species.

Commercial wild breeding (‘ranching’). In some places it appears

that communities ‘harvest’ young birds sustainably from wild nests.

Orange-headed Thrushes on Bali breed commonly in salak palm

plantations, and their chicks are removed and hand-raised for sale,

while Java Sparrows on Madura are provided with bamboo nests,

and again their chicks are taken and sold into the pet trade; in both

cases (although this needs checking) the exploitation is apparently

not excessive and the populations are stable (SvB). Immediate

surveys, analysis and long-term monitoring of villages engaged

in such practices are needed to assess their durability, with a view

to promoting similar initiatives for as many species — and local

livelihoods — as might benefit from them. In the wild White-

rumped Shamas take to nest-boxes with alacrity (Palko etal. 2011),

and this trait could be exploited il communities could be persuaded

to ‘farm’ the birds sustainably.

Working with trappers. In a very small number of cases, bird

trappers in Indonesia have been converted into full-time guides

for birdwatching tourists, resulting in a higher, more reliable

income, easier, more sustainable life-style and a genuine interest

in conservation (Bukit Barisan Selatan and Mt Kerinci are two

examples: JAE). While such a tactic is unlikely to work everywhere,

in some cases the conversion of poachers into guides and rangers,

both enforcing the law and providing a livelihood, may be highly

effective, as demonstrated by the Katala Foundation with the

Philippine Cockatoo Cacatua haematuropygia (Widmann &

Widmann 2008). Moreover, trappers will possess information on

the species they target, as well as the networks they form part of,

so they represent invaluable potential sources of support to the

conservation effort.

Field, market and genetic surveys and monitoring. All taxa

identified in this paper require fuller documentation relating

to range, status, ecology and/or management needs. Plans are

already in place for status surveys of Yellow-crested Cockatoos

and species endemic to the mountain forests of West Java, and

field programmes for Sumatran Laughingthrush and the Nias Hill

Myna are in progress. Many of these taxa also require an in-depth

phylogenetic and/or population-genetic inquiry to help clarify

species boundaries. Genetic studies of various species complexes of

shamas, mynas, white-eyes and other birds are urgently required to

ascertain whether conservation efforts are needed to reverse the slide

into extinction of various insular taxa currently at the subspecies

level but possibly deserving of species status. Thus, a huge amount

of dedicated field- and laboratory work remains to be undertaken.

10

J. A. EATON etal.

Forktail 31 (2015)

Similarly, comprehensive and systematic surveys of bird markets

to plot trends in numbers and prices of birds must continue, and

the monitoring of singing contests will provide key information on

the fashions and interests of the bird-buying public. Hopefully over

time these activities will also be able to plot the effectiveness of all

the other recommendations made here.

Activity coordination. All these suggestions form functionally

independent but strategically interdependent components of an

overall plan, and are only likely to be effective if they are promoted

and organised through a central mechanism.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank the many people who contributed information to this review:

Thomas Arndt, Hanom Bashari. Charlotte Chang, Serene Chng, Giyanto,

Mehd Halouate, Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Nazri Janra, David Jeggo,

S. Jones, S. Kurniandaru, H. Kusumanegara, Frank Lambert, Rosemary

Low, Simon Mahood, Erik Meijaard, Adam Miller, Pete Morris, Carlos

Naza Bocos, Luis Neves, Wilson Novarino, Agus Nurza, Janos Olah, Tomas

Ouhel, Andrew Owen, Quentin Phillipps, Chairunas Putra, Imam Rahman,

Fred Sheldon, Resit Sozer, Tedi Sutedi, Andy Symes, Colin Trainor, Anai's

Tritto, Filip Verbelen, Tedi Wahyudi, Roland Wirth, T. S. Wong, Rene

Wlist, D. L. Yong and attendees at the first Asian Songbird Crisis Summit in

September, Singapore, along with its organisers. Wildlife Reserves Singapore,

and especially Sonja Luz. JBCH thanks the High Meadows Foundation

for funding. Two referees and Brian Sykes provided rigorous and valuable

commentaries that reshaped the original submission.

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FORKTAIL 31 (2015): 13-23

The number of species and subspecies in the Red-bellied

Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster complex: a quantitative

analysis of morphological characters

N. J. COLLAR, J. del HOYO & F. JUTGLAR

We examined specimens representing 29 of the 31 taxa described in the Red-bellied Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster complex, in the wake of

a primarily molecular study that concluded 17 species are involved. Using quantitative criteria we evaluated the morphological (plumage

and mensural) characters of each taxon to determine its taxonomic rank. We found that 13 taxa ( erythrogaster , inspeculata, caeruleitorques,

palliceps, cetebensis, dohertyi, rufiventris, rubrinucha, macklotii, meeki, gazellae, splendida and novaehibernicae) scored sufficiently highly to be

considered species. Nine ( cyanonota , bernsteini, piroensis, digglesi, habenichti, loriae, oblita, finschii and extima ) emerged as subspecies, and

nine others ( yairocho , propinqua, obiensis, kuehni, aruensis, strenua and yorki, plus the unseen but uncontroversial thompsoni and inornata ) are

treated as synonyms. Thus morphology conforms with 75% of splits generated by mainly molecular insights. Further changes to the proposed

arrangement may, of course, occur with new evidence, notably acoustic.

INTRODUCTION

For several decades taxonomists and ornithologists have treated

the Red-bellied Pitta Pitta (now Erythropitta: see Irestedt et al.

2006) erythrogaster as a single species comprising as many as 26

subspecies scattered across the islands between the Philippines and

Solomons (Mayr 1979, Lambert 1996, Erritzoe & Erritzoe 1998,

Erritzoe 2003). In morphology the taxa comprising this radiation

are united by several characters — blue breast-band, blue wings and

tail, and red belly— but marked out by differences in size and in

the colours of the upperparts, throat, ear-coverts, crown, nape and

lower breast, in a broad suite of combinations. Indeed, the degree

of phenotypic variation exhibited by most of these subspecies has

been acknowledged as unusually high (Lambert 1996, Erritzoe

2003), and one of the taxa, dohertyi from the Sula Islands east of

Sulawesi, is so distinctive that it has sometimes been separated out

as a full species (Sibley & Monroe 1990, Lambert 1996, Inskipp et

al. 1 996, BirdLife International 2001), although to do so in isolation

seems both biogeographically problematic and taxonomically

invidious. In the absence of tools or rules by which to attempt

a comprehensive revision of the species, the taxonomic default

position has understandably been to leave the entire complex alone.

With the advent of molecular analysis, however, a tool emerged

for the assessment of degree of relatedness between taxa. Taking an

‘integrative’ approach — led by genetic evidence but complemented

by morphological and partial vocal information — Irestedt et al.

(2013) produced a revolutionary arrangement in which the Red-

bellied Pitta breaks down into 17 species. However, despite the

commendable thoroughness and clarity of this study, its conclusions

have not been adopted by Dickinson & Christidis (2014) or Gill

& Donsker (20 15). Moreover, several very able ornithologists with

experience of many taxa in the complex indicated to us in personal

communications that the vocal similarities between the newly

defined species are sufficiently strong to represent a real source of

unease about the proposed new arrangement, if vocal differentiation

is considered a decisive measure of speciation under the Biological

Species Concept (BSC).

Adoption of a phylogenetic species concept (PSC) approach

to the issue would result, we assume, in every diagnosable taxon —

hence every recognised subspecies — in the complex being elevated

to species rank, and with up to 26 subspecies generally considered

valid this would be closer to the conclusions reached by Irestedt etal.

(2013); but such a move would only be appropriate (albeit still not

necessarily right) if all other diagnosable taxa in the class Aves were

subject to the same criteria. Without specifying a particular species

concept in support of their revision, Irestedt et al. (2013) evidently

declined a PSC approach, implying instead that the use of as many

lines of evidence as possible had produced an arrangement which

approximated to biological species limits: ‘If differences in plumage

and vocalizations provide cues for species recognition, then most of

the species that we recognize are likely to be reproductively isolated’.

The perennial difficulty of determining reproductive isolation

in closely related allopatric taxa renders it impossible to decide with

confidence on biological species status, and Irestedt et al. (2013)

were impressively undogmatic and open in the way they offered

their revision to the world. The only drawback to their analysis, if it

is a drawback, resides in the use of ‘most’ in the quotation above: it

implies variable performance in meeting a particular standard by the

taxa they elevate to species rank. We therefore sought to review the

Erythropitta erythrogaster complex from an independent perspective

using another new tool, the criteria for species delimitation set out

by Tobias etal. (2010).

METHODS

Although the criteria in Tobias etal. (2010) provide for the analysis

of acoustic, behavioural and ecological evidence, the necessary

material for a full set of comparisons is unavailable. We therefore

considered the issue of species rank among the Red-bellied Pitta

complex using only morphological (plumage and morphometric)

evidence. We examined museum specimens in the American

Museum of Natural History (AMNF3), New York, USA, Natural

History Museum, Tring, UK (NHMUK, but BMNH for catalogue

numbers), Naturalis, Leiden, Netherlands (RMNH for catalogue

numbers) and Zoologisches Museum, Berlin, Germany (ZMB). We

took photographs of representative samples of taxa and used them

when making comparisons in the other museums. For morphometric

analysis we used the very thorough tables (with their means and

standard deviations) provided by Erritzoe & Erritzoe (1998), who

measured much the same material; in a few cases we supplemented

these data with measurements of our own (these cases are identified ;

unattributed measurement-related data refer to the Erritzoes’ work).

We also referred to the diagnoses provided by the SOM in Irestedt

etal. (2013).

As far as we are aware, the total number of taxa that have been

ascribed to the Red-bellied Pitta is 3 1 , all mentioned and 26 regarded

as valid by Mayr (1979; for ranges see Figure 1). In the following

list, we give after each taxon (a) the number of adult specimens

of both sexes examined at our principal research base, NHMUK,

14

N. J. COLLAR, J. del HOYO & F. JUTGLAR

Forktail 31 (2015)

celebensis

erythrogaster

caeruleitorques Q

inspeculata

palliceps

rufiventris

inacklotii

splendida

novaehibernicae

gazellae - V

meeki

Figure I.The distribution of taxa in the Red-bellied Pitta complex, based on analyses in this paper. Solid lines define ranges of species, with name

of species adjacent. Dotted lines define ranges of other taxa, numbered as follows (inverted commas indicating taxa not considered valid here): 1,

'thompsoni1; 2,'propinqua': 3,'yairocho'-, 4, cyanonota; 5, bernsteini ; 6 ,'obiensis'; 7 , piroensis-, 8,'kuehni'; 9,'aruensis'; 1 0, diggtesi ; 1 1 , habenichti; 1 2, oblita-,

1 3, loriae; 14, finschii ; 15, extima. Three other invalid taxa ('inornata'/strenua'/yorki') are not represented as they reflect no geographical information.

with an asterisk (*) indicating that the total includes the type, (b) in

brackets the number of specimens (sexes here conflated) for which

morphometric data were provided by Erritzoe & Erritzoe (1998),

with ranges when some variables could not be measured, and (c) the

number of specimens of certain taxa that were examined in the other

three museums (we did not keep a full tally of specimens considered

in these institutions as we were mainly targeting those taxa for which

NHMUK holds little or no material): erythrogaster 30 (52-58),

thompsoni 0 (1 ),propinqua 7 (13-15), yairocho 0 (0) 4, inspeculata

3 (14-20) 8, caeruleitorques 0 (2) 2, palliceps 0 (4) 8, celebensis 12

(3 1 -43), dohertyi 1 (3-6) 4, rufiventris 1 1 (24-31), obiensis 1 (3-5)

3, inornata \* (0), cyanonota 4* (7), bernsteini 0 (2) 1 ,rubrinucha 2*

(4) 2,piroensis 0 (3) 4, macklotii 67 (50-56), kuehni 3 (30-35) >20,

aruensis 5 (2), strenua 1* (0), digglesi 0 (0 ),yorki 0 (0), habenichti 1

(24-29) >40, loriae 12 (29-31), oblita 0 (5) 4 .finschii 6 (15) >10,

extima 1 (8-9) 12, meeki 3 (19) 13, gazellae 8 (79-85), splendida 0

(13) 12 and novaehibernicae 0 (10-11) >15. Thus we examined all

described taxa except thompsoni andj yorki.

We measured the degree of phenotypic distinctiveness of each

taxon using a system in which an exceptional difference (a radically

different coloration, pattern or vocalisation) scores 4, a major

character (pronounced difference in body part colour or pattern,

measurement or vocalisation) 3, a medium character (clear difference

reflected, e.g., by a distinct hue rather than different colour) 2, and

a minor character (weak difference, e.g. a change in shade) 1; a

threshold of 7 is set to allow species status, species status cannot

be triggered by minor characters alone, and only three plumage

characters, two vocal characters, two biometric characters (assessed

for effect size using Cohen’s d where 0.2-2 is minor, 2-5 medium,

5 - 1 0 major and > 1 0 exceptional) and one behavioural or ecological

character may be counted (Tobias et al. 2010). Where additional

characters are apparent but under these rules cannot be scored,

the formula ‘ns[l]’ is used, signalling 'not scored’ but giving in

parenthesis the estimated value of the difference in question. Where

the sample size of measurements was too small to generate a standard

deviation, we use personal judgement in order to allow’ a score;

unless otherwise stated, mensural comparisons are between males.

We compared taxa with each other until they failed to reach a

score of 7. Some taxa failed at the first comparison, while others, even

if their relatedness appeared unlikely on biogeographical grounds,

continued to be compared until all options were exhausted.

Taxa in the Red-bellied Pitta complex generally have a small white

spot midway along the central primaries, and variations in position,

size and existence of this spot have been used taxonomically (the

name inspeculata indicates the absence of the spot in Talaud birds).

However, we found the documentation of this variable difficult and

unrewarding, and elected to set it aside as a line of inquiry.

RESULTS

Of the 29 taxa in the Red-bellied Pitta complex which we reviewed

directly, 13 scored sufficiently highly against the Tobias criteria to

be considered species, nine emerged as subspecies, and seven were

Forktail 31(2015) Number of species and subspecies in the Red-bellied Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster complex

15

found or confirmed to be synonyms. Of the two taxa not examined,

the case for their synonymisation prevailed.

In the following accounts the scores for each of the accepted

species are provided in round brackets at the end of each character

description, with the total score in square brackets at the end of the

entry. All subspecies composing polytypic species were taken account

of in the comparisons we made.

Erythropitta erythrogaster Philippine Pitta

Hi is form differs from other taxa in the complex by its combination

of green breast-sides, buff-streaked throat, blue upper mantle above

green dorsum, and dark lateral crown-stripes with no blue in the

central crown (see under other species for Tobias scores).

Erythropitta inspeculata Talaud Pitta

Differs from E. erythrogaster (morphologically the closest taxon) by

its all cobalt-blue (no green) upperparts and breast-sides (3), plain

dark brown crown vs paler brown crown with dark brown lateral

stripes (3), much reduced or no white in centre of black throat

(1), stronger red belly (ns[l]), bill on average longer (in RMNH

four males 23.5 vs six males from Mindanao 22.3: NJC) and wings

distinctly shorter (same birds 92 vs 98.6) (for latter allow 1) [8];

and from E. caeruleitorques,E. palliceps, E. celebensis,E. dohertyi,

E. rufiventris, E. rubrinucha, E. macklotii, E. meeki, E. gazellae,

E. splendida and E. novaehibernicae by characters itemised under

those species.

Erythropitta caeruieitorques Sangihe Pitta

Differs from E. erythrogaster by its lack of blackish lateral stripes (2),

paler, much brighter rest of crown (3), blue-green vs half-green, half¬

blue upperparts (below blue upper mantle) (ns[l])> variably broad/

narrow black lower breast-band (ns[ 1 ] ), unstreaked, paler throat (2),

deeper bill (allow 1) [8];

from E. inspeculata by its plain pale reddish-brown crown vs

chocolate -brown crown (3), pale brown vs black ear-coverts to chin

and upper throat (3), green-blue vs blue upperparts (2), slightly

longer tarsus (allow 1) [9];

from E. celebensis by its lack of electric-blue coronal stripe (3),

plain pale reddish-brown crown vs dark brown crown-sides shading

to ferruginous nape (3), blue-green vs green upperparts ( 1 ), shorter

wing (allow 1), longer bill (allow 1) [9];

from E. rufiventris by its black vs grey-brown lower throat and

upper breast (3), blue band across upper mantle (2), paler, more

uniform crown with much less grey-brown on frontal half (2) [7];

from E. meeki by its blue-green vs green upperparts (2), darker,

narrower blue breast (2), generally narrower black lower breast-band

(ns [ 1 ] ), bright fulvous-rufous vs dull ochreish-brown crown (ns [ 1 ] ),

stronger black upper breast-patch (1) and considerably shorter bill

and tail (allow 2) [7];

and from E. palliceps , E. dohertyi, E. rubrinucha, E. macklotii,

E. gazellae, E. splendida and if novaehibernicae by characters under

those species.

Erythropitta palliceps Siao Pitta

Differs from E. erythrogaster by its electric-blue coronal stripe (3),

lack (or only trace) of blue upper mantle (2), narrow black lower

breast-band (2), lack of green breast-sides (ns [2]), unstreaked throat

(ns[2j), considerably larger size (allow 2) [9];

from E. inspeculata by its much more developed electric-blue

coronal stripe (ns[2])> pale rufous-brown vs dark chestnut rest of

crown (3), dull green vs dull blue upperparts (3), pale brown vs black

chin and throat (3) [9];

from E. caeruieitorques by its electric-blue coronal stripe vs

none (3), much darker brown on forecrown and mid-crown (2),

smaller black upper breast-spot (ns [ 1 ] ), paler blue breast ( 1 ), greener

upperparts (ns[l]) and longer wing (allow 1) [7];

from E. celebensis by paler lateral crown with cheek and throat less

grey, more cinnamon-fulvous, so that head colour is rather uniform,

with greater extension of brown from nape onto mantle, making a

broader brown hindcollar vs darkish brown and chestnut on crown

with contrasting much paler, huffier cheek and throat, with black

hindcollar (3), much less developed electric-blue coronal stripe (2),

smaller black patch on lower throat/ upper breast and narrower (or

no) black lower breast-band (2); slightly paler, more olive-green

upperparts (ns[l]) [7];

from E. meeki by its electric-blue coronal stripe vs none (3), much

narrower black lower breast-band (2), mid-brown vs grey-brown face

and throat (1), longer wing (allow 1) and shorter bill (allow 1) [8];

and from E. dohertyi, E. rufiventris, E. rubrinucha, E. macklotii,

E. gazellae, E. splendida and£. novaehibernicae by characters under

those species.

Erythropitta celebensis Sulawesi Pitta

Differs from E. erythrogaster by its broad electric-blue coronal stripe

(3), lack of blue upper mantle but narrow black hindcollar (ns[2]),

richer chestnut hindcrown (ns[l])> (longitudinally) broader, brighter

blue breast (2), broad black band below breast (2), less streaked

throat (ns[l]) and rather larger size (effect size for wing 3. 14, score

2) [9];

from E. inspeculata by its green vs blue upperparts (3), much

broader, brighter blue breast (ns[2]), broad electric-blue coronal

stripe vs none (3), bold black lower breast-band vs none (ns[2]),

much paler head-sides and throat (ns[2] ), paler chestnut crown-sides

and nape with dark lateral crown-stripes vs none (3) [9];

from E. rufiventris by its strong electric-blue coronal stripe vs

none (3), darklateral crown-stripes vs none (2), blackish lower throat

and upper breast with extension in weak line around hindneck vs

small dark grey-brown lower throat-patch with no hindneck line but

brighter rufous lower nape (3), dull blue vs dull green wing-coverts

(ns[2]) [8];

from E. rubrinucha by its lack of a bold reddish-pink nuchal

spot (3), chestnut vs dark brown hindcrown and nape (2), lack of

(or vestigial) extended electric-blue ear-coverts (2) and longer wing

(effect size 2.73; score 2) [9];

and from E. caeruieitorques, E. palliceps, E. dohertyi, E. macklotii ,

E. meeki, E. gazellae, E. splendida and E. novaehibernicae by

characters under those species.

Erythropitta dohertyi Sula Pitta

Differs from all other taxa in complex (male plumage characters

unless otherwise stated) by its broad black hind-collar (3), pale iris

in female (3), paler blue breast, with notably broad lower black band

(2) , and slightly scaled pattern on upperparts (ns[lj) [8].

Erythropitta rufiventris North Moluccas Pitta

Including the forms cyanonota and bernsteini, differs from E.

erythrogaster by its at most diffuse dusky-brown vs black upper

breast-patch (2), no or greatly reduced green on breast-sides (2), no

blue upper mantle (ns [2]), much darker green upperparts extending

to rump (blue in erythrogaster) (3), brighter crown (ns[l]), shorter

wing (effect size - 1 .2, score 1 ) but longer bill and tarsus (effect size

for male tarsus 3, score 2) [10];

from E. inspeculata by its green vs blue upperparts (3), much

broader, paler breast (2), pale brown vs (dark brown to usually) black

throat and upper breast (3), paler, redder crown and nape (ns[2] ) [8] ;

fromifi palliceps by its lack of a broad electric-blue coronal stripe

(3) , mid-brown vs black patch on lower throat and upper breast (2),

reduced narrow blackish breast-band ( 1 ), shorter wing (allow 2) [8] ;

from E. rubrinucha by its lack of an electric-blue coronal stripe

(3), plain reddish-brown vs chocolate-brown crown (ns[2])> lack of

bold reddish-pink nuchal patch (3), lack of elongate electric-blue

ear-coverts (3) [9];

16

N. J. COLLAR, J. del HOYO & F. JUTGLAR

Forktail 31 (2015)

Plate 1 .Taxa in the Red-bellied Pitta complex by Chris

Rose, with adjustments by FJ.

ssp cyanonota

ssp bernsteini

E erythrogaster

Philippine Pitta

E. rufiventris

North Moluccas Pitta

E. inspeculata

Talaud Pitta

E. caeruleitorques

Sangihe

Pitta

ssp rufiventris

E- palliceps

Siao Pitta

ssp

piroensis

E. celebensis

Sulawesi

Pitta

ssp

rubrinucha

E. dohertyi

Sula Pitta

E. rubrinucha

South Moluccas Pitta

Forktail 31(2015) Number of species and subspecies in the Red-bellied Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster complex

17

ssp habenichti

E. gazellae

New Britain Pitta

ssp macklotii

ssp

extima

E. novaehibernicae

New Ireland Pitta

ssp digglesi

E. macklotii

Papuan Pitta

ssp

novaehibernicae

E. splendida

Tabar Pitta

ssp finschii

ssp oblita

E. meeki

Louisiade Pitta

ssp loriae

18

N. J. COLLAR, J. del HOYO & F. JUTGLAR

Forktail 31 (2015)

and from E. caeruleitorques, E. celebensis, E. dohertyi, E.

macklotii , E. meeki , E. gazellae, E. splendida and E. novaebibernicae

by characters given under those species.

Erythropitta rubrinucha South Moluccas Pitta

Including the form piroensis , differs from all taxa by its bold reddish-

pink nuchal spot (3) and

from E. erythrogaster by its broad electric-blue coronal stripe (3),

darker brown crown (ns[2]), extended electric-blue ear-coverts (3),

darker green upperparts (ns[l]), no (orvery reduced) green breast-

sides (ns[2]), unstreaked throat (ns[2]), longer bill, tarsus and tail

(effect size for tarsus 2.54, score 2) [11];

from E. inspeculata by its green vs blue upperparts (3), broad

electric-blue coronal stripe (3), extended electric-blue ear-coverts

(ns[3]), broader, paler blue breast (ns[2]), pale grey-buff vs blackish

throat (ns[3]), darker brown crown (ns[l]) [9];

from E. caeruleitorques by its broad electric-blue coronal stripe

(3), extended electric-blue ear-coverts (3), dark brown vs pale

reddish-brown crown (ns[3]), lack of broad blue band across upper

mantle (ns[2]), green vs blue-green remaining upperparts (ns [2]) [9];

from E. palliceps by its extended electric-blue ear-coverts (3),

dark vs pale brown crown and nape (2), considerably shorter wing

(allow 2) [10];

from E. macklotii by its broad electric-blue coronal stripe vs

diffuse, weak and dull blue coronal area (ns[2])> extended electric-

blue ear-coverts vs none (3), pale grey-brown vs blackish throat (3),

narrow or non-existent blackish-green vs bold black breast-band

(ns[2])> smaller size (effect size for wing -2.6, score 2) [11];

and from E. celebensis , E. dohertyi , E. rufiventris, E. gazellei , E.

splendida and E. novaebibernicae by characters given under those

species.

Erythropitta macklotii Papuan Pitta

Including the forms digglesi, habenichti , loriae, oblita, finschii and

extima , differs from E. erythrogaster by its black throat and malar

region (3), no green sides to blue breast (2), broad black lower breast-

band vs none (3), black forecrown shading to dark brown or strong

flame-red on nape (ns [2] ), lack of blue upper mantle (ns [2] ), darker

green back with reduced area of blue on rump (ns [2]), considerably

larger size (effect size for tarsus 3.7, score 2) [10];

fro mil. inspeculata by its (comparison herewith morphologically

closest form finschii ) broader, paler blue breast (2), much broader

black lower breast-band (2), paler, more chestnut hindcrown ( 1 ) and

much larger size (effect size for wing 5.1, score 3) [8];

from E. caeruleitorques by its dark brown crown (with or without

flame-red nape) vs uniform pale red-brown crown (2), blackish vs

pale brown throat to ear-coverts (3), broader black lower breast-band

(2) , considerably larger size (allow 2) [9] ;

from E. palliceps by diffuse bluish coronal area vs clear broad

electric-blue coronal stripe (2), darker brown crown (with or without

flame-red nape) (2), blackish vs pale brown throat to ear-coverts (3),

slightly larger size (ns) [7];

from E. celebensis by lack of broad electric-blue coronal stripe

(3) , blackish vs pale grey-brown throat to ear-coverts (3), blacker

frontal half of crown (1), longer bill (effect size using nominate 2.7,

score 2) [9];

from E. rufiventris (comparing morphologically closest

nominate) by its blacker frontal half of crown (2), strong blue wing-

coverts (2), blackish vs paler brown throat and ear-coverts (ns[2])>

black vs paler dusky-brown upper breast-patch (3), much bolder

and blacker lower breast-band (ns[2])> much longer wing (effect

size using nominate 4.4, score 2) [9];

from E. meeki by very dark brown forecrown and richer red-

chestnut hindcrown (with or without flame-red nape) vs uniform

pale ochreish-brown crown (3), blackish vs pale greyish-brown throat

to ear-coverts with darker black upper breast-patch (3), narrower

(albeit broad) black lower breast-band (1), longer wing (effect size

using nominate 2.29, score 2) [9];

from E. gazellae by very diffuse (sometimes vestigial or even

absent) bluish coronal area vs broad electric-blue coronal stripe

(2) , lack (or vestigial presence) of elongate bluish ear-coverts (2),

hindcrown and nape weaker red (ns[l])> broader, blacker lower

breast-band (2), deeper bill (effect size using nominate 2.83, score

2) [8];

from E. splendida by lack of silvery-blue elongate ear-coverts

(3) , no narrow black hindcollar (2) and (in all taxa except E. m.

finschii ) green vs blue upperparts (3) or (in E. m. finschii) lack of

bright flame-red mid-crown to nape (3) [8];

from E. novaebibernicae by lack of elongate pale blue ear-coverts

(3), bold black lower breast-band (2), black vs pale brown throat,

malar and upper breast-patch (3), blackish vs maroon frontal half

of crown (ns[l]), much longer wing (effect size using nominate 3.4,

score 2) [10];

and from E. dohertyi by characters listed under that species.

Erythropitta meeki Louisiade Pitta

Differs from E. erythrogaster by its lack of blackish-brown lateral

crown-stripes (2), pale brown (extension from nape) vs blue upper

mantle (2), darker upperparts (ns[l]), no green on breast-sides

(ns[2]), very broad black lower breast-band vs none (3), larger size

(effect size for tail 4.3, score 2) [9];

from E. inspeculata by its much paler, more ochreish-brown

crown extending more onto nape (3), green vs blue upperparts (3),

pale grey-brown vs blackish lower face, chin and upper throat-patch

(ns[3])> broader, paler blue breast (ns[3]), bold black breast-band

vs none (3), larger overall size with notably longer tail (effect size

3.84, score 2) [11];

from E. celebensis by its lack of broad electric-blue coronal

stripe (3), paler, more ochreish crown, the colour extending onto

nape where celebensis has a blackish hindcollar (3), smaller, weaker

upper breast-patch (2), broader black lower breast-band (ns[l]),

shorter wing (effect size -2.5, score 2) but longer bill (effect size

3.5, score 2) [12];

from E. rufiventris by its more ochreish crown with no strong

reddish-rufous nape (2), small blackish breast-patch vs none (3),

very broad black lower breast-band vs vague greenish-black line (3),

larger size (effect size for wing 2.46, score 2) [10];

from E. rubrinucha by its lack of electric-blue coronal stripe

(3), pale vs dark brown crown to nape (ns[3])> lack of reddish-pink

nuchal spot (3), weaker elongate pale blue ear-coverts (ns [2]), broad

black lower breast-band vs none (3), larger size (effect size for bill

2.5, score 2) [11];

from E. gazellae by its lack of electric-blue coronal stripe (3), lack

of bluish elongate ear-coverts (ns[2]), pale ochreish- vs dark brown

frontal half of crown (2), pale ochreish-brown vs bright chestnut

to flame-red distal half of crown to nape (3), pale brownish throat

with small blackish breast-patch vs black throat and broad black

upper breast-patch (ns [2]), much broader lower breast-band (ns[2])>

somewhat shorter wing (effect size -2.4, score 2) but slightly longer

bill (effect size 1 .24, score 1 ) [11];

from E. splendida by its ochreish-brown vs frontally maroon,

distally bright red crown (3), green vs blue upperparts (3), weak

(brownish) vs strong black throat and breast-patch (3), broad vs very

narrow black lower breast-band (ns[3]), and considerably shorter

wing (effect size -4.7, score 2) [11];

from E. novaebibernicae by its ochreish-brown vs frontally

maroon, distally flame-red crown (3), green vs blue rump (ns[2]),

less developed pale blue ear-coverts (ns[l])> grey-brown wwarm pale

brown face and chin (ns[l]), blackish vs mid-brown upper breast-

patch (3), broad black lower breast-band vs none (3) [9];

and from E. caeruleitorques , E. palliceps , E. dohertyi and E.

macklotii by characters given under those species.

Forktail 31(2015) Number of species and subspecies in the Red-bellied Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster complex

19

Erythropitta gazellae New Britain Pitta

Differs from E. erythrogaster by its electric-blue coronal stripe vs none

(3), blackish frontal and bright chestnut to flame-red distal crown

vs chestnut-brown crown with darker lateral stripes (3), lack of blue

upper mantle (ns [2]), darker green upperparts with less blue around

rump (ns[2]), bluish elongate ear-coverts vs none (3), blackish throat

and breast-patch vs pale-streaked brown throat and smaller breast-

patch (ns[2]), narrow vs broad green breast-sides (ns[2]), blackish

lower breast-band vs none (ns[2]), larger overall size (effect size for

tarsus 4.2, score 2) [11];

from£. caeruleitorques by its electric-blue coronal stripe vs none

(3), blackish wpale ochreish- or rufous-brown frontal half of crown

(3), flame-red vs pale ochreish- or rufous-brown distal half of crown

(3), lack of vague blue upper mantle (ns[2]), green vs green-blue

upperparts (ns[2]), bluish elongate ear-coverts vs none (ns[3]), greyer

face (ns[l]), blackish vs pale brown throat (ns[2j), longer tail and

tarsus (allow at least 1) [10];

from E. inspeculata by its much stronger electric-blue coronal

stripe (ns[2]), bright chestnut to flame-red vs dark chestnut

hindcrown and nape (3), green vs blue upperparts (3), pale brownish

vs black face and chin (3), moderately broad blackish lower breast-

band vs none (ns[2]), longer wing (effect size 3.8, score 2) [11];

from E. palliceps by its flame-red vs ochreish-brown hindcrown

(3), bluish elongate ear-coverts vs none (2), black throat and broad

black upper breast-patch vs pale brown throat with small black

breast-patch (3) [8];

from E. celehensis by its less developed electric-blue coronal stripe

(2) , bright chestnut to flame-red vs rufous-chestnut (with black collar)

hindneck and nape (ns[2]), bluish elongate ear-coverts vs none (3),

grey-brown vs pale buff face and chin (2), weaker blackish lower

breast-band (ns[l]), larger bill (effect size for depth 2.3, score 2) [9];

from E. rufiventris by its electric-blue coronal stripe vs none

(3) , blackish frontal and bright chestnut to flame-red distal crown

to nape vs overall reddish-rufous crown (ns[2]), bluish elongate

ear-coverts vs none (3), black throat and breast-patch vs none (3),

broader blackish lower breast-band (ns [ 1 ] ), considerably longer wing

(effect size 4.8, score 2) [11];

from if. rubrinucha by its flame-red vs dark brown (with reddish-

pink nuchal spot) hindcrown and nape (3), black throat and broad

breast-patch vs pale grey-brown throat and small black breast-patch

(3), broader blackish lower breast-band (1), considerably longer wing

(effect size 2.6, score 2) [9];

from E. splendida by its electric-blue coronal stripe vs none

(3), flame-red vs bright red hindcrown and nape (1), green vs blue

upperparts (3), paler face and chin (ns[l]) and smaller overall size

(effect size for tarsus -2.3, score 2) [9];

from E. novaehibernicae by its relatively strong electric-blue

coronal stripe (2), darker and narrower (black of crown extending

further back) bright chestnut to flame-red hindneck (1), black vs

pale brown throat and mid-brown breast-patch (3), considerably

longer wing (effect size 3.6, score 2) [8] ;

and from E. dohertyi, E. macklotii and E. meeki by characters

given under those species.

Erythropitta splendida la bar Pitta

Differs from E. erythrogaster by its blackish forecrown and bright red

hindcrown vs chestnut-brown crown with darker lateral stripes (3),

lack of bright blue upper mantle (ns [2]), blue vs green upperparts

(3), black chin to breast-patch vs pale brown chin and throat and

small black breast-patch (3), no green breast-sides (ns[2])> narrow

black lower breast-band vs none (ns[l]), much larger size (effect size

for tarsus 6.45, score 3) [12];

from E. inspeculata by its blackish vs deep chestnut forecrown

(1), bright red vs deep chestnut hindcrown and nape (3), broader,

paler blue breast (2), narrow black lower breast-band vs none (ns [ 1 ] ),

much larger size (effect size for wing 6.75, score 3) [9];

from E. caeruleitorques by its blackish vs pale ochre forecrown

(ns[2]), bright red vs pale ochre hindcrown and nape (3), elongate

electric-blue ear-coverts vs none (3), black vs pale brown face and

chin (3), larger size (allow 2) [11];

from E. palliceps by its weak and dull vs strong electric-blue

coronal stripe (ns[2]), bright red vs ochreish hindcrown and nape

(3), blue vs green upperparts (3), black vs mid-brown lower face, chin

and throat (3), somewhat larger bill (allow 1) [10];

from E. celebensis by its blue vs green upperparts (3), weak, dull

and diffuse vs strong electric-blue coronal stripe (ns[2]), maroon vs

dull brown forecrown (ns[ 1 ]), bright red vs pale chestnut hindcrown

and nape (3), elongate electric-blue ear-coverts vs none (3), strong

black chin to upper breast-patch vs pale grey-brown chin and small

blackish breast-patch (ns[3]), no green breast-sides (ns[2]), notably

larger bill and longer tarsus (effect size for tarsus 4. 1 6, score 2) [11];

from E. rufiventris by its blue vs green upperparts (3), maroon

vs dull reddish-brown forecrown (ns[l]), bright red wpale reddish-

chestnut hindcrown and nape (3), elongate electric-blue ear-coverts

vs none (3), strong black chin to upper breast-patch vs pale grey-

brown chin to breast-patch (ns[3]), much longer wing (effect size

6.07, score 3) [12];

from E. rubrinucha by its blue vs green upperparts (3), weak

and dull vs strong electric-blue coronal stripe (ns [2]), bright red

hindcrown to nape vs dark brown hindcrown with reddish-pink

nuchal spot (3); strong black chin to upper breast-patch vs pale

grey-brown chin to weak blackish breast-patch (3), larger overall

size (effect size for wing 3, score 2) [11];

from E. meeki by its blue vs green upperparts (3), maroon vs

pale ochreish-brown forecrown (ns[2]), bright red zy pale ochreish-

chestnut hindcrown and nape (3), strong black chin to upper breast-

patch vs pale grey-brown chin to weak blackish breast-patch (3), very

narrow vs very broad black lower breast-band (ns [3]), overall larger

size (effect size for wing 3.13, score 2) [11];

from E. novaehibernicae by its blue vs green upperparts (3),

darker maroon forecrown and brighter red hindcrown (2), blackish

wpale grey-brown face and throat and mid-brown breast-patch (3),

narrow vs no black lower breast-band (ns [ 1 ] ) and much longer wing

(effect size 5.36, score 3) [11];

and from E. dohertyi , E. macklotii and E. gazellae by characters

given under those species.

Erythropitta novaehibernicae New Ireland Pitta

Differs from E. erythrogaster by its maroon frontal and flame-red

distal crown to nape vs chestnut-brown crown with darker lateral

stripes (3), lack of blue upper mantle (ns[2]), elongate pale blue

ear-coverts vs none (3), unstreaked pale brown throat and no black

upper breast-patch (3), no broad green breast-sides (ns[2]), longer

tarsus (effect size 3.6, score 2) [11];

from E. inspeculata by its maroon vs dark chestnut frontal half

of crown (ns[l]), flame-red vs dark chestnut distal half of crown to

nape (3), green vs blue upperparts (3), elongate pale blue ear-coverts

vs none (3), pale grey-brown vs blackish face to upper breast-patch

(ns[3]), broader, paler blue breast (ns[2])> overall somewhat larger

size (effect size for tail 2.58, score 2) [11];

from E. caeruleitorques by its maroon vs ochreish- or rufous-

brown frontal half of crown (ns [2]), flame-red vs ochreish-brown

distal half of crown to nape (3), green vs greenish-blue upperparts

(ns[2]), elongate pale blue ear-coverts vs none (3), lack of black

upper breast-patch (3) [9];

from E. palliceps by its vestigial or absent electric-blue coronal

stripe (ns [2]), flame-red vs ochreish-brown distal half of crown to

nape (3), elongate pale blue ear-coverts vs none (3), lack of black

upper breast-patch (3), lack of narrow black breast-band (ns [2]),

shorter wing (at least 2) [11];

from E. celebensis by its vestigial or absent vs strong electric-blue

coronal stripe (3), flame-red vs chestnut distal half of crown to nape

20

N. J. COLLAR, J. del HOYO & F. JUTGLAR

Forktail 31 (201 5)

(3), elongate pale blue ear-coverts vs none (3), lack of black upper

breast-patch (ns[3]), less green on breast-sides (ns [ 1 ] ), no vs broad

black lower breast-band (ns [3]), shorter wing (effect size -3.66, score

2) but longer bill and tarsus (effect size for bill 2.06, score 2) [13];

from E. rufiventris by its elongate pale blue ear-coverts vs none

(3), flame-red vs reddish-chestnut hindcrown and nape (2), blue vs

green rump (2), slightly longer wing (effect size 0.52, score 1) [8];

from E. rubrinucha by its vestigial or absent electric-blue coronal

stripe (2), flame-red vs dark brown distal half of crown to nape (3),

blue vs green rump (ns[2]), lack of blackish upper breast-patch (3)

and slightly longer tail and tarsus (effect size for tarsus 1.3, score

1) [9];

and from E. dohertyi , E. macklotii, E. meeki, E. gazellae and E.

splendida by characters under those species.

Taxa judged species by Irestedt et al. (201 3)

Four taxa treated as species by Irestedt etal. (2010) were assigned to

subspecies under the Tobias criteria, owing to their reduced degrees

of morphological distinctiveness.

Taxon yairocho. — This is a curious case, in that the only two

sources to recognise the form, Hachisuka (1935), who described

it (from the Sulu Islands in the Philippines), and Irestedt et al.

(2013), who split it, used plumage diagnoses that do not overlap.

Hachisuka (1935) treated it as a subspecies of erythrogaster, the

male differing ‘in having an entirely black patch on throat, with no

trace of white; chin and crown also dark smoky brown’, the female

differing merely in that ‘the throat is more smoky chestnut and the

white is restricted to the base of the feathers, so that normally this

is not seen’. However, Irestedt et al. (2013), while rescuing yairocho

from synonymy with E. e. erythrogaster where it was placed by Mayr

(1979) and Dickinson et al. (1991), diagnosed it as having ‘longer

scapulars, tertials and rump green, thus green equally extensive as in

other taxa with green upperparts; breast entirely green, without blue

on central breast’. The Irestedt account appears to be based on two

specimens in Naturalis (RMNH 121390, male, and 121391, female;

both from Jolo, a range extension), which do indeed have the breast

entirely green; but this happens in erythrogaster also (e.g. RMNH

121389), while the type of yairocho, in AMNH, and a specimen

from Sibutu (ZMB 32342) have a dull blue central breast with green

sides, as in most erythrogaster. The measurement of the scapulars is

difficult and would need validation in a larger sample, besides which

they represent an improbable specific character; and the green rump

and tertials are not diagnostic. Meanwhile, Hachisuka’s all-black

throat-patch in the male sometimes also occurs in erythrogaster (e.g.

BMNH80.il. 18.52, 91.5.13.518), while RMNH 121391 andZMB

32342 have a distinctly visible whitish central throat-patch and the

former’s throat is exactly the same brown colour as, e.g., RMNH

92861 from Luzon. Measurements (by NJC) of the two Naturalis

and single ZMB birds coincide closely with those of birds from

Mindanao. Thus, discounting length of scapulars, there appears to be

no dependable morphological character on which to bas e. yairocho.

Taxon piroensis. — Seemingly high variation in the very small

sample of both this taxon (from Seram) and rubrinucha (three and

four specimens measured respectively in Erritzoe & Erritzoe 1998)

plagues diagnoses and makes it hard to determine real distinctions

between these taxa. The ‘absence of the black line separating the

silvery blue-gray of the breast from the scarlet belly’ is noted in

the original description (Muir & Kershaw 1910), but this line is ‘a

few mm wide or virtually absent’ in Irestedt et al. (2013) while it

is actually rather broad and bold in the only two adult specimens

in AMNH. The latter authors mention ‘a few feathers on central

crown sometimes with faint indication of sky-blue margins’, but

the two AMNH specimens have more than a ‘few’ crown feathers

with far more than ‘faint’ indications of blue, although the colour

is diffused across the central and rear crowns and is certainly not a

stripe. The chief difference lies in the laterally broad but vertically

narrow reddish-pink nape vs rubrinucha’s reddish-pink nuchal spot

surrounded by brown (score 3). Other characters may be (a) the

more extensive pale blue ear-coverts, adjoining the area behind the

eye and even extending narrowly above it (present in three of four

adult specimens examined, in AMNH and Naturalis); and (b) rhe

presence and distribution of white in the wing {fide Muir & Kershaw

1910, Irestedt etal. 20 1 3). However, until a review can be made of all

available specimens of the two taxa, preferably backed by information

from the field, it is impossible to reach a robust conclusion about

their conspecificity or otherwise.

Taxon habenichti. — Finsch (1912) described this form (from

across northern New Guinea) as a full species, from a single

specimen — hence it was much mistrusted by Rothschild & Hartert

(1912) — with the simple diagnosis (our translation) ‘general

colouration like P. macklotii but at once distinguished by the brighter

red nape’ (score l). Subsequent specimen material apparently

vindicated Finsch, but the nape colour of BMNH 1939.12.9.3800

(from the range of habenichti) is barely distinguishable from that of

BMNH 1934.10.21.98 ( macklotii , from Batanta), and there seem

to be no other plumage differences — the suggestion that the black

breast-band is narrower than in macklotii (Irestedt etal. 20 1 3) is not

supported by material in AMNH — while mensurally habenichti

is virtually identical to macklotii. Indeed, Pratt &c Beehler (2015)

recently remarked that macklotii and habenichti ‘are not reliably

identifiable by appearance or voice’, so the validity of this taxon

must lie in the balance.

Taxon finschii. — The description by Ramsay (1884) indicates

that this form differs in only one respect from macklotii (including

all its subspecies), namely in its blue vs green upperparts (score 3).

Irestedt etal. (2013) suggested it is closest to E. m. loriae (with which

it shares a dark brown hindcrown); measurements show it to be

marginally larger, with a longer tail (effect size 2.0; score 2). A score

of 5 indicates a relatively high degree of differentiation in this form.

Other taxa

Taxa long acknowledged as relatively weakly marked and treated by

Irestedt etal. (20 1 3) as either subspecies or synonyms were evaluated

as follows.

Taxon thompsoni. — We did not see specimens of this form,

from Culion and Calauit in the Philippines. It was accepted but

considered ‘probably not valid’ by Mayr (1979) and, although also

accepted by Dickinson & Christidis (2014), was determined to

be a synonym of nominate erythrogaster by Irestedt et al. (2013),

who described it as ‘more or less intermediate between nominate

erythrogaster and propinqua, blue on upperparts tending to be as

extensive as in propinqua but less deep in colour, sometimes even

paler than in nominate, which is also rather variable in this respect,

but characters variable and taxon best included in propinqua'.

We accept this synonymisation which, however, also involves the

synonymisation of propinqua.

Taxon propinqua. — As an illustration of the dangers of small

sample sizes, three out of the four characters used by Sharpe ( 1 877)

to distinguish this taxon were found by Everett (1895), on obtaining

a larger series, to be invalid; the one character Everett considered

dependable is its reduced amount of dorsal green. However, while

this appears to be a trend, it is certainly not a constant (BMNH

89.1.20.19 from Taguso, Palawan, fully matches nominate

erythrogaster ), and we therefore could not comfortably assign it a

score. Rothschild (1899) remarked that the distinctness of this form

‘is very doubtful’; we agree, and prefer not to recognise it.

Taxon obiensis. — Hachisuka (1935) described this taxon as a

subspecies of E. rufiventris, writing: ‘Three males and one female

collected by Doherty and Waterstradt, from Obi, are distinguished

in having the breast a lighter blue, which is more extended over

both sides of the breast’. However, White & Bruce (1986), Lambert

(1996), Erritzoe (2003) and Irestedt et al. (2013) all synonymised

Forktail 31(2015) Number of species and subspecies in the Red-bellied Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster complex

21

obiensis with rufiventris , finding it undiagnosable, but Mayr (1979)

accepted it (‘very near rufiventris ) and Erritzoe & Erritzoe (1998)

recognised it based on ‘silvery wash on blue breast band and tail

and legs larger than rufiventris and no blue collar (AMNH)’. The

only specimen in Tring, BMNH 1903.6.2.44 (a female), shows

a fractionally paler breast, but the Erritzoes’ point about the blue

collar is mistaken as rufiventris lacks this also; measurements of three

male specimens put both tail and legs outside the range of 22 male

specimens of rufiventris, but there is overlap in females. On balance

the evidence base for this subspecies appears just too speculative

for its recognition.

Taxon inornata. — The description of this taxon came just a

year after (and doubtless in ignorance of) that of rufiventris ; it is a

synonym of the latter.

Taxon cyanonota. — This form differs from rufiventris by its

blue vs green upperparts (echoing finschi from macklotii ) (score 3).

The claim that the crown is ‘more pinkish-scarlet..., less saturated

ferruginous’ (Irestedt et al. 2013) is not supported by NHMUK

material, but the crown shows some diffuse, semi-concealed blue

feathering absent in rufiventris (score 1). Measurements are very

close to rufiventris, but a larger sample is needed to determine if

real differences exist.

Taxon bernsteini. — In describing this form (from Gebe), Junge

(1958) clearly indicated its close morphological similarity to

cyanonota (from Ternate), but ‘seen in a series [six] the Gebe birds

are slightly paler blue (more silvery blue) on the upperparts and

breast [and] the throats areprobably slightly paler...’; moreover, they

are slightly longer-winged and -billed than cyanonota (Junge 1958).

The scores here could not total more than 3, which exaggerates the

differences between the two taxa as apparent in the RMNH material

of each, and we recognise this form with mild reservations (although

the notion that a population off the west coast of Halmahera would

be taxonomically identical to one off the east coast, with rufiventris

between them, is clearly debatable).

Taxon kuehni.— Rothschild (1899) established this form from

the Kai Islands because ‘the blue of the chest extends over the sides

of the chest and breast (where there is a green patch in P. macklotii )

and is continued in a narrow blue ring round the upper back’, with

apparently slightly longer feathers on the breast-sides and a greater

frequency of blue in the crown. None of these characters is well

supported in the NHMUK, RMNH or ZMB material, and the

general tendency to synonymise the form is followed by Irestedt et

al. (20 1 3). Erritzoe & Erritzoe (1998) declared their agreement with

this, but paradoxically provided (a) an entry for the form as if they

judged it valid and (b) mensural data with good sample sizes which

indicate it is shorter-winged and -tailed than macklotii (effect size

for wing -1.88, score 1). However, we judge this character too weak

to retrieve kuehni from synonymy.

Taxon aruensis. — Rothschild & Hartert (1901) separated this

form from macklotii on account of its ‘distinctly smaller’ size, with

wings of four adults ‘averaging about 100’ vs 106 in macklotii and no

overlap; they cited Salvadori as supplying confirmatory evidence on

another six Aru specimens. Moreover, Aru birds ‘sometimes have a

strong blue wash on the back’. Erritzoe & Erritzoe (1998), although

failing to provide measurements for more than one bird of each sex,

retained aruensis, but Irestedt et al. (2013) synonymised it with

macklotii, the key to this being their Table S 1 1 in which the mean

wing length of aruensis proves to be only 2 mm shorter than that of

birds from the Watubela and Kai Islands (although measurements

are not discriminated by sex). Slightly hesitantly we side with the

decision to synonymise.

Taxon loriae. — This form has a distinctly darker, less rufous-

chestnut hindcrown and nape than nominate macklotii and all its

subspecies except finschii (Rothschild & Hartert 1901, Erritzoe &

Erritzoe 1998, Irestedt et al. 2013; score 2), with marginally larger

dimensions in all but males’ tails (no score); the hindcrown and nape

are the same colour as in subspecies finschii (no score) but the back

is green not blue (score 3).

Taxon oblita. — Rothschild & Hartert (1912) described this

form from five specimens taken at ‘Avera’ on or near the Aroa River

near Port Moresby in south-eastern New Guinea, distinguishing it

from macklotii by its blue-tinted (or in one case all-blue) back, less

bright and less red hindneck and slightly paler crown, and suggesting

a resemblance to the smaller, brighter-naped form kuehni (Kai

Islands), which is, however, now widely synonymised with macklotii

(see above). Perhaps because of this Irestedt et al. (2013), without

explanation, synonymised the form with loriae. However, Mayr &

Rand (1937) pointed out that oblita ‘appears quite different [from

macklotii ], with the back very bluish and the nape pale ochraceous

brown’, both of these characters setting it apart from loriae-, the

blue-tinted upperparts score 2, the paler nape at least 1, and we

therefore retain it as a subspecies. (RMNH 121419 is labelled

oblita and has the nape pale ochraceous-brown, but the upperparts

are dull brownish-green, and the provenance, ‘Boven Digoef, is in

present-day southern West Papua, Indonesia, clearly outside the

range of true oblita .)

Taxon extima. — This was described by Mayr (1955) as like

novaehibernicae ‘but larger’, with ‘the nape on... average paler, more

rufous... the blue stripe on the crown less reduced and the back more

bluish green’. Measurements suggest the size difference is minor

(score 1 ) , as is the slightly paler nape ( 1 ) and the more evident bluish

coronal stripe (1), while difference in dorsal colour is not obvious; a

score of 3 overstates the distinctiveness of this form.

Taxon strenua. — This was described by Elliot (1870) merely

on the basis of its slightly larger bill; Mayr (1979) and Erritzoe &

Erritzoe (1998) synonymised it with macklotii, while Irestedt et al.

(2013) do not even mention it. The type in NHMUK reveals a bill

that is barely any larger than the largest bill of macklotii, and the

taxon is not valid.

Taxon digglesi. — The year after its tentative description this

form was dismissed by Elliot (1870) as ‘in no way different from P.

mackloti', and it was widely treated as a synonym thereafter. However,

Schodde & Mason (1999) considered this form ‘evidently smaller

and even lighter [= paler] and brighter than pallid A e. macklotii..'.,

suggesting that the small pale birds of the Trans-Fly region of New

Guinea also belong in digglesi. Irestedt et al. (2013) therefore

accepted the form and, owing to the sample sizes (62 birds from

New Guinea, 25 from Australia) indicated as the basis of their

judgement by Schodde & Mason (1999), we follow them; but four

adult specimens from Queensland in NHMUK do not appear in

the slightest different from a series from southern New Guinea, and

in size digglesi is apparently very close to the synonymised aruensis

(see above), so we recommend that further attention be given to the

taxonomy of Australian birds. Indeed, although Schodde & Mason

(1999) considered digglesi smaller than macklotii, the mensural

data for it in Higgins et al. (2001) and for macklotii in Erritzoe &

Erritzoe ( 1 998) suggest a fractionally larger bird; even so, if digglesi

is migratory, as the evidence generally suggests (Higgins etal. 200 1 ),

it is slightly puzzling that its wings are not notably longer than those

of macklotii.

Taxon yorki. — This was described by Mathews ( 1 9 1 2) as distinct

from macklotii ‘in having a smaller bill and smaller wing — 100 mm’.

Described from Cape York, it must be a synonym of digglesi.

DISCUSSION

The diagnoses of individual taxa by Irestedt et al. (2013) stopped

short of itemising specific points of divergence from each of the other

taxa under consideration. Here for the first time we provide such a

review, inevitably at some length, since the full differentiation of 13

taxa from each other requires no fewer than 1 56 comparisons. In the

22

N. J. COLLAR, J. del HOYO & F. JUTGLAR

Forktail 31 (2015)

Plate 2. Two specimens of E. caeruleitorques (top in AMNH; bottom in RMNH) showing differences in crown colour and breast-band width in this

taxon. [AMNFI credit: NJC; Leiden credit: NJC/Naturalis Biodiversity Center]

course of this exercise the degree of morphological distinctiveness

of the taxa that comprise the complex has become much clearer.

Although no mechanism could be established under the Tobias

criteria for providing a score for molecular evidence (since no

threshold value for degree of genetic differentiation can be set), it

is notable that morphological distinctiveness matched perceptions

based primarily on DNA analysis in 13 (75%) out of 17 cases. Of

the four taxa proposed for species status by Irestedt et al. (2013)

but not supported by the Tobias criteria, the form finschii (which

to Irestedt et al. ‘represents a borderline case’) showed the greatest

distinctiveness, while babenicbti proved rather weak, piroensis too

uncertain on current evidence andj yairocbo undiagnosable. Over

subspecies and synonyms we coincide with Irestedt et al. (2013)

except to synonymis e propinqua and to recognise, at least for now,

the subspecies oblita, so that our suggested arrangement is as follows.

Philippine Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster (includes tbompsoni ,

propinqua and yairocbo ) - Philippine Is

Talaud Pitta Erythropitta inspeculata - Talaud Is

Sangihe Pitta Erythropitta caeruleitorques - Sangihe I

Siao Pitta Erythropitta p alii ceps - Siao I and Tahulandang I

Sulawesi Pitta Erythropitta celebensis - Sulawesi, Manterawu

and Tosian Is

O

Sula Pitta Erythropitta dohertyi - Banggai Archipelago and Sula Is

North Moluccas Pitta Erythropitta rufiventris

E. r. rufiventris (includes obiensis and inornata ) - North

Moluccas

E. r. cyanonota - Ternate

E. r. bernsteini - Gebe I

South Moluccas Pitta Erythropitta rubrinucha

E. r. rubrinucha - Buru

E. r. piroensis - Seram

Papuan Pitta Erythropitta macklotii

E. m. macklotii (includes kuehm, aruensis and strenud) - west

&c south New Guinea, including west Papuan Is

E. m. digglesi (includes yorki) - Cape York Peninsula,

Australia

E. m. babenicbti - north New Guinea ( Weyland Mts east to

Astrolabe Bay)

E. m. oblita - south-east New Guinea west of Port Moresby

E. m. loriae - extreme south-east New Guinea

E. m. finschii - D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago

Louisiade Pitta Erythropitta meeki - Louisiade Archipelago

New Britain Pitta Erythropitta gazellae - South Bismarck

Archipelago

Tabar Pitta Erythropitta splendida - Tabar I

New Ireland Pitta Erythropitta novaehibernicae

E. n. novaehibernicae - New Ireland

E. n. extima - New Hanover, Bismarck Archipelago

Plate 3. Three specimens of E. erythrogaster 'yairocbo' (top and centre

in RMNH, bottom the type in AMNH); note green breasts of RMNH

specimens (one with white patch on throat), blue central breast and

darker throat of the type. [Leiden credit: NJC/Naturalis Biodiversity

Center; AMNH credit: M. Shanley/AMNH]

However, we do not pretend that this new arrangement of the

Red-bellied Pitta complex is definitive. New insights from the field,

particularly acoustic evidence, may provide the basis for further

revisions of the taxonomy we propose here. Some of the taxa we

accept as species are highly distinctive, but others only just meet the

Tobias criteria. The differences between E. caeruleitorques and (a) E.

palliceps, (b) E. rufiventris and (c) E. meeki , between E. palliceps and

(a) E. celebensis and (b) E. macklotii , and between E. macklotii and

E. gazellae are sufficient to establish the taxa as species, but further

evidence may force new conclusions (we acknowledge that the

deeper bill that clinches the split of gazellae from macklotii , scored

as a medium character, is ostensibly improbable; but the sample

sizes of males providing the evidence, 57 and 20 respectively, are

compellingly large). In particular, diagnoses of taxa represented by

very few specimens are inherently unstable, rendering decisions on

taxonomic rank equally susceptible to alteration; for example, the

crown colour and breast-band width of the only two specimens of

E. caeruleitorques examined in this review were somewhat divergent

(see Plate 2), while, as noted above, the characters defining) yairocbo

proved elusive, some birds with all-green breasts (as in one or two

erythrogaster ), the type with a centrally blue breast (see Plate 3).

In this last case, incidentally, Irestedt et al. (2013) also backed the

split on the basis of the depth of the genetic differentiation and the

fact that the form inspeculata appears to be more closely related

to erythrogaster than is yairocbo; however, not only is paraphyly

Forktail 31(2015) Number of species and subspecies in the Red-bellied Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster complex

23

discounted by Tobias et al. (2010) as a final arbiter of taxonomic

rank but also one Mindoro bird (i.e. erythrogaster ) proved to be

genetically close to yairocho, suggesting that a wider sampling effort

is needed to determine the degree of phylogenetic structure in the

Philippine archipelago.

Irestedt et al. (2013) invoked vocal differences to their cause

by providing miniature sonagrams of songs of many taxa adjacent

to other information in their Figures 5 and S3, but they made

no attempt at an analysis of this acoustic evidence. Despite the

differences suggested by these sonagrams, the songs of taxa in the

Red-bellied Pitta complex tend, as several correspondents warned

us, to sound very similar (two long, low, flat, guttural whistles, the

first rising at the end), and one would imagine that the playback of

any taxon s song might produce strong reactions in a living singer of

another taxon in the complex; this consideration was presumably

in Rheindt’s (2010) mind when he expressed scepticism over the

separation of the morphologically distinctive E. dohertyi. However,

there is no reason why conservative song structure should overrule

decisions based on other phenotypic evidence. Even so, a study of

the variation in songs between taxa, taking full account of possible

variation within taxa, would be a valuable exercise.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are most grateful to Paul Sweet (AMNH), Robert Prys-Jones and Mark

Adams (NHMUK), Pereijn Kamminga (RMNH) and Sylke Frahnert and Pascal

Eckhoff (ZMB) for access to material in their care. Alison Harding (NHMUK)

gave great help in tracing certain references. Two referees made very helpful and

supportive comments and we express our thanks even if on one or two of many

good points we felt unable to follow their suggestions. Mark Balman kindly

prepared the map.

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FORKTAIL 31 (201 5): 24-36

Notable new bird records from the Philippines

ARNE E. JENSEN, TIMOTHY H. FISHER f & ROBERT 0. HUTCHINSON

The most recent checklist of the birds of the Philippines published by the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines recognises 682 species, based

on the International Ornithological Union World Bird List. This is a substantial increase from the 572 species recognised by Kennedy et al.

(2000), owing in part to the progression of taxonomic knowledge which has resulted in many taxa being elevated to full species status. Six

species new to science have also been described since 2000 and an additional 54 species presently considered to be accidental visitors have

been observed and recorded; these are summarised here with supporting notes for species that have not previously been documented.

INTRODUCTION

Our knowledge of the taxonomy and distribution of the Philippine

avifauna is rapidly expanding as a consequence of more research and

fieldwork by professional and amateur ornithologists. In addition to

six species new to science — Calayan Rail Gallirallus calayanensis,

Bukidnon Woodcock Scolopax bukidnonensis , Camiguin Hanging

Parrot Loriculus camiguinensis, Cebu Hawk Owl Ninox rumseyi,

Camiguin Hawk Owl Ninox leventisi , and Sierra Madre Ground

Warbler Robsonius thompsoni — and many taxa elevated to full species

status as a result of morphological, bioacoustic and/or phylogenetic

studies (e.g. Collar 200 6, 2011, Oliveros & Moyle 2010, Miranda

et al. 2011, Moyle et al. 2011, Sanchez-Gonzalez & Moyle 2011,

Rasmussen et al. 2012, Schweitzer et al. 2012, Sheldon et al. 2012,

Hosner et al. 2013), 54 species considered to be accidental visitors

have been recorded for the first time in the Philippine archipelago

since the publication of Kennedy et al. (2000).

The Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) maintains a

database of Philippine avifaunal records from its own members and

other published sources. The Checklist of the birds of the Philippines

(WBCP 2014) is based on the International Ornithological Union

(IOC) World Bird List (Gill & Donsker 2014). R. S. Kennedy and

THF introduced the concept of documentation of rare bird records

to amateur ornithologists and birdwatchers in the Philippines,

resulting in the establishment the WBCP Records and Rarities

Committees. In the Philippines, species are defined as accidental

visitors if there are fewer than 20 records; all such records are

rigorously assessed by the WBCP Rarities Committee. All records

of species new to the Philippines must be unanimously accepted by

the committee members, currently Desmond Allen, Juan Carlos

Tecson Gonzalez, ROH, AEJ and Steve Pryor. The assistance of

other experts is also sought where required. THF was a member of

the committee until his untimely death in 2010.

In all, 109 observers including the authors contributed to

the records presented here and we thank the following for their

important data: Vorawan Aksornsart ( VA), Desmond Allen, Martin

Alvendia, Ulrik Andersen, Rene Antonio (RA), Marie Theresa

Aquino (MTA), Marie Kathleen Arce (MKA), Armado Bajarias

(AB), Danilo Balete (DB), Arturo Baluyot Jr., Annabelle Barquilla

(ABq), Mikael Bauer (MBa), Daniel Benders, Mark Bezuijen, Peter

Bono, Val M. Borja (VMB), Paul Bourdin (PBo), Dan Brimmer

(DBr), Nicanor Cabigas Jr., Melvyn Calderon, Des Cambiliza,

Ding Carpio (DCa), Tere Cervero, Jimmy Chew (JC), Piyapong

Chotipuntu (PC), Tony Clarke (TC), Adrian Constantino,

Maria Katrina Constantino, Roger Costin (RC), Fergus Crystal

(FC), Jaime Dichaves, Irene Dy (ID), Carmela Espahola, Carlos

Gutierrez Exposito (CGE), Robert Ferguson (RF), Ruth Fransisco,

Paul French, Lu-Ann Fuentes (LF), Edgardo Garcellano, Harvey

John Garcia, Simon Harrap, Morten Heegaard, Rolf Hennes (RH),

Jon Hornbuckle (JH), Jessar Inocencio (JI), Godfrey Jakosalem,

Chris Johns (CJ), Markus Lagerqvist (ML), Cynthia Adeline

Layusa, Michaela Ledesma (MLe), Tan Ju Lin, Alexander Loinaz

(AL), June Dale Lozada, Michael Lu (MLu), Norberto Madrigal,

Tina Sarmiento Mallari (TSM), Wency Mallari (WM), Somjai

Manothirakul (SM), Lucia Mapua, Frederico Maravilla, James

McCarthy (JM), Jasmin Meeren, Hans Meyer (HM), Editha

Milan (EM), Spike Millington (SMi), Erik Molgaard, Marianne

Molgaard, Flemming Moller, Vibeke Moller (VM), Pete Morris

(PM), Shotaro Nakagun (SN), Ng Bee Choo, Romy Ocon (RO),

Somkiat Pakapinyo (SP), Christian Perez (CP), Romulo D.

Quemado II, Sylvia Ramos, Tonji Ramos, Phil Round (PDR),

Richard Ruiz (RR), Ivan Sarenas, Felix Servita (FS), Pete Simpson

(PS), Angelique Songco (AS), Norman Songco, Dave van der Spool

(DS), Roger Stansfield, Peter Stevens (PSt), Taweewat Supindham

(TS), Leni Sutcliffe, Timothy Sykes, Melanie Tan (MT), Robert

Timmins (RT), Alex Tiongco (AT), Lyn Tolentino, Cel Tungol

(CT), Roily Urriza (RU), Agerico de Villa (AV), Mark Jason Villa

(MV), Chong Pik Wah, Mark Wallbank (MW), Randy Weisser,

Ian Whitehouse (IW), Peter Widmann (PW), Stijn de Win (SW)

and Maxime Zucca.

We present below details of 54 species recorded in the

Philippines for the first time since the publication of Kennedy et

al. (2000), or which were not included therein because the records

had not then been published. Supporting notes and/or images are

included for new records not previously published in peer-reviewed

journals. In addition, details are given of subsequent records, if

any, of these species, up to and including 1 January 2015, to add

context to the sightings and for patterns of occurrence to be fully

documented. The IUCN threat category is provided for species

considered threatened (including Near Threatened) by BirdLife

International (2015).

New records published in international journals and publications

but not included or accepted in Kennedy et al. (2000) were also re¬

assessed. However, a record of Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris

pygmaea (Collar et al. 1999) was not assessed because the original

field notes could not be traced.

ANNOTATED LIST OF NEW COUNTRY RECORDS

Tundra Bean Goose Anser (fabalis) serrirostris

11 March-10 April 2010: one at Candaba Marsh, Pampanga,

Luzon (AL, CT), subsequently seen by many observers (Plate 1). The

dark head and neck contrasting with paler grey-brown underparts,

dark scalloping on the flanks and a black bill with distinct orange

band eliminated confusion species. Tire IOC (Gill & Donsker 2014)

currently recognise Taiga Bean Goose Anser fabalis and Tundra

Bean Goose A. serrirostris as separate species. However, separation of

A. fabalis middendorff and A. serrirostris serrirostris has proved very

difficult, sometimes impossible, in the field, even with exceptional

views and photographic documentation (Nelson et al. 2013). The

Philippines individual was identified as taxon serrirostris by a

combination of the following features separating it from A. fabalis

middendorff: a heavy but very conical bill, lacking any concave area

Forktail 31 (2015)

Notable new bird records from the Philippines

25

or narrowing towards the tip, as shown by middendorjf , and a heavy

lower mandible, convex near the base. The cutting edge of the upper

mandible curved along its length where middendorjf would have

a straighter cutting edge. The relatively short thick neck provided

additional support tor the identification (Oates 1997).

The above Bean Goose taxa are rare winter visitors to Taiwan

(Brazil 2009, Ding et al. 2013) and their occurrence in the

Philippines would not be unexpected.

Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons

5 December 2010-11 January 2011: lourteen individuals at

Candaba Marsh, Pampanga, Luzon (AL, CT) were subsequently

seen by many observers. Distinguishing features from other Anser

species included the wholly dull pink bill colour, lacking the dark

markings ot Tundra Bean Goose, and duller in colour than Greylag

Goose A. anser , orange legs rather than the pink of anser and the

black transverse lines on the belly of some adults, never shown by

serrirostris or anser. The large size, long neck, lack of distinct yellow

eye-ring and white forehead extending to the crown eliminated the

smaller, more delicate Lesser White-fronted Goos eA. erythropus.

Nine Anser geese on 11 October 2011 near Dianlupihan,

Bataan, Luzon, were either^, albifrons or A. erythropus but specific

identification was not possible.

The Philippine birds were considered most likely to be the larger,

longer-billed subspecies frontalis , which breeds in Siberia from the

River Kolyma east to Chukotka, wintering in east China, Japan and

the Korean Peninsula; it is an occasional visitor to Taiwan (Brazil

2009, Ding et al. 2013) and winter occurrence in the Philippines

is not surprising.

Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus

7 February 2006: two birds reported by local farmers at Barangay

Buenavista, Virac, Catanduanes Island, Luzon. One was caught and

handed to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR) Community Environment and Natural Resource Office

(CENRO), Virac, where it remained in captivity until it died 21

January 2014 (EM in lift. 2012, pers. comm. 2014) (Plate 2). The

extensive yellow patch on the base of the bill assigned the birds to

subspecies bewickii.

One subsequent record: 10 February 2012, three individuals

in a protected area at Cabusao, Camarines Sur, Luzon. One, an

immature, was subsequently shot and wounded by a hunter. It

was cared for by DENR, Sipocot, Camarines Sur, and later died in

captivity (FS in litt. 2012).

Subspecies bewickii, a winter visitor to north-east and east

China, the Korean Peninsula and Japan, is a vagrant in Taiwan

(Brazil 2009, Ding et al. 2013); consequently records from the

Philippines are not surprising.

Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea

25 November 2001: one seen Magat Dam, Isabela, Luzon (van

Weerd & van der Ploeg 2004). The species winters widely from

South Asia and Myanmar to south-east China and is locally

common in south-west Korea, although a rare visitor in Japan and

Taiwan (Brazil 2009, Ding et al. 2013). It is probably an annual

visitor to Thailand (PDR/'w litt. 2014) and an occasional visitor to

Indochina. An accidental record in the Philippines is not surprising.

Kennedy et al. (2000) did not accept a record of four birds

shot and photographed by a hunter in Pangasinan, Luzon, during

February or March 1994, and the November 2001 record therefore

becomes the first accepted record from the Philippines.

Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata

30 November-14 December 2013: an adult male was found and

photographed on fishponds near Barangay Gabu, Laoag, Ilocos

Norte, Luzon (RR). There was no doubting the identification ol

this distinctive species (Plate 3). Mandarin Ducks are often kept in

wildfowl collections; however, this bird was not ringed, showed no

sign of wing damage, flew strongly, and was very wary of humans,

all factors supporting its wild origin. It was associating with a large

flock of mainly Philippine Duck Anas luzonica, which also included

the migratory Eurasian Wigeon A. penelope. Northern Pintail A.

acuta, Northern ShovelervE clypeata and Eastern Spot-billed Duck

A. zonorhyncha. A Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis was on

the same ponds from 19 to 30 December 2013, only the second

Philippine record. It is probable that the appearance of both species

was caused by a high-pressure system bringing cold weather to

north-east China and Japan, with associated strong winds across

East Asia from Japan south-west to Taiwan and northern Luzon.

The Mandarin Duck is partially migratory, wintering in Japan,

Korea (where it also breeds), south, central and south-east China

(Carboneras & Kirwan 2015). In Taiwan, where it is resident, birds

also occur as transient migrants (Ding et al. 2013).

Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis (NearThreatened)

10 January 2014: an injured adult caught in Bibincahan, Sorsogon

City, Luzon, was handed to Albay Parks and Wildlife Center, Legazpi

City, where it died on 19 January 2014 (ABq, M. Baylon in litt. 2014).

The species was identified from an image which showed a white cap,

neck and underparts contrasting with dark brown upperparts, grey

ear-coverts and cheeks, blackish lores and contrasting white eyelids

(Plate 4). The combination of pinkish bill, a dark-grey tip and yellow

base is characteristic of adult Laysan Albatross.

Outside the breeding season the species disperses over the North

Pacific but is most numerous in the west, with large concentrations

off east Japan. It is a vagrant to Taiwan (Ding et al. 2013).

Short-tailed Shearwater Ardenna tenuirostris

26 April 2012: one photographed close inshore between San Isidro

and Didadungan, Palanan, Isabela, Luzon (CJ). The main confusion

species is Sooty Shearwater A. grisea, from which this individual

was separated by broad and uniformly pale grey underwing, small

slender bill, a small rounded head with a rather steep forehead and

toes which extended beyond the tail-tip (Onley & Scofield 2007,

Brazfl 2009).

One subsequent confirmed record: 1 May 2013, an injured bird

on Snake Island, Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, was taken

into care by Rogelio Abison (DENR) but died shortly afterwards;

the in-hand inspection of this individual also revealed a pale throat

contrasting with the darker crown and ear-coverts, giving a ‘hooded’

appearance.

The species is a trans-equatorial migrant, breeding in the austral

summer before a loop migration around the North Pacific, passing

Japan between May and September — mostly in June. It is known to

pass Taiwan and Korea in small numbers (Onley & Scofield 2007,

Brazil 2009, Ding et al. 2013); the dates of occurrence of the two

Philippine birds fit well with its known migration pattern.

Swinhoe's Storm Petrel Hydrobates monorhis (Near

Threatened)

11 May 2013 : one individual observed and photographed at sea

(9.136°N 119.614°E), 20 km west-north-west of Jessie Beazley Reef,

Palawan (ROH, AEJ). The bird was identified by a combination

of size, judged to be similar to Leach’s Storm Petrel H. leucorhous,

completely dark rump, shallower tail-fork than Leach’s Storm Petrel,

Tristram’s Storm Petrel H. tristrami or Matsudaira’s Storm Petrel H.

matsudairae, and the uniformly dark upper wing pattern broken by

a pale brown covert-bar and white flash at the bases of the primaries.

On 8 May 2008 two storm petrels with dark rumps seen

between Cavili and Cagayancillo islands, Palawan, and another

later the same day north of Calusa Island, Palawan, may also have

been this species (AEJ).

26

ARNE E. JENSEN, TIMOTHY H. FISHER + & ROBERT 0. HUTCHINSON

Forktail 31 (2015)

Plate 1. Tundra Bean Goose Anser serrirostris, Candaba Marsh,

Pampanga, Luzon, 1 April 2010,

Plate 3. Adult male Mandarin DuckAixgalericulata, fishpond near Laoag,

llocos Norte, Luzon, 18 December 2013.

Plate 2. Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus, DENR CENRO Virac,

Catanduanes, 24 April 2012.

Plate 4. Injured Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis, Bibincahan,

Sorsogon City, Luzon, 10 January 2014.

Plate 5. Amur Falcon Falco amurensis, Talogtog, San Juan, La Union, 1

November 2014.

Plate 6. Juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper Calidrismelanotos, International Rice

Research Institute near Los Banos, Laguna, 10 October 2013.

Plate 7. White Tern Gygisalba, Romblon Island, Romblon, 18 September

2012.

Plate 8. Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla, Balanga, Bataan, Luzon,

4 February 2013.

ROBERT HUTCHINSON PAULBOURDIN ANNABELLE BARQUILLA, DENR EDITHA MILAN, DENR.

ROMYOCON . JON HORNBUCKLE JIMMY CHEW ROBERT HUTCHINSON

Forktail 31 (2015)

Notable new bird records from the Philippines

27

Plate 11. Channel-billed Cuckoo Scythrops novaehollandiae, Aborlan,

Palawan, 19 February 2011.

m

Plate 10. Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus, Tibsoc, Negros

Occidental, 5 January 2014.

Plate 12. Immature Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha, Pandanan, Malinsuno

Island, Balabac, Palawan, 30 September 2013.

Plate 14. Adult Rosy Starling Pastor roseus, Bancao-Bancao, Puerto

Princesa, Palawan, 26 June 2012.

Plate 16. Richard's Pipit Anthus richardi, Basco airfield, Batan Island,

Batanes, 15 October 2013.

Plate 9. Mew Gull Canus canus, Laoag River, llocos Norte, Luzon, 30

December 2013.

Plate 13. Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus, Mount Mariveles

watershed, Bataan, Luzon, 15 October 2015.

Plate 15. A first-winter male Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri,

University of the Philippines campus, Diliman, Quezon City, Luzon,

19 November 2007.

ROBERT HUTCHINSON EDGARDO GARCELLANO RENE ANTONIO ROBERT HUTCHINSON

28

ARNE E. JENSEN, TIMOTHY H. FISHER + & ROBERT O. HUTCHINSON

Forktail 31 (2015)

Swinhoe’s Storm Petrel breeds on small islets off Japan, Korea

and Taiwan, overwintering in the Indian Ocean (Onley & Scofield

2007). It is probably regular in Philippine waters and the paucity

ol records is due to limited pelagic exploration and the difficulties

of identification at sea.

Leach's Storm Petrel Hydrobates leueorhous

14 April 2004: one bird landed on a catamaran between Busuanga

and Mindoro (about 12.8°N 120. 0°E) in the Philippine Sea (PSt),

and was later released near Puerto Galera, Mindoro. Images showed

a generally dark, rather large storm petrel with long, angular wings

and a deeply forked tail. A narrow white rump-band, not extending

to the rump-sides, had a dark dividing line thus forming two white

oval patches. The rest of the plumage was mostly blackish-brown

except for a prominent greyish carpal bar extending from the front

leading edge, diagonally across the entire wing. The bill and legs,

including webbing between the toes, were dark. The above features

eliminated the possible confusion species, Wilson’s Storm Petrel

Oceanites oceanicus and Band-rumped Storm Petrel Hydrobates

castro (Onley & Scofield 2007, Brazil 2009).

The weather at the time was dominated by strong south-westerly

monsoon winds (P. Stevens in lift. 2009). The nearest breeding

grounds are the South Kuril Islands and south-east Hokkaido,

Japan, and the species migrates to the equatorial Pacific Ocean

(Onley &c Scofield 2007, Brazil 2009), evidently wandering widely

outside the breeding season. It is an accidental visitor to Taiwan

(Ding etal. 2013).

Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana (Endangered)

15 April 1997: an adult photographed at Maconacon, Isabela,

Luzon by F. Danielsen (Collar et al. 1999). The image of the bird

circling overhead showed a classic stork profile with long broad

wings, long outstretched neck, and legs extending beyond the short

tail. The clean white underparts, neck, tail and underwing-coverts,

contrasting strongly with the black flight feathers, ruled out all

confusion species except White Stork C. ciconia ■ — eliminated by

the black, rather than red or pink, bill.

Oriental Stork is a scarce winter visitor to Korea, Japan and

south-east China, and a rare visitor to Taiwan (Brazil 2009).

Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea ieucorodia

30 December 2007-6 January 2008: a single bird photographed

at Candaba Marsh, Pampanga, Luzon (TSM, WM), was later

seen by others. It was distinguished from the similar Black-faced

Spoonbill P. minor by the all-white forehead and cheeks and the

facial skin colour. The dark bill with yellow markings in an arc

around the tip of the ‘spoon’ on the underside and bright yellow

throat-skin, combined with retained dusky tips to the primaries

and outermost primary coverts, indicated the bird was probably in

its third calendar year.

The species winters in south-east China, with small numbers in

Korea and southern Japan, and occasionally visits Taiwan (Robson

2005, Brazil 2009, Dinger^/. 2013).

Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus (Vulnerable)

13-25 January 2009 : one observed and photographed at Lake

Bito, MacArthur, Leyte, by Arnulito Viojan (DENR). The images

(Custodio 2009) confirmed that it was an adult; specifically, the long,

dark bill contrasting with a bright yellow-orange pouch eliminated

Great White P. onocrotalus and Spot-billed Pelican P. philippensis. In

2005, the Dalmatian Pelican population in East Asia was no more

than 130 birds (Batbayar et al. 2007) although it is recorded as a

scarce winter visitor to south-east China, and an accidental visitor

to Japan and Taiwan (Brazil 2009, Ding et al. 2013). The bird was

considered to be of wild origin because the species is not known to

occur in captive waterbird collections in the country.

Christmas Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi (Critically

Endangered)

April-May 1995: first record, an adult female and a juvenile

photographed at Bancoran Island, Tawi-Tawi (Jensen & Tan 2010).

Subsequent records to 2009, reviewed by Jensen & Tan (2010),

produced a total of 161 individuals from the Sulu Sea, where the

species appears to be a regular visitor with records of both immature

and adult birds throughout the year.

Post-2009 records, also from the Sulu Sea, are: five in

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Palawan, from 8 to 10 May 2011

and one on 10 May 2012 (Jensen 201 1, 2012). The only record not

from the Sulu Sea was a juvenile inland at La Mesa Dam, Quezon

City, Metro Manila, 22 January 2013.

Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus (Near Threatened)

8 September 2002: a juvenile, found exhausted, was taken into care

on Batan Island, Batanes, by Darwin Salamagos (van der Ploeg &

Minter 2004). It died in captivity at the same locality in 2004 (M.

Mendoza pers. comm. 2005).

Amur Falcon Falco amurensis

1 November 2014: one photographed (RO) in pastureland near

Talogtog, San Juan, La Union, Luzon (Plate 5). Tire strong black

streaking on the underparts and brownish-toned upperparts with

rufous-buff fringing confirmed that the bird was a juvenile. The

head pattern distinguished it from other juvenile falcons including

Eurasian Hobby F. subbuteo , which lacks the yellow cere and eye¬

ring; the paler underwing with darker bar on the rear secondaries

was likewise diagnostic.

Birds leave east Asian breeding grounds in late August or early

September, and typically replenish fat reserves in north-east India

(Sykes 2013) before crossing the Indian Ocean in late November

and December (Dixon etal. 2011). This record from the Philippines

is a significant deviation from the usual route, although several have

been recorded on migration through Taiwan.

Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo

19 October 1999: one bird on Ursula Island, Palawan (THF, RF).

Detailed field notes described it in flight as a slim falcon with long

scimitar-shaped wings and the underwings heavily barred. At rest,

the white face contrasted with a black crown extending to the nape,

and long, well-defined black moustachial stripes extending from the

eye. The nape showed a small pale patch and there was a short white

eye-brow. The bill was small and pale with a dark tip. Upperparts

including wing-coverts and tail-coverts were brownish-black with

buffy tips. The white underparts were heavily streaked black from

breast to undertail, and the underwi ngs were very densely speckled,

giving the barred appearance. Absence of rufous colouration on the

thighs, combined with pale tips to the upperwing-coverts, indicated

that the bird was probably a first-year male showing a mixture of

adult and juvenile features (Svensson et al. 1999, Brazil 2009).

Juvenile Amur Falcon F. amurensis has a paler head with bright

yellow skin at the nostrils, and a distinct black band at the trailing

edge of the underwing secondaries; and was therefore ruled out.

Four subsequent records: 7 April 2004, two adults migrating

north, Tanay, Rizal, Luzon; 17 October 2004, an adult migrating

west, Bancauan Island, San Miguel Islands, Tawi-Tawi; 9 October

2013, an adult at Basco, Batan Island, Batanes, and 10 October

2013, an adult migrating south at Basco, Batan Island, Batanes.

An earlier sighting on Sabtang Island, Batanes, 30 September

1994, was believed by the observer (THF) to be this species but field

notes failed to provide sufficient detail and it is considered unproven,

given the potential confusion with Amur Falcon.

During southbound raptor migration from Taiwan, most birds

make their next landfall on north Luzon (Tiongco et al. 2015).

Between 2009 and 2013, in September and October, during 244

Forktail 31 (2015)

Notable new bird records from the Philippines

29

days’ observation in south Taiwan, 75 Eurasian Hobbies were

recorded. In contrast, only two Amur Falcons were noted in the

same period (Asian Raptor Research & Conservation Network

2014). Therefore in the Philippines the Eurasian Hobby is probably

a rare (and to date under-recorded) passage migrant and possible

winter visitor.

Demoiselle Crane Anthropoides virgo

July 2008-June 2010: three seen at Tugod, Calayan Island, by

Conrado Duerme (Oliveros & Layusa 2010). Two disappeared in

July 2008 at the time the third bird was caught. It was later released

from captivity and remained in the area until killed by villagers in

June 2010 (CP in litt. 2010). Accidental records of the species in

Korea, Japan and Taiwan, including some between May and July

(Brazil 2009), provide precedents for this occurrence.

Northern Lapwing Vanelius vanellus

16 and 18 January 2000: two adults in non-breeding plumage at

Candaba Marsh, Pampanga, Luzon (JM, RH, THF). They were

described as large plovers with a short stout bill, rounded head with

steep forehead, short neck and stocky body. Underparts white except

for a broad black breast-band and orange-buff vent, upperparts dark

with a meen gloss, whitish face and throat with dark markings in

front of and behind the eye, dark crown, ear-coverts, lower part of

crown and nape orange-buff in colour. In flight broad, round-ended

black wings with white-tipped outer primaries, underwing-coverts

and rump white, tail black.

Two subsequent confirmed records: 30 November 2000, an

adult and an immature, Naida Hills, Basco, Batanes, and 24-25

January 2012, an adult, Calayan Island, Babuyan Islands, Cagayan,

Luzon.

The species’s regular wintering grounds include south-east

China, Korea and Japan, and it is a scarce visitor to Taiwan (Brazil

2009).

Latham's Snipe Gallinago hardwickii

20 December 1994: two first-winter birds caught and examined

in the hand, Candaba Marsh, Pampanga, Luzon (Shigeta et al.

2002). Identification relied on the presence of 18 rectrices, with the

outermost showing distinct barring (Shigeta etal. 2002), perhaps the

only reliable characters to separate the species from Swinhoe’s Snipe

G. megala and Pintail Snipe G. stenura (van Gils & Wiersma 2015).

Latham’s Snipe breeds mainly in north Japan and is thought to

winter in Australia, arriving July-September and remaining until

mid-April (van Gils & Wiersma 2015). The lack of records during

migration, including Taiwan where it is considered a rare transient

(Dinged/. 2013), has led to the suggestion that the species migrates

directly, although evidently identification problems maybe a factor.

The timing of the Philippine record suggests the birds were not on

migration and it is possible that the species winters in small numbers

in the Philippines (and elsewhere) but has gone unrecorded.

Long-biiled Dowitcher Umnodwmus scolopaceus

7 and 13January 2008: an adult in non-breedingplumage was seen

and photographed on 7 (FC) and 13 January (AL, CT) at Candaba

Marsh, Pampanga, Luzon. Images showed a bold lower eye-crescent,

dusky hood, very dark inner-web shading on the upperpart feathers,

and strong barring on the flanks with heavy spotting near the

vent — characteristic of the species. The bill shape was diagnostic,

a fairly shallow base, uniformly narrow, tapering to a very narrow,

flat tip. The Short-billed Dowitcher L. griseus has a variable bill,

often with a proportionally thicker base, sometimes a kink near the

tip, which appears thicker overall; it also has uniform thin eye-ring

feathering of variable intensity, depending on the subspecies, and

a relatively dark face (Lee & Birch 2006, K. Karlson in litt. 2014).

The very dark central shafts of the upperpart feathers and tertials,

and the dark shadowing on the inner webs of many of these feathers,

are a trait of Long-billed Dowitcher not shown by Short-billed in

non-breeding plumage.

Four subsequent records: 9 January 2010, one at Barangay

Pinagbayanan, San Juan, Batangas, Luzon, and singles at Candaba

Marsh, Pampanga, Luzon, on 18 January 2011, 16 November 2013

and 27 December 2013.

Long-billed Dowitcher winters mainly on the west coast of

North America to South America, but a few birds migrate further

west and occur as rare migrants and winter visitors in Japan and

Taiwan (Brazil 2009, Ding et al. 2013). All the Philippine records

thus far have been in midwinter, suggesting that the birds were not

on passage further south.

Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos

10 October 2013: a juvenile was photographed (PBo) at the

International Rice Research Institute rice fields, Los Banos, Laguna,

Luzon (Plate 6). It was in fresh juvenile plumage with rich rufous

fringes to the upperparts and white ‘V’ down the mantle and

the upper two rows of scapulars. Separation from Sharp-tailed

Sandpiper C. acuminata relied on underparts with solid streaking

on the breast clearly demarcated from the unmarked belly and

flanks, a very indistinct eye-ring, ear-coverts only slightly darker

than the rest of the head, indistinct supercilium behind the eye, lack

of distinct rufous crown, and a split supercilium when viewed head

on. The bird’s morphology was typical of Pectoral Sandpiper with

slim body, long neck, long primary projection beyond the tertials

and long bill, the latter with a green-brown base rather than the

pinkish base of Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.

The Pectoral Sandpiper winters primarily in South America, but

a few reach Australasia, passing through Japan and Korea, although

not recorded south of Taiwan and Hong Kong on the South-East

Asia coast (Brazil 2009, Ding etal. 2013, van Gils etal. 2015). The

species’s occurrence in the Philippines had long been anticipated.

[Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea (Critically

Endangered)

10 May 1996: a record of two birds at Bicobian Bay, Divilican,

Isabela, Luzon (Collar et al. 1999). The observers’ field notes,

originally stored at Haribon Foundation for Nature Conservation,

Manila, cannot now be traced (N. A. Mallari and B. de la Paz in

litt. 2014). Owing to the lack of documentation this species is no

longer admitted to the Philippines list (WBCP 2014).]

White Tern Gygis alba

21 October 2004: an adult about 28 km north-west of Bancoran

Reef, San Miguel Islands, Tawi-Tawi (AEJ, AS, MTA, MLe). Shape

and flight pattern identified it as a tern, with a slightly forked tail,

uniform white body with no patterns present, but an obvious black

eye-ring. Slightly upturned black bill, rather broad at the base which

lacked any blue colouration suggested taxon G. a. alba. In company

with two Brown Noddy Anous stolidus and one Sooty Tern Sterna

fuscata, it was estimated to be about two-thirds the size of the Sooty

Tern, with much shorter wings. In active flight it alternated between

elegant tern-like flight and short periods of gliding; on one occasion

it hovered low over the surface.

One subsequent record: 18 September 2012, an adult was found

exhausted in a garden on Romblon Island, where it died the same day

(Plate 7). The bluish base to the bill suggested this bird was taxon G.

a. Candida. The species’s movements are poorly known (Gochfeld

etal. 2015). Recorded as an accidental, usually storm-blown, visitor

to Japan (Brazil 2009).

Laughing Gull Lams atricilla

4 February 2013: An adult in breeding plumage, Balanga, Bataan,

Luzon (ROH, ID; Plate 8). The combination of blood-red bill,

30

ARNE E. JENSEN, TIMOTHY H. FISHER f & ROBERT 0. HUTCHINSON

Forktail 31 (2015)

full black hood with white eye-crescents above and below the eye,

dark-grey mantle which in flight contrasted with a broad white

rear edge, and black wing-tips lacking white spots, eliminated any

confusion species.

The first record of Laughing Gull in Asia was from Malaysia, 1

April 2000 (Tebb et al. 2003), with several subsequent records in

Japan (Brazil 2009), and two records in Taiwan, November 2008

and February 2010 (Ding et al. 2013).

Franklin's Gull Larus pipixcan

14 April 2014 : an adult in breeding plumage at Bucana Beach,

Davao City, Davao del Sur, Mindanao (PS). The bird showed the

full black hood, and a dark grey mantle contrasting with a broad

white rear edge to the wing, which eliminated all confusion species

except Laughing Gull A. atricilla. The latter was easily eliminated

by the extensive white to the primary tips with black subterminal

marking separated from the grey primary bases by a broad white

band, and the broad white eye-crescents joined behind the eye.

Vagrants have previously been recorded from Japan and Taiwan

(Brazil 2009, Ding et al. 2013) and China, where first found in

September 2004 (Holt 2005).

Mew Gull Larus canus

29 December 2013-5 January 2014: a bird in first-winter plumage

was at the mouth of the Laoag River, Ilocos Norte, Luzon (ROH,

MKA, ID, RR, MT). Identification was aided by close views and

detailed images (Plate 9). Direct comparison showed it was larger

than Black-headed Gull A. ridibundus but smaller than Black¬

tailed Gull A. crassirostris and a presumed Slaty-backed Gull A.

schistisagus in the same area. It had a neatly rounded head and a

small, parallel-sided bill which was pink at the base with well-

defined black tip. The head and underbody were white, but dusky

streaking around the eye extended to the upper nape, with heavy

brown blotching on the lower nape, breast and underparts as far as

the flanks, and the undertail-coverts likewise had dark markings.

The mantle was grey, contrasting with the brown-centred juvenile

lesser and median wing-coverts, dark brown tertials and a paler

bar across the greater wing-coverts; primaries black with narrower

pale fringes. The tail showed a broad black band which extended

inwards on the outer tail feathers. The uppertail-coverts showed

extensive dark spotting. Ring-billed Gull A. delawarensis , the only

likely confusion species, was eliminated by the very extensive black

tail-band and bill structure.

The bird was confirmed to be subspecies camtschatschensis,

which winters south to Japan, Korea, the east China coast and

occasionally to Taiwan (Ding etal. 2013), by a combination ofvery

dense brown blotching on the underparts, the underwing marked

densely with brown, heavy brown marking on both the under- and

uppertail-coverts and the very broad black tail-band (Olsen &

Larsson 2004).

Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus

5 January 2014: a bird in first-winter plumage was photographed

on mudflats at Tibsoc, Negros Occidental (ROH, ID) (Plate 10).

It was evidently one of the large white-headed gull taxa found in

East Asia: taimyrensis, now subsumed in A. fuscus heuglini (Gill &

Donsker 2014, Burger etal. 2015), vegae , mongolicus or schistisagus.

The combination of slim build with long neck and long sloping bill,

long slim legs and alongwingprojection beyond the tail eliminated

schistisagus, but supported taimyrensis as did the following plumage

features — head and tail with extensive dark markings (unlike

mongolicus, which moults early and would have a white head), grey

scapulars with dark markings (. schistisagus and vegae moults always

more advanced by this date), coarse rusty-grey-toned markings to

nape and upperparts (not typical for vegae), tertials and wing-coverts

mostly dark with limited pale markings (unusually extensive pale

markings in vegae), dark primaries lacking the paler markings on

the inner primaries (pattern never shown in schistisagus or vegae,

which show contrast between inner and outer webs), dark bill with

just a slight pinkish base where mongolicus and vegae would show

extensive pale basally by this time (Olsen & Larsson 2004, N.

Moores, K. M. Olsen & S. Mulkeen pers. comms.).

Although IOC (Gill & Donsker 2014), following Collinson

et al. (2008), treat taimyrensis as part of A. fuscus heuglini, we

are recording that this individual matched the proposed form

taimyrensis (from the Yenisey and Taymyr Peninsula) in case of

future taxonomic reviews.

Arctic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus

2 April 2014: one photographed at sea (SN), about 700 m off

the north-east coast of Cagayan province, Luzon (18.430°N

122.285°E), was moulting into a pale intermediate first-summer

plumage (Howell 2007). A slimmer, uniformly dark bill separated

it from Pomarine Jaeger S. pomarinus, which has a two-tone bill,

while structurally it was less barrel-chested and smaller-headed,

with longer narrow wings with longer ‘hand’ than pomarinus. The

extensive white on the underside of the newly moulted primaries

eliminated Long-tailed Jaeger S. longicaudus, which also has a

shorter, thicker bill (Olsen & Larsson 2013).

Rare off Korea, but regular oft the east coast of Japan, Arctic

Jaeger migrates through the Taiwan Strait during April-May (Brazil

2009), so the timing and location ol this first record is consistent

with this movement.

Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus

30 March 2011: one photographed (photographer unknown) at

sea (18.832°N 121.822°E) during cetacean surveys 1.3 km west

of Camiguin Norte, Babuyan Islands, Cagayan, Luzon (CAL). It

was an adult in breeding plumage and, although a little distant,

the images showed a slim jaeger with dark underwings and belly,

contrasting with a whitish upper breast and projecting central

rectrices equivalent in length to the tail. These features combine to

eliminate all other jaeger species (Olsen & Larsson 2013).

On migration the species follows a similar pattern to Arctic

Jaeger, with regular occurrence in the Taiwan Straits matching the

time and location of this record.

Jacobin Cuckoo Gamator jacohinus

21 May 2004: a bi rd on Dalupiri Island, Cagayan, Luzon, was

described by Allen etal. (2006). The species breeds in Myanmar, and

occurs annually in Thailand (P. D. Round in litt. 2014). Although

the species is an unlikely vagrant to the Philippines, there is a

record of one on Iriomotejima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, 1 June 1997

(Kamata 1997), and the first record for Singapore, 4 December 2013

(A. Low pers. comm. 2013).

Channel-billed Cuckoo Scythrops novaehollandiae

19 February 2011 : an adult at Aborlan, Palawan (AT, JC), was

readily identified by its huge size, a large grey bill, long wings in

flight and long tail (Plate 11). Grey head and breast contrasting

with white underparts and darker grey wings, with wing-coverts

boldly tipped with black.

One subsequent record: 16 August 2013, a juvenile caught at

Mount Dahu.Jolo, Sulu, was released the following day.

The birds almost certainly originate from Sulawesi, Indonesia,

the most westerly population, about 900 km from Aborlan and

500 km from Jolo.

White-throated Needietail Hirundapus caudacutus

14 April 2009: a bird at Subic Bay, Zambales, Luzon (PC, SP,

SM, VA), was photographed (TS) and immediately identified as a

needietail Hirundapus sp. It showed a well-defined white throat-

Forktail 31 (2015)

Notable new bird records from the Philippines

31

patch, which eliminated all confusion species including the resident

Purple Needletail H. celebensis. The clear white forehead-patch

confirmed it as the nominate form caudacutus.

Two subsequent records: 9 October 2012, three together. Cape

San Agustin, Davao Oriental, Mindanao; 23 September 2013, one

at Baracatan, Davao del Sur, Mindanao.

The nominate form is a long-distance migrant wintering in

Australia and widely recorded on migration across China, South-

East Asia and the east Indonesian islands (Chantler & Kirwan

2015). It would be expected to be a regular migrant though the

Philippines in autumn and spring, although it may be overlooked

due to confusion with resident Purple Needletail.

Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha (Vulnerable)

30 September 2013: an immature caught by a local fisherman,

Pandanan, Malinsuno Island, Balabac, Palawan, and released the

same day after being examined and photographed (RA, PW). It was

distinguished from Blue-winged Pitta P. moluccensis by the chestnut

head with black median stripe and pale-buffish supercilium, bright

green upperparts with blue restricted to the lesser wing-coverts

(Plate 12) and smaller white patch in the open wing on the outer

five primaries (Lambert & Woodcock 1996). The species winters

in Borneo, and a Philippine record is long overdue, given that it

migrates to Taiwan (Lambert & Woodcock 1996).

Black-winged Cuckooshrike Coracina meiaschistos

12 December 2004: a male, Puerto Rivas, Balanga, Bataan, Luzon

(AEJ, AB, LL, MLu, MV), was identified from the overall grey

body plumage, lighter grey on the lower belly which contrasted

with black wings and black tail. The tail, all black on the upperside,

appeared to be graduated and each pair of visible feathers on the

undertail had white oval patches towards the tip. It was estimated

to be about 20% larger than an adjacent White-shouldered Starling

Sturnia sinensis. Indochinese Cuckooshrike C. polioptera was

eliminated owing to the lack of white edgings to wing feathers

and less extensive white markings on the undertail, while Lesser

Cuckooshrike C.jimbriata would appear much smaller, with white

tips on the undertail.

One subsequent record: 12 January 2008, one at Subic Bay,

Zambales, Luzon, only 32 km north-west of the first record.

This migratory species visits much of China in summer,

wintering in India and South-East Asia. Subspecies intermedia,

which breeds in central, east and south-east China, occurs annually

in Taiwan (Brazil 2009, Ding et al. 2013).

Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocetrcus

30 September 2001: an immature bird, Candaba Marsh,

Pampanga, Luzon (THF, JM, SMi). Field notes described a bird

with an elongated, deeply forked tail, strong short beak and

rounded head, all black (without the bright blue gloss of the resident

Balicassiao D. balicassius), with a dirty-white lower belly, grey-brown

flecking and a few light bars on the vent. The bird was similar in size

to Balicassiao although longer and more slender.

Five subsequent records: 3 February 2008, adult, Trece

Martirez, Cavite, Luzon; 11 October 2009, an adult, Consuelo,

Masantol, Pampanga, Luzon; 15 November 2009, two immatures

which remained until January 2010, with one lingering until March

2010, International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Laguna,

Luzon; 8 October 2013, an adult, Semirara Island, Caluya, Antique;

16 October 2013, one (not aged), Basco, Batan Island, Batanes.

The species is resident in much of South Asia, South-East Asia

and south China, including the form harterti endemic to Taiwan,

geographically the nearest population (Brazil 2009). However,

taxon D. m. cathoecus , which breeds in east and central China, is

a passage migrant in Taiwan (Ding et al. 2013) and probably the

source of the Philippine records.

Japanese Waxwing Bomby cilia japonica (Near Threatened)

31 March 2013: a bird photographed (VMB) at Basco, Batanes,

was immediately identified as a waxwing Bombycilla sp. and was

distinguished from Bohemian Waxwing B. garrulus by the red

rather than yellow tail-tip and the broad black mask through the

eye continuing to the back of the crest.

Winter stragglers reach the Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan (Brazil

2009). The period from December 2012 to March 2013 was

exceptionally cold in most of the usual wintering range, and the

harsh weather may have pushed the species further south.

Asian Stubtaif Urosphena squameiceps

9 October 1999: the full description of a bird caught at Sibaliw, Tag-

osip, Buruanga, Aklan, Panay,was published by Curio eta/. (2001).

One subsequent record: 7 March 2006, a specimen (Kansas

University Natural History Museum 97265) collected in secondary

forest, Limandok, Camiguin Norte, Babuyan Islands, Cagayan,

Luzon (Oliveros et al. 2008).

The species winters in south Japan, east China, Myanmar,

Thailand and Indochina (Brazil 2009). A regular migrant through

Taiwan (Ding et al. 2013), occurrence in the Philippines is not

unexpected and it is probably under-recorded due to its secretive

habits.

Willow Warbler PhySloscopus trochilus

15 October 2006: one or possibly two individuals at Mount

Mariveles watershed, Bataan, Luzon (JH, DBr). A rather plain

Phylloscopus sp. lacking wing-bars and with few distinguishing

features (Plate 13), the combination of dull green-grey upperparts,

greyish-white underparts with yellow wash to the breast-sides and

vent, dark eye-stripe, and yellowish supercilium eliminated most

confusion species, and the dark horn-coloured legs, blackish-brown

bill with pinkish base, and longprimary projection were additional

features to separate it from Common ChiffchafLP. collybyta tristis.

Although the species winters in Africa, it is a rare, probably

annual, migrant from September to November in Japan and has

also occurred in Korea (Brazil 2009).

Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus

1 November 1994: one on Batan Island, Batanes (THF). Field notes

reported a long yellowish-tinged supercilium, appearing slightly

upturned behind the eyes, a slightly paler, not well-contrasted mesial

crown-stripe and two distinctive broad white wing-bars, generally

olive-brown upperparts and pale underparts with off-white throat,

chin and undertail-coverts and a slight grey wash on upper breast;

bill with pale base to the lower mandible. The distinctive upward-

inflected call of the species was also well described. The combination

of these features eliminates all possible confusion species (P. D.

Round pers. comm. 2014) including Pallas’s Leaf Warbler P.

proregulus. Two-barred Warbler P. plumbeitarsus and the three

recently separated taxa, Arctic Warbler P. borealis, Kamchatka Leaf

Warbler P. examinandus andjapanese LeafWarblerP. xantbodryas

(Alstrom et al. 2011).

Four subsequent records: 1 November 2010, Mt Data,

Mountain province, Luzon; 12 February 2012, Bangkong-Kahoy,

Mt Banahaw, Quezon province, Luzon; 30 November 2013, Camp

John Hay, Baguio, Luzon; and 12 January 2014, Sawa Camp,

Cagayan, Luzon.

A record of a Phylloscopus warbler caught, examined in-hand

and photographed in Alcoy Forest, Cebu, 25 January 2003, and

published as a possible Yellow-browed Warbler record (Paguntalan

& Jakosalem 2008), is now considered to be one of the ‘Arctic

Warbler’ taxa: P. borealis, examinandus or xantbodryas (Alstrom et

al. 2011); these are common migrants to the Philippines (Kennedy

et al 2000). Yellow-browed Warbler was eliminated by the lack of

pale tips and edges to the tertials, lack of emargination on the sixth

32

ARNE E. JENSEN, TIMOTHY H. FISHER1 & ROBERT 0. HUTCHINSON

Forktail 31 (2015)

primary (Svensson 1992), and active wing moult which is normal for

P. borealis on its wintering grounds but not for P. inornatus which

completes a post-nuptial moult on the breeding grounds before

migration (P. D. Round pers. comm. 2014).

Yellow-browed Warbler winters widely in South-East Asia and is

an uncommon winter visitor in Taiwan ( Dinged/ . 2013); vagrants

are also recorded from Borneo (Myers 2009).

Black-browed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps

24 and 27 April 2008 : two birds, one of which was mist-netted

(PDR, AB, JH , TH F) at Barangay Visal, San Pablo, Candaba Marsh,

Pampanga, Luzon (Round & Fisher 2009).

One subsequent record, 16 March 2009, only 400 m from the

2008 record (Round & Fisher 2009).

Black-browed Reed Warbler is a common winter visitor in

south-east China and throughout South-East Asia, with smaller

numbers wintering in Taiwan (Brazil 2009).

Daurian Starling Agropsar stuminus

22 October 1978: a small flock feeding on the ground at Port

Barton, Palawan (TF1F). An adult male was described: blackish

wings and tail, white patch on the wing-coverts, white underparts,

greyish wash on head and throat, and a diagnostic dark patch on

the back of the nape.

Two subsequent records: 26 October 1991, two, North Islet,

Tubbataha Reefs, Cagayancillo, Palawan, 8 November 2008, two

(one photographed), Sta Filomena, Alegria, Cebu.

The species winters mainly in Peninsular Malaysia and

Singapore (ROH pers. obs.) and is recorded on passage in east China

and much of South-East Asia. Records also from Taiwan and islands

off Korea and Japan (Brazil 2009, Ding etal. 2013).

Rosy Starling Pastor roseus

10 May 2009 : an adult in non-breeding plumage. South Islet,

Tubbataha Reefs, Cagayancillo, Palawan (AEJ, THF, photographed

by MKC). A typical starling with a pinkish bill and legs; about

18-20 cm long, with black cap and a slight crest, the rest of the head,

throat, upper breast, nape, primaries, secondaries and the slightly

notched tail brownish black. Lower breast, belly and upperparts

including wing-coverts greyish-brown; darker on the flanks. Dark

centres to feathers on the grey undertail-coverts and lower flanks

gave a diagnostic vermiculated effect.

Two subsequent records: 26 June 2012, an adult, Bancao-

Bancao, Puerto Princesa, Palawan (Plate 14), and 29 October 2012,

an adult, Dumagat, Iloilo, Panay.

The species winters predominantly in South Asia, but is very

nomadic and subject to periodic eruptions which take it to South-

East and East Asia with previous accidental records from Taiwan

(Brazil 2009, Dinged al. 2013).

Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris

8 February 2007: an adult in non-breedingplumage photographed

at Iwahig Penal Colony, Puerto Princesa, Palawan (RO). The bird

was unmistakable, black plumage with metallic purple and green

sheen, particularly on head and neck, small white spotting on head

becoming large and distinct on the underparts and buff spots on

the upperparts.

Two subsequent records: 11 November 2013, an adult,

Bagamanoc, Catanduanes, Luzon, and 17-23 December 2014, a

flock of at least 20 at Laoag, Iiocos Norte, Luzon.

In East Asia the taxon poltaratskyi is a scarce winter visitor to

coastal China, south Japan, Korea and Taiwan (Brazil 2009).

Siberian Thrush Zoothera sibirica

16 February 2012: a male collected on Mt Cetaceo, Cagayan,

Luzon (DB) during a field expedition of the Field Museum of

Natural History (FMNH), Chicago, USA (FMNH 480631), was

identified as the nominate form sibirica.

The species is a scarce passage migrant in Korea and Hong Kong,

and an occasional visitor to Taiwan (Brazil 2009, Ding etal. 2013).

Common Blackbird Turdus merula

30 November 2007: a male, probably subspecies mandarinus ,

Sabang, Puerto Princesa, Palawan (THF). The same bird was

probably involved in two subsequent sightings at the same

location — early February 2008 (SW) and 8 April 2008 (ROH).

The all-black plumage, contrasting with a bright orange bill, thin

orange eye-ring and dark legs, eliminated all other thrush species

(including the unlikely possibility of the high- altitude Island Thrush

T. poliocephalus).

Subspecies mandarinus of south and south-east China has

occurred in Japan, Korea and Taiwan (Brazil 2009). Typhoon Lando,

which passed through the Philippines between 19-22 November

2007, before returning from the Asian mainland across the West

Philippine Sea to the north of Palawan between 26-28 November,

may have been responsible for the bird’s arrival on Palawan.

Dusky Thrush Turdus eunomus

28 January 2013: two males photographed on Basco, Batan Island,

Batanes (RU), and described in Urriza (2013).

BSuethroat Luscinia svecica

20-21 February 2003: a male, Bislig Airport, Surigao del Sur,

Mindanao (MBa, CGE, ML, HM, DS), was estimated to be about

the size of a European Robin Eritbacus rubecula. Plumage was brown

overall with a distinct white eyebrow and a large blue throat-patch,

with a red spot at the centre and a red horizontal stripe below. In

flight it showed a distinctive tail pattern with a broad black terminal

band and two rusty red spots at the base. The throat feathers were a

mixture of bright and dull colours, suggesting a moult from winter

to summer plumage.

The species is a common winter visitor and spring passage

migrant in east China and an occasional migrant or winter visitor

in Taiwan (Brazil 2009, Ding etal. 2013); accidental records in the

Philippines are to be expected.

Red-flanked Bluetail Tarsiger cyanurus

10 May 2004: a female caught and photographed on Calayan

Island, Cagayan, Luzon, was documented by Allen et al. (2006).

The species is a common migrant through East Asia, wintering

in south Japan, south Korea, east China, Taiwan and South-East

Asia (Brazil 2009). This record, presumably a bird straying east of

the usual route north, is not surprising and further records in the

Philippines should be anticipated.

Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola (maurus) stejnegeri

17-18 November 2007: a first winter or non-breeding adult male

was photographed (Plate 15), University of the Philippines campus,

Diliman, Quezon City, Luzon (AV, DCa, RO). It showed well-

defined, almost checkered pattern of black-brown centres and rich

warm brown fringes to the upperparts with no visible white except

at feather-bases on the uppertail-coverts. Underparts were warm

ochraceous-orange, prominent on the breast and flanks. Black

feather-bases on the throat and pointed tail feathers suggested a

first-winter male stejnegeri (Birding Frontiers 2012a, b, P. Clement

in litt. 2013). A broad base to the bill, warm ochraceous underparts

and restricted white on the rump helped rule out maurus (Moores

2012) and the identification was confirmed by a prominent dark

mark on the uppertail-coverts. This mark is visible on about half

of the male stejnegeri observed in South Korea and is thought to

be diagnostic when present (M. Hellstrom in litt. 2013, M. Garner

in litt. 2014, N. Moores in litt. 2013). Genetic studies (Zink et al.

Forktail 31 (2015)

Notable new bird records from the Philippines

33

2009) have shown that the east Asian form stejnegeri is robustly

genetically distinct from rnaurus and may merit full species status

(see Gill & Donsker 2014). This insight contradicts earlier authors

(e.g. Urquhart 2002) who questioned the validity oi stejnegeri.

One subsequent confirmed record: 30 April 2014, a first-winter

or non-breeding adult male, Itbayat, Batanes. Three other records

(four individuals), insufficiently documented to differentiate

between stejnegeri and maurus , were as follows: 24 February 1999,

one thought to be a non-breeding plumage female, Sabang, Puerto

Princesa, Palawan; 14-15 March 2001, one presumed non-breeding

female or first-winter male and one non-breeding male, Sabang,

Puerto Princesa, Palawan; 26 August 2007, one Anvaya Cove,

Morong, Bataan.

The taxon stejnegeri is widely distributed in East Asia; it is

common and presumably the only regularly occurring stonechat

in the Korean Peninsula (N. Moores in litt. 2013). It breeds in east

Siberia to Anadyrland, south to east Mongolia, north-east China,

Korea andjapan, winteringin south China, Taiwan and South-East

Asia (Brazil 2009, Ding et al. 2013, Collar 2015).

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia

22 October 1999: a female or first-winter male, Puerto Princesa,

Palawan (RF, RC). The upperparts were olive-brown with slightly

darker head, no eyebrow but with a partial white eye-ring, and

a clearly defined yellow rump contrasting with a blackish tail.

The dark olive-brown wings had pale tips to three greater coverts

forming a broken wing-bar. The underparts were washed dull yellow

with some dusky mottling on the throat and breast. The only other

flycatchers with a yellow rump are male Green-backed Flycatcher

F. elisae, which has brighter yellow underparts and strong yellow

lores, and a male owstoni taxon Narcissus Flycatcher A. narcissina ,

which would show a striking combination of black upperparts and

wings, white wing-slash, bright yellow underparts and long yellow

supercilium (Brazil 2009).

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher breeds in Korea and east and north¬

east China, and winters on the Malay Peninsula south to Sumatra,

Indonesia (Robson 2005, Brazil 2009). It is an occasional passage

migrant to Taiwan (Ding etal. 2013). A record on Palawan, slightly

east of its usual migration route, is not unexpected.

Pin-tailed Parrotfinch Erythrura prasina

4 May 1983: a male, Philippine Copper Mining Corporation camp,

Puerto Princesa, Palawan (TC, IW). The bird, in bamboo scrub

at forest edge, had green upperparts, with red rump, red tail with

long, pointed central feathers, blue throat, forehead and face with a

small black eye-mask, lower breast and belly-sides orange-buff, with

bright red centres. From the description, it appeared to be the more

colourful taxon coelica known only from Borneo (Myers 2009).

Three specimens were subsequently collected in June and July

2007 by FMNH between 1,100 and 1,750 m on Mt Mantalingahan,

Rizal, Palawan: 30June 2007, FMNH 455088, at Paray-paray, 2 km

west and 0.7 km south of Mt Mantalingahan; 7 July 2007, FMNH

455089, Gunob, 3.4 km west and 0.6 km south of Mt Mantalingahan;

10 July 2007, FMNH 455090, a female, also thought to be coelica ,

Mt Kawayan, 4.75 km west and 1 .3 km south of Mt Mantalingahan,

photographed by Garcia (https://samutsaringbuhay.wordpress.

com/2007/09/ 1 6/ spectacular-wildlife-finds-in-mt-mantalingahan-

palawan/). Both the nominate form and coelica are known to be

nomadic, following rice harvests and seeding bamboo (Myers 2009).

It is unclear whether these birds represent occasional visitors from

Borneo or a little-known resident population.

Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola

6 April 2012; a male, Candaba Marsh, Pampanga, Luzon (MW).

Identified from the bright yellow head and underparts, broad white

tips to median and greater wing-coverts forming broad wing-bars,

black tertials with broad white fringes and a grey mantle which

confirmed that the bird was the nominate subspecies. An olive-grey

wash to the nuchal band extending up the nape to the rear crown

suggested first-summer plumage (Alstrom & Mild 2003).

Eastern populations winter in south and south-east China

(Alstrom & Mild 2003, Brazil 2009). A scarce migrant in Korea,

Japan and Taiwan (Brazil 2009, Ding et al. 2013), occurrence in

the Philippines is not unexpected.

Richard's Pipit Anthus richardi

15 October 2013: a first-winter bird (Plate 16) on Basco airfield,

Batan Island, Batanes (ROH, ID), was identified by a suite of

characters including overall huffier colouration, larger size with

robust body, long tail, long stout legs and a distinctive upright

stance, in direct comparison with Paddyfield Pipit A. rujulus. The

bill was strong and stout, thick at the base, noticeably curving

down to tip. The call was a strong shree-ep. All the median coverts

on each wing had already been moulted to adult feathers and the

patterning of these, with pointed rather than square darker brown

centres, a definitive identification feature, confirmed that it was

Richard’s rather than Blyth’s Pipit A. godlewskii (Alstrom & Mild

2003, Tyler 2004).

The species winters in south and south-east China, Taiwan

and South-East Asia (Alstrom & Mild 2003, Brazil 2009, Ding et

al. 2013). Although A. richardi was listed as a winter visitor to the

Philippines (Tyler 2004) this was probably due to the earlier inclusion

of the resident taxon lugubris in A. novaeseelandiae before separation

of A. rufulus in which it is now placed. Neither Dickinson etal. (1991)

nor Kennedy etal. (2000) included evidence of the occurrence of A.

richardi and this is considered the first de facto record.

Chinese Grosbeak Eophona migratoria

12 October 1991: a female on Sabtang Island, Batanes (THF, RT),

was described as a rather large grosbeak with a massive, deep yellow

bill, black lores, overall grey-brown colour, paler and more mottled

on the underparts, white vent and black tail. The black secondaries

and primaries with white tips produced a characteristic white band

at the trailing edge of the wing which, together with a white carpal

spot, was seen well in flight.

The taxon migratoria winters in south Japan, east China and

occasionally Taiwan (Brazil 2009, Ding etal. 2013). Occurrence of

the species in Batanes, just south of Taiwan, was not unexpected.

Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala

17 February 1996: one at Iwahig, Puerto Princesa, Palawan (THF,

PM), was described from detailed field notes as a rather nondescript

bunting with sandy-brown upperparts, pale-buffi underparts with a

grey suffusion and faint streaking across the breast, two indistinct

wing-bars and a lack of distinctive head markings. This reduced the

possibilities to Red-headed Bunting E. bruniceps or Black-headed

Bunting, often very difficult to separate. However, the bird showed

clear streaking on the crown, a large heavy bill and a distinct contrast

between the ear- coverts and the paler moustachial area, all features

that exclude £. bruniceps (Brazil 2009).

One subsequent record: 1-23 March 2014, amale, Laoag, Ilocos

Norte, Luzon.

Although Black-headed Bunting winters in South Asia, there

are at least 21 other records in South-East and East Asia, including

Japan, China, Thailand, Laos, Taiwan and Sabah, Borneo.

DISCUSSION

Dickinson et al. (1991) noted about 170 migratory species for

the Philippines, and Kennedy et al. (2000) listed as rare and

accidental 62 species with fewer than 20 documented records. The

34

ARNE E. JENSEN, TIMOTHY H. FISHER* & ROBERT O. HUTCHINSON

Forktail 31 (201 5)

54 new species recorded here fall into several different categories.

Thirteen species are passerines which breed in north-east Asia and

normally migrate south to winter in South-East Asia: Black-winged

Cuckooshrike, Black Drongo, Asian Stubtail, Yellow-browed

Warbler, Black-browed Reed Warbler, Daurian Starling, Siberian

Thrush, Bluethroat, Red-flanked Bluetail, Stejneger’s Stonechat,

Yeilow-rumped Flycatcher, Citrine Wagtail and Richard’s Pipit.

These species typically set out in relatively clear, stable conditions

associated with high-pressure systems, ideal for migration and

navigation (Elkins 1999). However, the frequent low-pressure

systems which track across the vicinity of the Philippines between

August and October bring high winds and heavy cloud, leading

migrants to become disoriented over the open sea and causing

them to land at the first opportunity (Lees & Gilroy 2009), often

on isolated islands like the Batanes and Babuyan Islands in the

Philippine Sea and islets in the Sulu Sea; in fact 17 of the new records

are from these island groups. Another five passerines— Japanese

Waxwing, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, Dusky Thrush

and Chinese Grosbeak — winter in parts of East Asia adjacent to the

Philippines and might be driven to the Philippines either by bad

weather during migration or by persistent cold weather in winter.

Twelve species can be considered to be wetland birds and nine

of these — Bean Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Tundra

Swan, Ruddy Shelduck, Mandarin Duck, Oriental Stork, Eurasian

Spoonbill, Dalmatian Pelican and Northern Lapwing — are regular

wintering species in south and east China or Taiwan and also

probably occur in the Philippines as a result of overshooting their

regular wintering areas, in some cases owing to inclement weather.

Both Long-billed Dowitcher and Pectoral Sandpiper have breeding

ranges which extend well into eastern Asia and it might be that

East Asia, including the Philippines, is a regular migration route

for these species. Another wetland species, Latham’s Snipe, as well

as Eurasian Hobby, White-throated Needletail and Fairy Pitta,

breed to the north of the Philippines, wintering to the south, and

are most likely regular migrants, albeit currently under-recorded.

Eight pelagic species — Laysan Albatross, Short-tailed

Shearwater, Swinhoe’s Storm Petrel, Leach’s Storm Petrel,

Christmas Island Frigatebird, White Tern, Arctic Jaeger and Long¬

tailed Jaeger — and four coastal species — Laughing Gull, Franklin’s

Gull, Mew Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull — have been recorded,

and further pelagic exploration would surely add to the avifauna.

The increase in the number of skilled amateur birdwatchers,

bird photographers and professional ornithologists has contributed

significantly to the knowledge of the Philippine avifauna. Of the

species recorded here, 36 were reported by amateur birdwatchers,

eight by scientists during their fieldwork, and four initially by local

citizens to the DENR.

The records are from 42 different localities spread across the

country — from Bancauan Reef in Tawi-Tawi province near the

Malaysian border in the south-west to Batanes province in the

extreme north. However, most amateur birdwatchers frequent

the same few localities and two of the most popular areas, a small

wetland near Candaba Town in what remains of the former

Candaba Marsh, Luzon, and Puerto Princesa, Palawan, produced 20

new species records, a clear indication that much of the Philippines

remains ornithologically under-studied.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank the WBCP Records Committee who since 2004 have worked

tirelessly to maintain a database of the Philippine avifauna. We are particularly

indebted to Desmond Allen, Per Alstrom, Peter Clement, Geoff Dobbs, the

late Martin Garner, Magnus Hellstrom Julian Hough, David M. James, Kevin

Karlson, Nial Moores, Klaus Mailing Olsen, Steve Mulkeen, Steve Pryor, Philip

Round and Ewan Urquhart for their help in identification of many species in

this paper. Victor Yu kindly provided access to the 2013 Chinese Wild Bird

Federation Checklist of the Birds of Taiwan and Pan Chih-Yuan, Huns Kuan-

Chie and Wayne Hsu shared data on the status of Amur Falcon, Laughing Gull

and Black Drongo in Taiwan.

We thank Harvey John Garcia for data on the Pin-tailed Parrotfinch,

Peter Widmann for information on the observation of Fairy Pitta, Angelique

Songco for the data on the White Tern, Larry Heaney, FMNH Chicago, for

permission to publish the documentation of the record of Siberian Thrush, and

Carl Oliveros, Kansas University, for providing photographic documentation

of the museum’s specimen of Asian Stubtail.

Special thanks to Marlynn Mendoza (Cinereous Vulture in Batanes),

Vivian Obligar-Soriano (Short-tailed Shearwater information), Yolanda Sa-

ong and Myrna Baylon (Laysan Albatross and Tundra Swan documentation),

Annabelle Barquilla, Editha Milan and Rechilda Almazar, all of the DENR.

We thank Belinda de la Paz, Marivic Pajaro, Marge Levides and Neil Aldrin

Mallari for help in the search for the documentation of Spoon-billed Sandpiper

in the Philippines.

We thank the following photographers for permission to use their images:

Rene Antonio, Annabelle Barquilla, Paul Bourdin, Jimmy Chew, Ed Garcellano,

Jon Hornbuckle, Alexander Loinaz, Editha Milan, Romy Ocon, Sylvia Ramos,

Tonji Ramos and Lyn Tolentino.

Additional information on various species was kindly provided by David

Bakewell, Bas van Balen, James Eaton, Tony Palliser, Don Roberson and Danny

Rogers. The draft manuscript was reviewed by Philip Round whose expert

comments greatly improved the accuracy of the paper.

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FORKTAIL 31 (201 5): 37-42

Importance of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau for the

Endangered Saker Falcon Falco cherrug

ANDREW DIXON, MA MING & NYAMBAYAR BATBAYAR

Saker Falcons Falco cherrug are classified by IUCN as Endangered, with a large proportion of their global population existing in Mongolia

and China. We conducted exploratory surveys for breeding Saker Falcons in June 2007 on the alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan

plateau. Our preliminary results indicate that Saker Falcons breed at relatively high density (0.52 ± 0.22 breeding pairs/100 km2; 0.68 ± 0.21

territories/100 km2), which suggests a total breeding population in this biogeographical region of several thousand pairs. Satellite telemetry

has revealed that this large breeding population is augmented in winter by thousands of migrant Saker Falcons from Mongolia and adjacent

regions of Russia. We have highlighted potential threats to the Saker Falcon population on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau ranging from wide-

scale environmental factors relating to socio-economic development, land use and climate change to more specific factors relating to small

mammal eradication, electrocution and illegal trapping. Given the global importance of the large Saker Falcon populations occupying the

high plateaus of Mongolia and China and their migratory connectivity, we argue that systematic surveys be conducted to better estimate

the population dynamics of this species and that efforts be made to understand the impacts various anthropogenic activities in the region

on both breeding and wintering populations of Saker Falcons.

INTRODUCTION

The Saker Falcon Falco cherrug (hereafter Saker) is the only

member of its genus to be categorised as Endangered on the

IUCN Red List, primarily because oflarge and rapid population

declines in Central Asia, particularly in the states of the former

USSR. Current estimates suggest that breeding pairs (bp) in

Mongolia (2,000-5,000) and China (1,000-5,000) account lor

approximately 47-65% of the global Saker breeding population

(BirdLife International 2015). However, published information

on the species in these important range states is sparse, especially

from China, where Sakers breed in desert and grassland landscapes

in the west and north (MacKinnon & Phillipps 2000). In the

western Gobi desert of Xinjiang, nesting density was found to be

0.12 bp/ 100 km: (Wu etal. 2008), comparable to 0.13 bp/ 100 km2

in the eastern Gobi of Mongolia (Batbayar et al. 2010). However,

as in neighbouring Mongolia, it is likely that grassland ecosystems

support higher breeding densities. One such area which has the

potential to support an expansive breedingpopulation is the alpine

grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, where Potapov & Ma

(2004) reported a density ol 0.28 bp/100km2.

The Qinghai-Tibetan plateau is a unique biogeographic

region extending over an area of 2.5 million km2. This vast area

encompasses the provinces of Qinghai and Tibet and includes the

adjacent areas of Xinjiang, Gansu and Sichuan provinces (Zhang

et al. 2002). High-altitude alpine grassland ranging from 2,300

to 5,300 m covers 59% of the plateau (Ding et al. 2013), and the

distribution of the Plateau Pika Ochotona curzoniae, the principal

prey for nearly all predators in the region (Smith & Foggin 1999),

largely coincides with this habitat type (Lai & Smith 2003). There

are nine Important Bird Areas (IBAs), covering about 45,000 km2

on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, which list Sakers in their inventory

of threatened species, although they are recorded as being present

in only 7% of the IBAs in Qinghai and Tibet provinces (BirdLife

International 2009).

The distribution of Saker records from the late nineteenth and

early twentieth centuries collated by Vaurie (1972) indicate that

the species bred and wintered primarily in the east and south of the

plateau, although the apparent paucity of records from the Chang

Tang, which covers a large part of west and north Tibet extending

south-west to Ladakh, could also be a consequence of the remoteness

of the region. Certainly, Kozlov (1899) recorded Sakers breeding

in Chang Tang, whilst Schaller (1998) reported that Saker Falcons

and Upland Buzzards Buteo hemilasius were the two commonest

large raptors in the region. Elsewhere, King& Tai (1991) reported

that Sakers were common where there was a large population of

pikas in north-west Sichuan, and more recently Cui et al. (2008)

reported that Sakers were common during the breeding season in

north-east Qinghai.

Despite its remoteness a number ol threats face the biodiversity

of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Global climate change is predicted

to have major effects on the biomes of the region (Zhang etal. 1996,

Ni 2000, Zhao etal. 2011), which are already subject to change and

degradation as a consequence of human land use (Fan et al. 1999,

Wen etal. 2013) and infrastructure development (Ding etal. 2006).

In addition to these wider ecological issues, local anthropogenic

factors also threaten the stability of Saker populations. For example,

management strategies to combat degradation of alpine grasslands

include programmes to eradicate small burrowing mammals, an

important food resource for Sakers (Lai & Smith 2003). A lack of

suitable perches in the region makes electrical poles an attractive

vantage point for Sakers, which are often electrocuted as a result

(Dixon et al. 2013). Poaching for falconry is also known to occur

in the region (Li et al. 2000) causing further stress to populations

of Sakers.

In this paper we report the results of exploratory surveys

and satellite telemetry studies that highlight the importance of

the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau for both breeding and wintering

Saker Falcons. Furthermore, we identify potential conservation

threats facing the species in the region and provide tenable

recommendations for their mitigation.

METHODS

We conducted exploratory breeding surveys between 17-20 June

2007 in Madoi county, Golog prefecture, and 25-30 June 2007

in the counties of Yushu, Zhiduo and Qumalai, Yushu prefecture

(Figure 1). Surveys were restricted to areas adjacent to the main

highways running through these four counties, and were chosen

on the basis that they held potential nesting habitat for Sakers and

were conveniently located to areas where we were based on our route

through Qinghai. We undertook nest searches on foot, checking

rock faces and outcrops in mountains, valleys, river courses and

plains in areas adjacent to the road. We also surveyed a total length

ol 112 km of electricity transmission lines in Madoi county and

38

ANDREW DIXON, MA MING & NYAMBAYAR BATBAYAR

Forktail 31 (2015)

Figure 1. Location of counties in

Qinghai province where breeding and

wintering surveys were undertaken.

MG = Maduo (Madoi), Guoluo (Golog)

prefecture; CY = Chenduo (Chindu),

QY = Qumalai (Qumerleb), YY = Yushu

(Yulshul), ZY = Zhiduo (Zhidoi), Yushu

prefecture; XH = Xinghai, Hainan

prefecture. Inset shows location of

Qinghai province in China.

checked all stick nests on poles and pylons for occupancy by Sakers.

We plotted all active nest locations by GPS and recorded locations

of occupied territories when no nests were found. We classified a

territory as occupied if we detected a pair of adult Sakers in suitable

nesting habitat or if we encountered evidence of recent activity at a

known nest site (i.e. presence of fresh faeces, pellets and/or moulted

feathers). Survey areas were subsequently defined by a minimum

convex polygon (MCP) that included all active territories and

nests found in each survey area. It should be noted that the entire

MCP was not searched in each area and nests/active territories were

probably under-recorded.

We recorded all Sakers seen in winter between 9-14 January

2008 in Maduo county, Guoluo prefecture, Xinghai county, Hainan

prefecture, and Chenduo and Qumalai counties, Yushu prefecture

(Figure 1). Birds were seen during road travel, the survey route

following the main highway across these counties, and all sightings

of Sakers were marked using GPS and their sex and age recorded

when possible. Birds were assigned to two categories, i.e. hatched

during previous calendar year (juvenile) and hatched before the

previous calendar year, exact year unknown (adult). In addition, we

plotted the GPS location of Sakers observed along a 76 km electricity

distribution line running from Maduo to Huashixia, Maduo

county, and subsequently measured nearest-neighbour distances

between observations using Google Earth (treating observations of

pairs as a single data points). We calculated an index of dispersion

(/), where / = Y-, which was compared to a Poisson distribution by

a chi-square test.

Between May and July in the years 1997 to 2009, a total of 31

Sakers were captured in Mongolia and adjacent regions of Russia

and fitted with satellite transmitters (platform terminal transmitter;

PTT manufactured by Microwave Telemetry, Columbia, MD,

USA and North Star Science and Technology, King George, VA,

USA). We were able to use data from 20 of these transmitters,

which provided locations until at least 1 December in the same or

subsequent year (AD unpubl. data). We selected this cut-off date

to define the wintering status of individuals because 26 November

was the latest departure date for known migratory Sakers (Table 1).

We defined a Saker as a migrant if it embarked on a long-distance

(>350 km), directional movement from the breeding area where it

was first fitted with a PTT.

RESULTS

The mean density of Sakers in our three surveyed areas was 0.52 ±

0.22 breeding pairs/100 km2 and 0.68 ± 0.21 territories/100 km:

Table 1. Timing of migration and duration of wintering period on theQinghai-Tibetan plateau. Migration initiation refers to the date individuals left

their breeding or natal regions, arrival refers to the date the individual arrived on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and departure the date that it left.

Duration is the number of days spent in the wintering region. Four individuals stopped transmitting during migration and a further two stopped

transmitting whilst wintering on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. +Exact date uncertain due to gaps in signal transmission. References for further

satellite tracking information on individual Sakers: 1 (Eastham etal. 2000); 2 (Potapov etal. 2002); 3 (Karyakin etal. 2005); 4 (Batbayar etal. 2010).

A. DIXON

Forktail 31(2015)

Importance of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau for the Endangered Saker Falcon Falco cherrug

39

Table 2. The number of active nests and occupied territories found in

three survey areas of Guoluo and Yushu prefectures. Breeding density is

expressed as the number of nests and territories per 1 00 km2.

(Table 2). Nests were found on cliffs, rock outcrops and sandbanks

on mountains, valley bottoms, plains and river valleys (Plates 1 and

2). We found no breeding Sakers nesting on 1 12 km of electricity

power line in Madoi county, but did find a pair nesting on a river

bridge of the Qinghai-Tibet highway outside our main survey areas.

Of the 20 individual Sakers which were tracked by satellite until

at least 1 December, 1 1 (52%) were migratory — nine adults and two

juveniles. Sample sizes were too small to identify any statistically

significant difference in the migratory tendency between age classes;

50% of adults (n = 18) and 67% of juveniles (n = 3) were migrants.

A further two migrants stopped transmitting before 1 December

and all the migratory birds (n = 9) which were tracked to their

wintering area went to the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (Figure 2).

One adult female was tracked over two winters and changed its

status from resident in the first winter to migratory in the second.

On average, Sakers arrived at their wintering grounds on

22 October (±12 days), with the earliest arrival recorded on 18

September and latest between 4-9 January— exact date uncertain

due to gap in signal transmission from PTT (Table 1). All tagged

Sakers spent the winter in regions of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

(Figure 2). Birds spent 132 (± 16) days on the plateau, departing

to their breeding or natal region on 7 March (± 6 days) (Table l).

During our winter survey, we saw Sakers every day from 9-14

January. In total we saw 62 individuals, 52 of which we were able

Figure 2. Map illustrating migratory

connectivity between breeding

(black dots) and wintering (white

dots) areas of Sakers. The final

locations of PTTs that stopped

transmitting during migration are

marked with stars. The Qinghai-

Tibetan plateau is shown by the

dashed line shaded grey and the

darker shaded area represents the

main region of alpine grassland

(adapted from Zhang etal. 2013).

Plate 1 . Saker Falcon Falco cherrug breeding habitat on rocky hillside of

alpine grasslands, Maduo county.

Plate 2. Saker Falcon breeding habitat on rocky sides of river valleys,

Yangtse River, Qumalai county.

A. DIXON

40

ANDREW DIXON, MA MING & NYAMBAYAR BATBAYAR

Forktail 31 (2015)

Figure 3. Density (expressed as nearest neighbour distance, nnd; km) of

perched Sakers along a 76 km electricity distribution line running from

Maduoto Huashixia, Maduo county. Observed Plateau Pika abundance

was greatest nearer to Maduo (linear regression: y = 0.055x + 0.4479,

R2 = 0.5935).

to accurately age and sex; overall sex ratio was similar (26 of each

sex) but adult birds (n = 32) outnumbered juveniles (n = 20) by a

ratio of 1.6:1. Birds were usually observed singly, although we saw

two together at four locations and at each of these there was an

adult male and female present, suggesting that they were a pair. We

recorded 27 Sakers (including four pairs) along the 76 km length

of electricity transmission line survey during the winter count. The

mean nearest-neighbour distance between perched birds was 2.14

± 0.33 km. The dispersion of Sakers along the power line (7=3.05,

x ’ = 67.09, df = 22,p<0.05), was aggregated with a higher density

found nearer Maduo than Huashuxia (Figure 3).

DISCUSSION

The densities of nests and occupied territories reported here are

minimum estimates as the areas were only partially surveyed and

we undoubtedly missed other nests and territories. Potapov & Ma

(2004) found Sakers breeding at a density of 0.28 pairs/100 km2

in a 1,811 km2 study area in Qumalai, which is the same density

we found in a different area of this county. Extrapolating the

mean density of 0.52 ± 0.22 breeding pairs/100 km2 found during

our study produces population estimates of 129 (75-184), 259

(150-368) and 405 (240-589) breedingpairs for Maduo, Qumalai,

Zhiduo /Yushu counties respectively. The area of these four counties

combined represents less than 12% of the high-altitude alpine

grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Given the widespread

breeding distribution of the Saker across the plateau, it is clear that

this vast biogeographic region holds a significant population that

could possibly exceed the current estimate for the Saker population

in China as whole. Nevertheless, more extensive, standardised

surveys are required to obtain accurate breeding population

estimates at county, prefecture, province and ecoregion scales.

Interestingly, we found little evidence of widespread or frequent use

of anthropogenic structures by nesting Sakers, whereas in Mongolia

the habit is well established with many pairs nesting on powerline

support structures (Dixon etal. 2013) and other human artefacts

(Ellis etal. 1997,2009).

Satellite telemetry has revealed that the Qinghai-Tibetan

plateau not only supports a large breeding population, but also

serves as an important wintering region for migratory Saker Falcons

from breeding areas in Mongolia and adjacent regions of Russia.

Formerly, Sakers were reported as being not uncommon during

migration in ‘Chihli’ (approximating to modern Hebei province)

and were believed to generally winter in northern China (La Touche

1931-1934). However, at present the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau is

the only known wintering area for long-distance migratory Sakers

from Mongolia. Given that 52% of the Mongolian Sakers we tagged

migrated and the Mongolian breeding population is estimated to

comprise 2,000-5,000 pairs, it is likely that thousands of migratory

Sakers arrive on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau each autumn.

The aggregated dispersion of Sakers along the surveyed

powerline suggests that local densities on alpine grasslands are

influenced by food availability, and although we did not collect

quantitative data, the abundance of Plateau Pikas was observed to

be highest closer to Maduo town where Sakers occurred at higher

density. Our observations indicated that the wintering Saker

population of the plateau is not sex-biased, although we did see

more adults than juveniles, suggesting the possibility of spatial

separation of wintering areas by age class or perhaps differential

overwinter mortality rates. It would be useful to collect data to

determine if there is any temporal variation in the age structure

of the Saker population overwintering on the Qinghai-Tibetan

plateau. Overwinter survival has the potential to be a major factor

regulating the size of the Saker population in Mongolia as well as

on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.

Despite its huge size and remoteness, the Qinghai-Tibetan

plateau is still vulnerable to detrimental anthropogenic influences

(Cui & Graf 2009, Harris 2010). Government policies to reduce

grassland degradation and improve livestock productivity involve

the management of grazing and rodent control (Xiang etal. 2009).

Grazing management has involved reducing the density of grazing

livestock and relocation of herders to settlements (Foggin & Smith

1996, Sheehy et al. 2006) in order to reduce grazing intensity,

which is often regarded as the primary cause of pasture degradation.

Changes in grassland land use could affect prey populations,

particularly small mammals, through altering the structure of

vegetation (Xin 2008).

It seems likely that the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau supports a

large population of Sakers primarily because of the widespread and

abundant supply of Plateau Pikas that are available throughout the

year (Smith & Foggin 1999, Harris & Loggers 2004). However,

other prey species are also likely to be important such as birds, Gansu

Pikas Ochotona cansus , Plateau Zokers Myospalaxfontanierii, Root

Voles Microtus oeconomus and other small mammals (Zhang et al.

2003, Cui et al. 2008). Pest control programmes that set out to

eradicate Plateau Pikas and other small mammals over large districts

have the potential to reduce the area and carrying capacity of regions

for Sakers (Lai & Smith 2003, Delibes-Mateos etal. 201 1), although

the efficacy of this strategy has been questioned (Pech et al. 2007).

However, we currently do not know how breeding or wintering

Sakers may respond, functionally and numerically, to a reduction

in small mammal availability.

Increased infrastructure development on the Qinghai-Tibetan

plateau may have a direct and indirect impact on Sakers. There is

no evidence that the Qinghai-Tibet highway and railway impact

on key prey species (Li 2012), and the physical structures associated

with them can provide potential nest sites in areas where none

existed previously. However, road and railway development increases

accessibility in this remote region and can stimulate economic

activity, which can lead to the creation of new settlements and

the expansion of existing ones. While the potential benefit of

increasing nest site availability through the development of electricity

transmission infrastructure has only recently been recorded on the

Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (Dixon 2015), the expanding electricity

distribution network is responsible for the electrocution and death

of large numbers of breeding and wintering Sakers (Dixon et al.

2013; Plate 3).

The large numbers of Sakers on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

has not escaped the attention of falcon trappers and since 1994 the

region has been targeted by illegal traders looking to export falcons

A. DIXON

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Importance of the Qinghal-Tibetan plateau for the Endangered Saker Falcon Falco cherrug

41

Plate 3. Electrocuted Saker Falcon on an electricity distribution line,

Maduo county.

to the lucrative Middle East falconry market (Li et al. 2000). The

scale of ‘harvesting’ is reportedly very high, with at least 1,200

Sakers illegally trapped on average annually in Qinghai province

according to the Qinghai Wildlife Management Bureau (Zhang et

al. 2008). In the absence of accurate and reliable data on the ‘harvest

level’, it is not possible to determine whether harvesting at this

scale is sustainable, although it does provide further evidence for a

substantial winteringpopulation on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.

The impact of threats such as pika control, electrocution and

falcon trapping on the breeding and/or wintering population

of Sakers on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau is not known, but

precautionary measures could be adopted to minimise any potential

detrimental effect. In several counties of Qinghai, rodent control

departments have reduced pika poisoning efforts and have instead

erected perches and artificial nesting platforms for raptors in

order to facilitate and increase predation of pikas by birds of prey

(Dixon 2015). The problem of electrocution at power distribution

lines can be addressed by installing appropriate mitigation, such as

cable insulation, particularly at the most dangerous anchor poles

(Dixon etal. 2013). Studies in Mongolia have demonstrated that it is

possible to manage Saker breedingpopulations using artificial nests,

and such a managed and monitored population could potentially

be used to support a sustainable harvest of falcons for falconry

(Rahman etal. 2014), which in turn could have community benefits

and undermine any illegal trade.

In conclusion, it is clear that the biogeographical region of the

Qinghai-Tibetan plateau is hugely significant for the conservation

of the Saker, holding a large breeding population and providing an

important wintering area for a significant portion of the breeding

Saker population of Mongolia and adjacent regions of Russia. It is

likely, in winter at least, that 25-50% of the global Saker population

resides on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Priority should be given

to developing targeted research and conservation projects aimed

at obtaining a better understanding of and addressing the specific

factors that potentially impact on the Saker population — pest

control measures, electrocution and trapping.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project was funded by the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD;

formerly Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency,

ERWDA). The World Bank (Netherlands-Mongolia Trust Fund for

Environmental Reform) and BirdLife International (the Rio Tinto-Birdl.ife

Programme) funded the purchase and deployment of two PTTs used in this

study. In addition to PTTs deployed by the authors (2006-2009) we have

included data from PTTs deployed by Christopher Eastham (1997); Igor

Karyakin, Eugene Potapov and Gombobaatar Sundev (2000-2002). We thank

Carl Ashford, Hu Baowen, Ryan Dixon, Gankhuyag Purev-Ochir, Dimitar

Ragyov and Paul Stafford for their assistance.

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Andrew DIXON, International Wildlife Consultants Ltd., PO Box

19, Carmarthen, SA33 5YL, UK. Email: falco@falcons.co.uk

MA Ming, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese

Academy of Sciences, No 40 Beijing Road, Urumgi 830011,

Xinjiang, P.R. China

Nyambayar BATBAYAR, Wildlife Science and Conservation

Center, Office 33, Undrum Plaza, Bayanzurch District, Ulaanbaatar

51, Mongolia

FORKTAIL 31 (201 5): 43-46

Passage of Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher

Rhinomyias brunneatus through Singapore, with notes on

wintering status in South-East Asia

DING LI Y0NG& YANG LIU

The winter distribution and ecology of migratory East Asian passerines remains poorly studied, despite increasing habitat loss across their

breeding, stopover and wintering areas. The Vulnerable Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias brunneatus breeds in south-central

China and is a long-distance migrant to South-East Asia where the wintering range is poorly known. Using data from line transects, we

estimated passage densities of 52-102 individuals/km2 in Singapore in mid-October 2012, when passage appears to peak. Assuming the lower

bound estimate, some 5% of the estimated global population may transit Singapore during the stopover period, highlighting the relative

importance of Singapore's remaining forests for the species. Nearly all winter records were from forest habitats while stopover records

occurred in a wider range of habitat types. We also identified new records of the species from Sumatra and predict that the core wintering

range may lie in the lowland forests of Sumatra. Midwinter surveys in Sumatra to identify key wintering sites, and long-term sampling in

China sites in the breeding season to monitor population stability, are recommended. The uncertainty about the status of the Brown-chested

Jungle Flycatcher in the wintering range is symptomatic of the limited knowledge of many long-distance, migratory passerines in the eastern

Palearctic and may hinder their effective conservation.

INTRODUCTION

Rapid deforestation and land-use change in Sundaic South-East Asia

puts many resident and endemic birds at serious risk of extinction

(Sodhi et al. 2010). However, little attention has been paid to

eastern Palearctic passerines wintering in South-East Asia, despite

the fact that many are forest-dependent and recognised as globally

threatened. The rapid loss of habitat in the wintering areas could

thus pose a conservation threat for such species, even ii temperate

forests in the breeding ranges remain relatively intact. Furthermore,

climate change impacts on western Palearctic species (Both et

al. 2010), increasing loss and degradation ot temperate forests

(Kurosawa & Askins 2003) especially in the Taiga (Bradshaw et

al. 2009), and continuing habitat loss in non-breeding areas (Kirby

et al. 2008) combine to suggest that it is timely to re-evaluate the

conservation status of these migratory passerines.

Figure 1. Map of East and South-East Asia showing the breeding range in

south-central China (dark grey), and currently known wintering range in

the Thai-Malay peninsula (medium grey). Black dots represent locations

of recent records in Sumatra, Borneo and Java.

An estimated four billion migratory birds (Newton 2007),

the majority passerines, migrate annually from Eurasia to tropical

Africa and Asia during the boreal winter. Western Palearctic species

have generally been better studied than their eastern Palearctic

counterparts, and East Asian passerines are understudied compared

to the more charismatic waterbirds and raptors (YongtV al. 2015).

Studies of breeding passerine migrants in Japan (e.g. Higuchi &

Morishita 1998, Kurosawa & Askins 2003) have underscored a

critical lack of knowledge of how habitat loss and degradation in

South-East Asia impacts migratory passerines. Based on an analysis

of ecological traits in declining breeding birds in Japan, Amano

& Yamaura (2007) identified long-distance migration as one of a

number of significant ecological attributes linked to species with

contracting breeding ranges.

The Vulnerable Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias

brunneatus (BirdLife International 2014) is one of the least-known

migratory passerines in East Asia. It breeds in the mountains of

south-east and central China (Figure 1), in a number of widely

fragmented populations, with recent spring-summer records from

21 sites across nine provinces based on records in the China Bird

Report database (www.birdtalker.net/report/index.asp) (Table 1).

Given degradation and loss of habitat across its range, particularly

the wintering range, the species is believed to be in decline, with an

estimated global population of 2,500 to 9,999 mature individuals

(BirdLife International 2014). The species overwinters in South-

East Asia and has been recorded on passage in mainland South-East

Asia (Mahood et al. 2013), the Thai-Malay peninsula and on islets in

the Straits of Malacca (Wells 2007). In Peninsular Malaysia, up to

640 individuals were mist-netted at Fraser’s Hill on autumn passage

between 1965 and 1973 (BirdLife International 2001). Although a

number of published sources (Wells 2007, BirdLife International

2014) describe the Malay peninsula as the core wintering range

(Figure 1), the paucity of midwinter records suggest that the bulk

of the population may winter elsewhere in Sundaic South-East Asia.

The objectives of our study of the Brown-chested Jungle

Flycatcher were to (1) estimate the peak passage period and

staging densities in Singapore in order to evaluate the conservation

importance of Singapore’s forest habitats for the species, (2) estimate

the relative importance of different habitats to wintering and

stopover birds, (3) clarify the wintering status in Sundaic South-

East Asia by reviewing recent and historical records in the Thai-

44

DING LI YONG & YANG LIU

Forktail 31 (2015)

Table 1. List of mostly protected sites in China with recent (2005-2012)

spring-summer records. NR = nature reserve; FP = forest park.

Malay peninsula and the Greater Sunda Islands and (4) highlight

conservation priorities for this and other East Asian migrant

passerines in their South-East Asian wintering grounds.

METHODS

Review of records

We searched for dated records of Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher

published in three major local birdwatching publications, Bird

Conservation Society of Thailand Bulletin (Thailand), Suara

Enggang (Malaysia), Singapore Avifauna (Singapore), as well

as an online database (www.worldbirds.org/Malaysia) and

birdwatchers’ trip reports on the online trip report database (www.

travellingbirder.com). Although the species is not listed on the

Indonesian bird checklist (see Burung Nusantara 2012), we searched

for records of the species in trip reports for Sumatra and Indonesian

Borneo where the species may possibly occur, geographically relevant

papers published in three regional zoological journals: Kukila,

Forktail and Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, as well as data presented

in BirdLife International (2001) to locate records which may be

overlooked in older ornithological literature. Records are considered

as passage’ if they were dated from 1 September to 30 November,

and ‘wintering’ if they were dated from 1 December to the end of

March, and subsequently classified by habitat type inferred from

any site details provided. The three habitat types are ‘non-forest

habitats’ (including secondary woodland and parkland), ‘forest

habitats’ (includingboth undisturbed and mature secondary forests)

and ‘mangroves’.

Field surveys

We carried out bird surveys in Singapore (1.42°N 103.50°E) at

stopover sites where the Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher is known

to occur (Lim 2009) during the migration passage period (late

September-early November) and repeated these surveys during the

winteringperiod from December to March. Searches for the species

were carried out from 15 October to 10 November 2011 at the

Central Catchment (c.935 ha) and Bukit Timah Nature Reserves

(164 ha), Bidadari woodland (15 ha) and Bukit Batok Nature

Park (30 ha). Transect sampling was carried out from 7 October

to 9 November 2012 in two major forest blocks in the Central

Catchment Nature Reserve, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and two

small woodland patches where the species is known to occur —

St John’s Island (27 ha) and Bidadari woodland (15 ha). The selected

transects were slowly walked once (c. 1 km/hour) by DLY between

07h00 and llhOO on days when the weather was good. Only trails

with closed-forest cover were selected as transects, given the species’s

preference for dense understorey vegetation (DLY pers obs), and

covered a total of 12.58 km. All sites were resurveyed between

December and March in 201 1-2012 and 2012-2013 along the same

transects to locate wintering birds. Supplementary sampling was

carried out in Panti Forest Reserve in Johor, Peninsular Malaysia, a

large forested site (c. 10,000 ha), from December to March to survey

for wintering individuals in both seasons.

Data analysis

All contacts along transects were recorded as ‘individuals’ rather

than ‘clusters’ as birds were always encountered singly, and were not

stratified. As detections were relatively near transects (< 1 2 m), we did

not truncate datapoints for analysis. Density estimates and encounter

rates for the species were calculated based on the optimum of four

detection function candidate models using the Distance Sampling

6.0 software (Thomas et al. 2010). Candidate models were ranked

by Akaike’s Information Criterion corrected for small sample size

(AICc), and the best detection function was selected based on the

lowest-ranked model. Estimates of detection probability and density

were bootstrapped with 999 resamples given the small sample of

observations, and computed with 95% confidence bounds.

To estimate the relative importance of habitat type to wintering

and passage birds, we classified all geo-referenced records of Brown¬

chested Jungle Flycatcher from Singapore, Thailand and Peninsular

Malaysia into habitat type. We then used the Fisher’s exact test to

test for significant differences in proportions between winteringand

passage records in the three habitat types. Lastly, we pooled dated

records from our surveys with those reported by birdwatchers for

one site, Bidadari woodland in Singapore, known to be important

for the species during the stopover period, and which is extensively

visited by birdwatchers. The maximum number of individuals

reported per week on any single day was plotted from the last two

weeks of September to the first three weeks of November for 2011

and 2012. This allowed us to estimate the peak passage period for

the species through Singapore, although we acknowledge that

year-to-year variations may exist due to fluctuations in population

patterns of the species.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Based on the best-ranked detection function (Table 2), density

estimates of Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher in Singapore’s forests

is 51.64-101.67 individuals/km2, with estimated encounter rates

of 1.239 individuals/km of transect during peak migration in

mid-October (Figure 2a). Encounter rates were highest at Bidadari

woodland (9.03 individuals/km) (Table 3), where maximum daily

counts involved as many as six individuals. Assuming the lower

bound estimate, more than 500 individuals may be present in

Singapore’s forest over the peak passage period, or some 5% of the

estimated global population (BirdLife International 2014). Thus

a significant proportion of the world population is likely to pass

through Singapore annually on southbound migration, although

it is unclear whether these birds originate from one or several of

the breeding subpopulations in the mountains of China. Our

observation-based dataset does not allow us to infer turnover rates

for the species passing through Singapore or the mean stopover

period. To obtain such insights, capture-recapture methods using

mist-netting surveys and ringing are required.

Forktail 31 (2015)

Passage of Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias brunneatus through Singapore

45

Table 2. Summary statistics for four detection function models fitted,

ranked from lowestto highest Akaike's Information Criterion corrected

for small sample size (AlCc).

Cl 1 uses bootstrap standard error and log-normal 95% intervals.

Cl 2 is the 2.5% and 97.5% quantiles of bootstrap estimates.

Figure 2. (a) Records in Singapore from September to December based

on all compiled records, (b) Maximum weekly count at one regular

site (Bidadari woodland) continuously surveyed during September-

December in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

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W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4

In spite of the limited sample size within the passage period

over one season of sampling in 2012, our data provide preliminary

evidence that Singapore’s remnant forests form a relatively

important stopover and staging site for the Brown-chested Jungle

Flycatcher on migration. This is possibly due to Singapore’s

proximity to Sumatra and major satellite islands (e.g. Belitung,

Bintan, Lingga), all putative wintering areas with extensive suitable

habitat. Also, there is increasing evidence (e.g. Gagnon etal. 2011)

that nocturnal passerine migration does not necessarily occur along

a broad front, particularly where geographical barriers, in this case

the greater width of the Malacca Straits further north, are present.

Based on collated records over 20 years in Singapore and regular

weekly sampling at one key site over two years (Bidadari woodland)

(Figure 2a, 2b), it may be inferred that the species’s passage through

Table 3. Summary of sites surveyed using transects, and encounter

rates at each site.

Singapore island peaks between mid-October and early November.

However, our limited dataset could conceal ecologically significant

year-to-year fluctuations in timing of arrival.

The species is one of the least known east Asian migrants

wintering in South-East Asia. Most midwinter records are from

Peninsular Malaysia and Peninsular Thailand where there are

a few recent records (e.g. Hala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary). The

majority of observations (86%, n = 18) reported in the Malaysian

birdwatching literature from 1997-2012 are from September to

mid-November, suggesting that the species also occurs here largely

as a passage migrant. Wintering records have been reported from

the Ulu Muda (Choy W.M. in litt), Pasoh (Wells 2007) and Panti

Forest Reserves (current study), all protected areas of undisturbed

and logged lowland forests, indicating that the species depends on

‘good quality’ forest habitats in winter.

Given current knowledge of its movements and the distribution

of records, the main wintering area is likely to be further south

in western Indonesia. Not much is known about the status of

wintering passerines in Indonesia, and this is compounded by

limited birdwatching effort and lack of migrant-specific surveys

in the winter months. Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher has been

recorded once in Java — one record from Gn Halimun National

Park (Noske et al. 2011), and once in Borneo — a record from

Bandar Sri Bengawan, Brunei (Smythies & Davison 1999).

However, Sumatra seems a good candidate to be the core wintering

area given its proximity to the Thai-Malay peninsula, from where

the bulk of passage records are known. Moreover, the species has

been recorded on autumn and spring passage from small islets in

the Straits of Malacca and Straits of Singapore, indicating that

birds move to and from Sumatra. Although the species is not

included in van Marie & Voous (1988), Parrott & Andrew (1996)

reviewed ‘provisional’ records in Way Kambas National Park,

Sumatra, and there is now at least one confirmed wintering record

from the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, south Sumatra

(Z. bin Bakhtiar in lift .) in March 2012 based on photographs

reviewed by the authors. In addition, a number of Grey-chested

Jungle Flycatchers mist-netted at the Harapan Rainforest in 2013

are now found to have been misidentified Brown-chested Jungle

Flycatchers (Hua F. in litt.).

Given the small size of the estimated global population of

2,500-9,999 individuals (BirdLife International 2014), wintering

birds are likely to be thinly distributed across Peninsular Malaysia

and Sumatra. Nearly all our midwinter records are from lowland

forests (Figure 3), significantly different habitat to that used by birds

on passage, confirming that lowland rain- and swamp-forests are

important wintering habitats (D.R. Wells in litt. 1994 in BirdLife

International 2001). Rapid and extensive loss of lowland forests

across Sundaic South-East Asia, particularly Sumatra (Sodhi et al.

2010), has therefore (probably) greatly reduced wintering habitat. In

contrast, in south-central and east China, where the species breeds,

reform of forestry policy has apparently reduced deforestation

rates (Deng et al. 2011). Habitat loss in the non-breeding range is

clearly a major threat. Targeted surveys for Brown-chested Jungle

Flycatchers should therefore be conducted in the remaining lowland

forests in Sumatra to clarify distribution, habitat preference and

46

DING LI YONG & YANG LIU

Forktail 31 (2015)

Figure 3. Relative proportions of habitat use based on records at passage

(n = 3 1 ) and wintering sites (n = 1 2) (Fisher's exact p = 0.01 93).'Non-forest'

includes plantations, parkland, scrub and urban areas; 'forest' includes

dryland and swamp forests at all elevations.

densities during winter. Similarly, regular population monitoring

is required in the breeding range (e.g. Dongzhai Nature Reserve,

Henan province, and Dayaoshan National Nature Reserve, Guangxi

province) to elucidate population trends.

The wintering ranges of many other forest-dependent East

Asian migrant passerines remain poorly known (Yong et al. 2015).

This is compounded by cost and logistical limitations of modern

tracking technology in monitoring migration, relatively limited

mist-netting work in South-East Asia at migration hotspots, and

very little migrant-specific survey effort across the region in general.

For example, virtually no information is available for a number of

globally threatened species, such as Ijima’s Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus

ijimae , Rufous-headed Robin Luscinia ruficeps and Blackthroat

L. obscura in their putative South-East Asian wintering ranges

(BirdLife International 2001). Given that habitat in stopover and

wintering sites is now rapidly being lost (Kirby et al. 2008), there

is an urgent conservation need to survey and monitor population

trends outside the breeding ranges of East Asian forest-dependent

migrant passerines to evaluate cumulative impacts of habitat loss in

wintering and passage sites on their breeding populations, even for

presumed abundant species such as Siberian Blue Robin L. cyane

and Eastern Crowned Warbler P. coronatus.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Zulfikri bin Bakhtiar, Frankie Lim, Fangyuan Hua, Lee Hong

Wong, Wai Mun Choy and Yew Wai Seetoh for providing details of their

records, and Qiaoyi Liang for helping to compile localities of recent records

in mainland China. We thank Nigel Collar, Bert Harris, Kim Seng Lim and

two anonymous reviewers whose comments greatly improved the manuscript.

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Gagnon, F., Ibarzabal, J., Savard, J.-P., Belisle, M. & Vaillancourt, P. (2011)

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F. A., Jones, V. R., O'Sullivan, J., Tucker, G. M. & Newton, I. (2008) Key

conservation issues for migratory land- and waterbird species on the

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Kurosawa, R. & Askins, R.A. (2003) Effects of habitat fragmentation on birds

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Lim, K. S. (2009) The avifauna of Singapore. Singapore: Nature Society

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of Brown-chested Jungle Flycatch er Rhinomyias brunneatus in Vietnam.

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checklist. Tring: British Ornithologists' Union Checklist No. 10.

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Noske, R., Prawiradilaga, D. M., Drynan, D., Leishman, A. & Rutherford, W.

(2011) Understorey birds of Cikaniki research station, Gunung Halimun-

Salak National Park, West Java: report of the Indonesian bird banding

scheme training programme. Kukila 15: 50-65.

Parrott, S. & Andrew, P. (1996) An annotated checklist of the birds of Way

Kambas National Park, Sumatra. Kukila 8: 57-85.

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(2010) The state and conservation of South-east Asian biodiversity.

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Ding Li YONG, Fenner School of Environment and Society, The

Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia;

South-east Asian Biodiversity Society, 504 Choa Chu Kang Street

51, #01-173, Singapore 680504, Republic of Singapore.

Email: zoothera@yahoo.com

Yang LIU, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and School of

Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 135, Xingangxi Road,

Guangzhou 510275, China. Email: Iiuy353@mail.sysu.edu.cn

FORKTAIL 31 (201 5): 47-54

Birds of the Ailao Mountains, Yunnan province, China

WU FEI, LIU LUMING, GAO JIANYUN, YAN DAO, HU WANZHAO, YANG TING, XIA Jl, LIU QIANG & YANG XIAOJUN

The Ailao Mountains located in central Yunnan province, China, are part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and recognised as a high

priority area for biodiversity. Between 2005 and 2014 we conducted 16 bird surveys by light-trapping, mist-netting and point counts,

recording 381 species and, together with additional records from the literature and nature reserve management bureaus, compiled a total

of 462 species for the Ailao Mountains. The area includes two Important Bird Areas providing important habitats for threatened species

such as Green Peafowl Pavo muticus, White-eared Night Heron Gorsachius magnificus, Giant Nuthatch Sitta magna, Yellow-breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola, Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha and Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias brunneatus. It is also the most important bird

migration corridor in south-west China, with 170 species recorded by light-trapping during migration seasons. The current reserve system is

still inadequate to protect bird diversity in the region. We suggest that more conservation efforts should be concentrated in lower-altitude

areas in the Ailao Mountains.

INTRODUCTION

The Ailao Mountains are located in central Yunnan, China,

forming the border between the two main physiographic regions of

Yunnan: to the west is a region of deep valleys and high mountains

whilst to the east the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau is a hilly region

surmounting a c.2,000 m high plateau (Wang etal. 2000). They are

also the interface between subtropical and mid-tropical vegetation

in Yunnan (PangtY^z/. 1988), and the vegetation changes both with

altitude and the aspect of the slope (Table 1). At higher altitudes, the

Ailao Mountains hold the largest and most continuous subtropical

evergreen broadleaved forests (over 45,000 ha) in China (Wu et

al. 1987, Pang et al. 1988). Generally the climate is subtropical

montane; warm, and humid at lower altitudes (Wang et al. 1988).

Annual rainfall reaches a maximum of 1,700 mm at the highest

altitudes, with a minimum of 700 mm in the valleys. Over 85%

of rainfall occurs between May and October (Wang et al. 1988).

Maximum and minimum monthly mean temperatures at the

highest altitudes are 10-17°C and 0-6°C respectively, and the

annual mean temperature is below 12°C, whilst in the valleys the

monthly mean temperature exceeds 22°C for five months and stays

above 10°C throughout the year (Wang et al. 1988).

The Ailao Mountains are part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity

hotspot and are recognised as a high priority area for biodiversity

conservation (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Myers et al. 2000,

Mittermeier et al. 2005). For our purposes, the Ailao Mountains

are defined as running from 23.82°N to 24.94°N, bounded by the

Red River valley on the eastern slope and the Zegan River valley

on the western slope (Figure 1). There are two nature reserves: the

Ailaoshan National Nature Reserve (67,700 ha) at higher altitude,

and the Konglonghe Municipal Nature Reserve (7,360 ha) at lower

altitude on the eastern slope; both are recognised as Important

Bird Areas (Chan et al. 2009). Moreover, the eastern slope of the

Ailao Mountains is one of the most important migration routes in

western China.

Wei etal. (1988) compiled the first bird inventory of 322 species

for the Ailao Mountains, based on a 40-day field survey between

18 October and 26 November 1984, bird specimen collections and

several studies between 1976 and 1983 (Wang 1986, Wang& Chen

1987, Wang & Wei 1987, Wang & Wu 1987, Wei et al. 1987). No

systematic surveys have been carried out since then, apart from

separate studies in Xujiaba (on the montane crest) (Wang 1989,

Wang 1990, Wang etal. 2000, Liu & Han 2008), the Dazhongshan

area (Wei et al.\99A), Jinshanyakou Bird Banding Station (Zhao

et al. 2014) and the Konglonghe Municipal Nature Reserve (Han

et al. 2009). The current status of most bird species in the Ailao

Mountains is therefore poorly known.

Figure 1. Location of the Ailao Mountains and the study areas. Black

triangles indicate our study areas between 2005 and 2014; MJ: Majie

area; EJ: Ejia area; HS: Huashan area; ST: Shuitang area; DS: Dazhongshan

Bird Banding Station; JS: Jinshanyakou Bird Banding Station. White

circles indicate other study areas.

24.80'

24 60°

24 40°

24.20°

24 00°

23 80°

Elevation

■ 3000

20km

Table 1. Vertical pattern of vegetation type on the slopes of the Ailao Mountains (from Pang etal. 1988).

48

WU FEI etal.

Forktail 31 (2015)

Between 2005 and 2014, we conducted 16 surveys in the Ailao

Mountains and present an inventory based on these surveys, records

of specimens preserved in the Kunming Institute of Zoology ol the

Chinese Academy of Science (KIZ), and published records. We also

compared bird records from 2005 onwards with those up to 2004.

STUDY AREA AND METHODS

Our 16 surveys comprised 1 2 surveys of the turnover of avian species

with altitude in four counties, and four surveys of migrating birds

at two bird-ringing stations. The four turnover study areas were: the

Majie area, Nanhua county, in the north part of the eastern slope;

the Ejia area, Shuangbai county, in the middle part of the eastern

slope; the Huashan area,Jindong, in the middle part of the western

slope; and the Shuitang area, Xinping county, in the southern part of

the eastern slope. The two bird-ringing stations were located on the

crest of the ridge — Dazhongshan in the north, and Jinshanyakou

in the south (Figure 1, Table 2).

Records were from systematic surveys and opportunistic

searches during fieldwork. Surveys involved point counts, mist-

netting and light-trapping. Point counts and mist-netting were used

to sample turnover with altitude, whilst light-trapping was used to

investigate nocturnal migratory birds. All fieldwork was conducted

in the dry season (Table 2).

Unlimited radius point counts were performed during the peak

period of bird activity between sunrise and four hours thereafter;

each count was 10 minutes in duration. During this period, all birds

seen and heard were recorded, and the horizontal distance from the

observer to each bird detected was estimated. We recorded the time

and location of each point using a GPS receiver. Points were located

at least 200 m apart. Point counts were performed only on days with

little or no wind, rain or fog. A total of 2,709 samples were taken

in 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014, half in spring (the breeding season)

and half in winter (the non-breeding season) (Table 2).

Table 2. The 16 bird surveys in the Ailao Mountains, 2005-2014.

Methods: LT = light-trapping; MN = mist-netting; PC = point counts; OS

= opportunistic search

We used mist-netting to survey understorey species. At each site,

10 mist-nets (2.5 m x 12.0 m, 36 mm mesh) were placed at least

40 m apart. They were opened from mid-afternoon to dusk on day

1 , dawn to dusk on days 2 and 3, and dawn to late morning on day

4. If it rained, the nets were closed to prevent bird mortality. We

recorded the time when each net was opened and closed. Birds were

extracted at 30-60 minute intervals and were identified, weighed

and ringed as quickly as possible to minimise the time before release

near the point of capture. Recaptured individuals were excluded

from the total counts. Mist-netting was used in 2006, 2007, 2012,

2013 and 2014. Total netting hours were 9,068 in breeding seasons

and 11,165 in non-breeding seasons.

Light-trapping was used to investigate nocturnal migratory

birds. At Jinshanyakou, four mist-nets and electric lamps (300 w)

were set from 20h00 to 06h00. All birds trapped were identified,

weighed, ringed and released. Light-trapping was used on a total ol

1 17 days in 2007 and 2008. It was also used during opportunistic

searches lor nocturnal migratory birds at Jinshanyakou in 2006 and

at Dazhongshan in 2012.

We compared bird records in the 10 years from 2005 with those

up to 2004. The more recent records came from our surveys, Liu

& Han (2008), Han et al. (2009) and Zhao et al. (2014), and the

nature reserve management bureaus, whilst those up to 2004 came

from Wei et al. (1988) and Wei et al. (1994), as well as records ol

specimens in the KIZ.

Taxonomy follows Inskipp et al. (199 6). IUCN Red List

categories follow BirdLife International (2015c).

RESULTS

We compiled a list of 462 bird species for the Ailao Mountains by

combining recent and historical records (Appendix 1). Recent (post-

2004) records comprise 413 species (almost 90% of the total), of

which 381 were recorded by the authors, 28 additional species by Liu

& Han (2008), Han et al. (2009) and Zhao et al. (2014), and lour

by the Ailaoshan NNR management bureau and the Konglonghe

MNR management bureau.

Historical (pre-2004) records totalled 335 species. The first

inventory compiled by Wei et al. (1988) included 322 species, from

which Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias olivaceuswzs

later invalidated (Zheng 2000, Zheng et al. 2002, Yang & Yang

2004) and thus excluded. The 14 additional species were recorded

by Wei et al. (1994) or as specimens collected from the Ailao

Mountains before 2005 and preserved in the KIZ. Of the historical

records (pre-2004), 49 species were not recorded in recent times;

the recent records (post-2005) contain 127 species new to the Ailao

Mountains (Appendix 1).

The following annotated list provides further information

concerning observations of Endangered, Vulnerable, Near

Threatened and endemic species, alongwith some other significant

records.

Selected species accounts

White-eared Night Heron Gorsachius magnificus

Endangered. Vagrant. A single individual was captured by light¬

trapping on 28 October 2006 at Jinshanyakou, the first record for

Yunnan province (Zhao et al. 200 6). This represents a significant

extension westward from the known range in south and south-west

China (Gao etal. 2000).

Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans

First record for the Ailao Mountains: 24 Asian Openbills visited

Shuitang town (600 m) in early August 2012. The historical range

of the species was in the lowlands of South and South-East Asia

(Robson 2005). This record is one of several for China in recent

Forktail 31 (2015)

Birds of the Ailao Mountains, Yunnan province, China

49

years which indicate a significant range extension northward for

the species (Liu et al. 2015).

Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata

Recorded at Pinghe Reservoir (2,600 m) and Qiujiaba Reservoir

(2,700 m) in the Ejia area. Thirteen individuals were seen in

November 2005, the first record in the Ailao Mountains. A pair

was recorded in April 2007 and three individuals in April 2012.

Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus

An adult seen at the edge of coniferous forest in a river valley in

the Huashan area on 24 April 2007 is one of just a small number

of records in the past 10 years for China.

Himalayan Griffon Gyps himalayensis

Near Threatened. On 21 March 2006, a local resident found a

Himalayan Griffon with an injured wing in the Majie area and

delivered it to the Nanhua management bureau of the Ailaoshan

NNR. Unfortunately, it died several weeks later despite a period

of treatment. This is the only record in the Ailao Mountains.

Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis

A widespread but uncommon owl in areas surrounding

lakes, reservoirs and rivers. One was seen by GJ at c. 1,200 m in a

river valley in the Majie area in August 2014. Other records came

from Ailaoshan Forest Ecosystem Station. Researcher Luo Kang

twice encountered this species by the Xujiaba Reservoir (2,480 m)

on 4 and 12 October 2014; a photograph was taken on the latter

date.

Green Peafowl Pavo mutieus

Endangered. We heard the call of this species in the Konglonghe

MNRon 18 March 2014. On 25 March 2014, a female was seen in

a valley in the Shuitang area. The Konglonghe MNR management

bureau obtained video footage of a juvenile and female in April

2012, and many camera-trap images in March and April 2014 and

2015. Records were at altitudes of 680-975 m. The population of

Green Peafowl in the Konglonghe MNR and surrounding areas

may be the largest in China.

Mrs Hume's Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae

Near Threatened. Two records in the Majie area in evergreen

broadleaved forest (2,350 m) and pine Pinus armandii plantation

(2,450 m), and three records in the Ejia area in mixed coniferous

broadleaved forest (1,100 m and 1,900 m) and pine Pinus

yunnanensis forest (1,800 m).

Derbyan Parakeet Psittacula derbiana

Near Threatened. A single individual was recorded by light-trapping

on 20 November 1977 (Wei et al. 1987). This species was also

recorded in the Majie area (Wei et al. 1994).

Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha

Vulnerable. A single individual was recorded by light-trapping on

18 September 2006.

Giant Nuthatch Sitta magna

Endangered. At least six individuals were heard or seen in coniferous

and mixed forests at 1,600-2,000 m in the Ejia area.

Yunnan Nuthatch Sitta yunnanensis

Near Threatened. Four individuals were seen on 12 April 2012 in

the Konglonghe MNR, and a pair there 16 March 2014.

Chinese Thrush Turdus mupinensis

Chinese endemic. An uncommon but widespread resident which

is difficult to observe during fieldwork. In total, this species was

recorded three times on the eastern slope, at the southern edge of

its range.

Rusty-bellied Shortwing Brachypteryx hyperythra

Near Threatened. According to Wei et al. (1988), this species was

distributed on both slopes of the Ailao Mountains. It was also

recorded near the Xujiaba Reservoir in 2006 (Liu & Han 2008).

Firethroat Luscinia pectardens

Near Threatened. A female was recorded by light-trapping on 20

September 2006.

Hwamei Garrulax eanorus

Heard calling on agricultural land and at forest edge. A traditional

Chinese cagebird, the Hwamei has become scarce due to poaching

pressure. Local communities use recordings of their song to trap

them and, according to rangers in the reserve, an experienced hunter

can trap 8-10 birds in one morning. The Hwamei population is

apparently also suffering severe decline owing to habitat destruction

and fragmentation.

Elliot's Laughingthrush Garrulax elliotii

While this species is commonly encountered in undisturbed forests

at high altitude (above 3,400 m) in the Hengduan Mountains

(north-west of the Ailao Mountains), there were only two records,

in December 2006 in the Ejia area.

Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler Xiphirhynchus superciliaris

A cryptic and rarely observed species of the understorey in relatively

undisturbed high-altitude (above 2,000 m) forests. A pair was seen,

10 December 2011, near Jinshanyakou (2,400 m) and there are a

few records around Pinghe Reservoir, Ejia area. Our results suggest

this species is scarce in the Ailao Mountains.

Streaked Barwing Aetinodura souliei

Mostly an old-growth evergreen forest resident. Several observations

of pairs and small groups from 2,400-3,000 m in the Majie and

Ejia areas. The Ailaoshan NNR appears to support a relatively

stable population of Streaked Barwing, which is rarely recorded

elsewhere in China.

Spectacled Fulvetta Alcippe ruficapilla

Chinese endemic. Fairly common in the study area. Spectacled

Fulvetta is an understorey forest species and was regularly recorded

in forest and forest-edge habitats at 1,600-2,200 m. Usually

encountered in small flocks of 2-6 individuals, and occasionally in

mixed feeding flocks with other fulvetta species. It was also caught

quite regularly in mist-nets.

White-collared Yuhina Yuhina diademata

The most frequently encountered yuhina between 1,000-2,500

m in the study area. Regularly in small flocks of 3-6 individuals,

although much larger groups of up to 25 were encountered around

fruiting trees. It was also caught in mist-nets at locations scattered

throughout the Ailaoshan NNR. Our numerous records suggest

it is locally common in the Ailao Mountains.

Fujian Niltava Niltava davidi

A rare vagrant to Ailaoshan: a male was seen on 15 November 2010

at 1,000 m in Konglonghe MNR.

Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias brunneatus

Vulnerable. According to Wei et al. (1988), this species was found

on the eastern slope of the Ailao Mountains. It was also recorded

by light-trapping in spring 2009 (Zhao et al. 2014).

50

WU FEI etal.

Forktail 31 (2015)

Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola

Endangered. Eleven individuals were caught by light-trapping in

October-November 1977 (Wei etal. 1987); three were prepared as

specimens and preserved in the KIZ. This species was again recorded

by light-trapping in autumn 2006 (Zhao et al. 2014).

Japanese Yellow Bunting Emberiza sulphurata

Vulnerable. According to Wei etal. (1988), this species was found

on the western slope of the Ailao Mountains. However, this is

well outside its known range. We contacted the author Wei T.-H

who checked the historical records and confirmed that the species

was recorded only once, and no specimen was taken. The record is

over 30 years old and we now think that it may have been a mis-

identification.

DISCUSSION

The Ailao Mountains are important for the conservation and

protection of bird diversity and threatened species. A total of 462

bird species have been recorded, 34% of the total for China (Zheng

2011). Despite covering a comparatively small area (c.3,500 km2),

the species diversity in the Ailao Mountains is the second highest

of 21 national reserves in Yunnan, lower only than the 486 species

of the Gaoligong Mountains (Dumbacher et al. 2011). The Ailao

Mountains, which incorporate two IBAs, provide important

habitats for threatened species (BirdLife International 2015a, b),

with records ol four Endangered species (Green Peafowl, White¬

eared Night Heron, Giant Nuthatch and Yellow-breasted Bunting),

two confirmed Vulnerable species (Fairy Pitta and Brown-chested

Jungle Flycatcher) and six Near Threatened species (Himalayan

Griffon, Mrs Hume’s Pheasant, Derbyan Parakeet, Yunnan

Nuthatch, Rusty-bellied Shortwing and Firethroat).

Biogeographic crossroads are recognised as priority areas for

biodiversity conservation (Spector 2002). The Ailao Mountains

lie between China’s two main biogeographic regions: Mid-China

Region and South China Region (Zheng 1997, Zhang 1999, Yang

& Yang 2004). Also, with an altitudinal range of over 2,500 m, the

Ailao Mountains are a crossroads between tropical and subtropical

bird species. The valley provides habitat for tropical species such

as Green Peafowl, Blue-bearded Bee-eater Nyctyornis athertoni ,

Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica. Long-tailed Broadbill Psarisomus

dalhousiae , White-rumped Shama Copsyclous malabaricus, Striped

Tit Babbler Macronous gularis, Flavescent Bulbul Pycnonotus

flavescens and Puff-throated Bulbul Alophoixus pallidus, whilst

the moist evergreen broadleaved forest in higher altitudinal zones

supports many subtropical species.

The Ailao Mountains form the most important bird migration

corridor in south-west China. Combining data from Zhao et al.

(2014), Ailaoshan NN R management bureau and our records from

Jinshanyakou and Dazhongshan between 2005-2014, a total of 170

bird species were recorded by light-trapping, including some birds

which are not migrants (Appendix 1) as well as Endangered species

such as White-eared Night Heron and Yellow-breasted Bunting,

and Vulnerable species including Fairy Pitta, Derbyan Parakeet

and Firethroat. The predominant species recorded by light-trapping

were Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus , Lesser Cuckoo Cuculus

poliocephalus , Siberian Rubythroat Luscinia calliope. Thick-billed

Warbler Acrocephalus aedon, Eurasian Cuckoo Cuculus canorus,

Chinese Pond Heron Ardeola bacchus , Siberian Blue Robin Luscinia

cyane , Oriental Scops Owl Otus sunia, Yellow-legged Buttonquail

Turnix tanki. Black-breasted Thrush Turdus dissimilis and Large

Hawk Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides.

Although the presence of the Ailaoshan NNR and Konglonghe

MNR are a recognition of the importance of the Ailao Mountains for

the conservation of bird diversity and the protection of threatened

species, the current reserve system is inadequate to protect bird

diversity in the region. As mentioned by Wu et al. (2010), bird

species turnover is rapid along the altitudinal gradient in the Ailao

Mountains, meaning that reserves should cover the entire altitudinal

range and should both enjoy national status. However, at present

most of the national nature reserve is above 2,000 m, covering the

pristine areas of contiguous forest found on the montane crests.

Only the relatively small (7,360 ha) Konglonghe MNR is at lower

altitude on the eastern slope and this municipal reserve is under¬

staffed (only four reserve managers) and under-budgeted. The

lower altitudes are inhabited by bird communities different from

those on the montane crest, and they are also important habitats

for the Endangered Green Peafowl and Giant Nuthatch, as well as

Mrs Hume’s Pheasant and Yunnan Nuthatch — all records of Giant

Nuthatch and some records of Mrs Hume’s Pheasant and Yunnan

Nuthatch were around the Konglonghe MNR. We suggest that

more conservation effort should be focused on lower altitudes of

the Ailao Mountains. Specifically, the Konglonghe MNR should

be extended and upgraded to national nature reserve status.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful toZhu Cheng, LiKaiyu, LiZhonglin, ZhangXuefa.LiTingha,

He Rongdong, Liu Jia, Zhang Mingzhong, Zha Guofu, Zhang Hongyu, Zhu

Zhengui and Luo Zhenyang for their assistance with fieldwork. We thank Luo

Kang of Xujiaba Reservoir for providing information on Brown Fish Owl.

We thank Shuangbai Ailaoshan NNR Bureau, the Jingdong Nature Reserve

Management Bureau, Xinping Ailaoshan Nature Reserve Management Bureau

and Nanhua Ailaoshan Nature Reserve Management Bureau for permissions

to do this research and for help in fieldwork. This project was supported by the

National Natural Science Foundation of China (Y20101 1041) and the Natural

Science Foundation of Yunnan Province (Y103841101).

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WU Fei, LIU Luming, GAO Jianyun, YAN Dao, HU Wanzhao,

YANG Ting, XIA Ji, LIU Qiang & YANG Xiaojun, Kunming

Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Eastern

Jiaochang Road 32, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China.

Email: Yangxj@maii.kiz.ac.cn

Appendix

Avifaunal records of the Ailao Mountains

From 2005: A = authors' records 2005-2014 (excluding species recorded by light-trapping); B = authors' light-trapping records 2005-2014; C = records

of Zhao etal. (2014); D = records of Liu & Han (2008); E = records of Han etal. (2009); F = records of nature reserves' management bureau 2005-2014.

To 2004: G = records of specimens collected from the Ailao Mountains before 2004 and preserved in the KIZ; H = records of Wei etal. (1988); I =

records of Wei et at. (1 994).

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FORKTAIL 31 (2015): 55-63

Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas of the Korean

Peninsula: distribution, status and potential threats

KIRK A. HART, CHANG-YONG CHOI, ALEXANDER L. BOND, GRANT R. W. HUMPHRIES, JEONG-CHIL YOO & KI-BAEK NAM

About 90% of the global population of Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas breed on islands in the seas around Japan. The species's

status and distribution in Japan is fairly well documented, but for the Korean part of the breeding range, only limited information in Korean

language sources exists. The species was first described in Korea in the 1 880s and first studied on the breeding grounds by Japanese researchers

in 1923. Our objectives were to compare and update information on the distribution of Streaked Shearwaters around the Korean Peninsula

and discuss threats and conservation. An extensive literature review was undertaken and we made field visits to Chilbal Island, Ulleung

Island, Gwan-eum Island and Juk Island to assess the presence and status of the species at these locations. In total, we collated data from

27 Korean islands of which 19 had confirmed Streaked Shearwater colonies, four possibly had colonies, one had no colony and the species

had probably been extirpated from the other three. The biggest threat to the Korean colonies is from introduced predatory mammals such

as rats Rattus sp. and domestic cats and dogs. Introduced predators are present on at least 10 of the 24 islands where Streaked Shearwaters

currently breed, have bred or are evidently present. Introduced species severely reduce reproductive success on Sasu Island and have caused

or contributed to extirpation on three other islands. Other threats include fisheries bycatch, oil spillage and military activity.

INTRODUCTION

Seabirds generally have low fecundity, many only laying a single egg

each breeding season, a long maturation period, most individuals

being several years old before breeding, and a long chick-rearing

period, lasting six months or longer in some cases (Schreiber &

Burger 2001). Despite being found in all the world’s oceans and

seas, the ecology of many, including the Streaked Shearwater

Calonectris leucomelas , a regular breeder off the Korean Peninsula,

is poorly known.

Streaked Shearwaters are colonial burrow-breeders predominantly

on islands and islets in the seas around Japan (Ochi et al. 2010,

Yamamoto et al. 2010, Sugawa et al. 2014), with a smaller number

of colonies on islands off the Korean Peninsula (Kuroda 1923, Park

& Won 1993, Nam et al. 2014), on the Chinese island of Qingdao,

north Yellow Sea (Cui 1994), on the Penghu (Pescadores) Islands,

Taiwan, and on Karamzina Island, Far East Russia (Oka 2004).

The distribution on Japanese islands, which hold about 90% of the

global population, is fairly well documented (Oka 2004), but there is

only limited inf ormation on the Korean breeding range — in Korean

language sources (Kwon et al. 2007, Oh et al. 2008, Kang et al.

2012). Although Streaked Shearwaters are thought to be in decline

throughout their breeding range, probably due to the introduction

of alien mammals (Jones & Tershy 2008, Croxall et al. 2012, Nam

et al. 2014, BirdLife International 2015), the population trend

of the species around the Korean Peninsula is almost completely

unknown. Although the Korean Peninsula hosts only a small part

of the global population, the species is the second most abundant

seabird in Korean waters (Park & Won 1993) and it is therefore

important to improve knowledge of its range and conservation status

in this heavily developed and much disturbed area. Our objectives

were to compare historical data with more recent findings, update

the information on the distribution of Streaked Shearwaters around

the Korean Peninsula and discuss threats to the species’s survival.

METHODS

Field observations

In 2014 we visited Chilbal Island (34.794°N 125.794°E) on

14-16 September and 14-15 November, Ulleunglsland (37.505°N

130.866°E) on 13 September, Gwan-eum Island (37.549°N

130.923°E) on 13 September andjuk Island (37.525°N 130.936°E)

on 14 September, as well as the seas around these islands, in order

to detect and assess the presence of Streaked Shearwaters. We

also travelled to Sasu Island (33.923°N 126.632°E) as part of a

separate research project in 2014 (20 June-3 July, 28 August and

30 October-1 November). During the visits to Ulleung and Juk

islands we interviewed residents and gathered information about the

presence and harvesting of Streaked Shearwaters and their eggs. On

the small Gwan-eum andjuk islands, we actively searched on foot

for burrows and other signs of Streaked Shearwaters from 07h00 to

17h00. On all visits we travelled by ferry and noted the abundance

of Streaked Shearwaters at sea.

Literature review

We made an exhaustive literature search for information on

Streaked Shearwaters within the entire Korean Peninsula — the

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic

of Korea (ROK) — using online search engines (Google Scholar

and Web of Science). Keywords such as ‘Streaked Shearwater’,

‘ Calonectris leucomelas ’, ‘Korea’, ‘Republic of Korea’, ‘Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea’, ‘rat’, ‘oil’, ‘bycatch’, ‘distribution’ and

‘threats’ were used singly and in various combinations. We also

searched the libraries of several Korean government departments,

Kyung Hee University and those of several private individuals. We

found technical reports, journal articles, symposia and conference

proceedings, unpublished material and other literature sources

in English, Korean and Japanese. We searched the references of

all reviewed literature for additional information and sources.

Unfortunately, we were unable to access some Korean technical

reports and other material from before 1990. Owing to strict

government control and the difficulty of independent travel in the

DPRK, current data on the avifauna of the country are extremely

limited.

RESULTS

Historical collection and research

Streaked Shearwaters and other seabirds were familiar to many

island-dwelling Koreans prior to the Korean War and the ROK’s

subsequent rapid industrialisation. Streaked Shearwaters were

harvested for their eggs and meat on Nan Island, DPRK (Neff

1956), on Ulleung Island, ROK, and probably from other colonies

near human habitation (Kim 2006). However, it was not until

the late nineteenth century that they were formally collected and

identified by foreign ornithologists.

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Probably the earliest known specimen of Streaked Shearwater

from Korea was taken by the American ornithologist Pierre Louis

Jouy in 1884 when he visited Korea collecting specimens for the

United States National Museum. Clark (1911) lists a specimen

(USNM 114437) of a male Streaked Shearwater from Jouy’s

unpublished collection which was stated to have been obtained

at ‘Fusan’ (Busan) on 18 May 1884. Austin (1948) mentions that

this specimen was taken from Kyongsang Namdo, today’s South

Gyeongsang province — Busan was formerly the capital of this

province. No Streaked Shearwaters have ever been found breeding

within Busan city limits; however, the bird could have been shot

or taken as fisheries bycatch in coastal waters off the city. Fennell

(1952) made interesting observations of Streaked Shearwaters in

1948 during ferry crossings of the Korean Straits between Busan

and Hakata (Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan), which support the notion

that the species was formerly present in the Busan vicinity, at least

during the breeding season. On 21 June he recorded 'Three to four

hundred were observed ... The largest concentration was observed

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57

just outside Pusan Harbor between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

Stragglers were observed at 10:30 .... All were flying low over the

water, apparently in search of food and heading toward the center of

the Straits.’ On the return voyage, 4 July, he again observed a flock

of about 500 on the Japanese side of the straits and also reported

‘Stragglers were seen all the way across the Straits on this trip.

However, during another crossing ... on October 12 I failed to see

a single individual of this species.’

The Korean Peninsula was visited by two other contemporary

specimen collectors: Jan Kalinowski, also in 1884, collected

specimens for the Polish Count Branicki (Mlikovsky 2011), and

in 1888 C. W. Campbell visited Korea on behalf of the British

Museum (Austin 1948). Between them, they collected and

identified 89 species new to the Korean bird list. Their departure

coincided with the Japanese colonisation of Korea, which limited

access to the country for foreign ornithologists. It was more

than 20 years before another Streaked Shearwater specimen was

collected by the Japanese scientist Seiichi Shimokoriyama while

he was working and collecting for the Li Wong Museum, Seoul,

Korea. Duringhis collecting trips, Shimokoriyama travelled to the

northernmost province of Korea, North Pyongan, and acquired

a specimen, although it is unclear where exactly it was obtained;

there are two islands in North Pyongan province where Streaked

Shearwaters have bred — Rap Island (Scott 1989) and Samcha

Island (KTO 2003).

Hong Koo Won and his son Pyong Oh Won were the pioneer

Korean ornithologists and Hong Koo Won is credited with selecting

the first Korean names for most Korean birds (Austin 1948). While

working in South Pyongan province (now in the DPRK) as a teacher,

Hong Koo Won collected a specimen of a Streaked Shearwater on

4 June 1932 but, as in the case of Shimokoriyama’s specimen, its

exact origin is unknown (Austin 1948).

Contemporary research

During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Pyong Oh Won and his

colleagues surveyed many of the ROK’s islands and islets and

recorded the presence and breeding status of Streaked Shearwaters

and other seabirds (Won & Yoon 1971, Park & Won 1993, Yoon

& Yoon 1996).

Since 2000, several independent groups have researched

Streaked Shearwaters in various capacities. Staff of the Migratory

Birds Center of the Korea National Park Service make regular trips

each year to various islands which hold seabird colonies to monitor

the birds, periodically conducting surveys in Shinan county (Korea

National Park Service 2008, 2009). Birds Korea, an NGO based in

Busan, has carried out various surveys including one recently in the

Yellow Sea where they found Streaked Shearwaters near the DPRK

and ROK border (Moores 2007). Finally, the Seabird Ecology

Group at Kyung Hee University is engaged in long-term research

at Korea’s largest Streaked Shearwater colony on Sasu Island (Park

& Won 1993, Lee etal. 2002, Nam eta/. 2004, Nam etal. 2014).

Distribution and status of Streaked Shearwater colonies

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

There are seven known breeding colonies in the DPRK (Table

1, Figure 1), although their current status is poorly known — the

most recent report of Streaked Shearwaters in the DPRK is from

Won (1963).

Table 1. Summary of Streaked Shearwater Calonectris leucomelas colonies around the Korean Peninsula.

B: islands with confirmed Streaked Shearwater Calonectris leucomelas colonies; P: islands with potential Streaked Shearwater colonies; N: island

confirmed without Streaked Shearwater colonies; E: islands where Streaked Shearwaters have possibly been extirpated

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1. Nan (or Sonbong Al) Island (42.235°N 130.536°E)

This island in Sonbong county, North Hamgyong province, is

also commonly referred to as Al Island, or Sonbong Al Island to

separate it from Tongcheon Al Island (see below). Near the Russian

border, it is located 15 km trom Sonbong harbour and 8 km from

the nearest coast at Uam-ri; designated Natural Monument 340

(Lee & Lee 1996, KTO 2003), it hosts diverse breeding seabirds

such as Streaked Shearwaters, guillemot, puffins, cormorants, as

well as tens of thousands of Black-tailed Gulls Larus crassirostris

(MAB National Committee 2005).

2. Nan Island (40.65 1°N 129.553°E)

Neff (1956) also documented Streaked Shearwaters in the DPRK.

On the north-east coast, there is a small group of islands about 30

km offshore from the city of Kimchaek (formerly Songjin). On

5 May 1953, when Neff was collecting specimens for the Denver

Museum of Nature and Science, a pair was pulled out of a burrow

by a local resident. The female’s body (DMNS 26776) was checked

for the presence of an egg but none was found. However, Streaked

Shearwaters do not usually lay until the first week of June and an egg

cannot normally be felt until 1-2 weeks prior to laying; therefore,

it is probable they were a breeding pair (Lee & Yoo 2002, Nam

2003). However, Neff was unfamiliar with the species and its nesting

and breeding behaviour and although only this pair was found on

the island, the presence of other occupied burrows was certainly

possible. Fishermen formerly went there to collect the eggs of the

many seabirds for food — some 3,000 seabird eggs were collected

by local Koreans during Neff’s survey. It should also be noted that

the topography of Nan Island is strikingly similar to Chilbal Island

(see below) — steep granite cliffs covered with grasses and shrubs

with little to no tree cover — which accommodates a stable colony

of Streaked Shearwaters.

3. Samcha (or Chamcha) Island (39.4l6°N 124.723°E)

This uninhabited island is designated Natural Monument 68 for

breeding seabirds; Black-tailed Gulls are the predominant breeding

species together with unknown numbers of Streaked Shearwaters,

cormorants and auklets (Lee & Lee 1996, KTO 2003).

4. Rap Island (39.277°N 124.722°E)

Lying off the coast of Seoncheon county, North Pyongan province,

about 65 km west of Pyeongyang, Rap Island, designated Natural

Monument 71, holds breeding colonies of Black-tailed Gulls,

cormorants and Streaked Shearwaters (Won 1963, Scott 1989, Lee

6 Lee 1996, KTO 2003). The Streaked Shearwater colony was first

described by Won (1963) and is estimated to hold about 300 birds

(MAB National Committee 2005).

5. Al (or Tongcheon Al) Island (39.003°N 128.065°E)

This island named Al’ (Korean for egg’) lies just off the south¬

east coast of Tongcheon county, near the border with the ROK

(Won 1963). The island is designated Natural Monument 211, and

Streaked Shearwaters were found breeding together with Black¬

tailed Gulls, auklets and cormorants (Lee & Lee 1996, KTO 2003).

There has been no estimate of Streaked Shearwater numbers so the

current size of this population is unknown.

6. Deck (or Tok) Island (38.754°N 124.975°E)

Deok Island, South Pyongan province, is located 30 km north-east

of Seo Island, just off the coast from Nampo city. A well-known

seabird breeding site, it was designated Natural Monument 37

in 1980. During a visit to the island in 1995 to assess a colony of

Endangered Black-faced Spoonbills Platalea minor, Jeong et al.

(2003) discovered a small breeding colony of Streaked Shearwaters

which they estimated to be 150 individuals, although an adequate

survey specifically for Streaked Shearwaters was not carried out.

7. Seo Island (Nishijima in Japanese) (38.556°N 124.763°E)

This small islet, less than 900 m in circumference, lies 1.4 km off the

coast of the much larger Cho Island. It served as a lighthouse station

during the Japanese occupation and the lighthouse-keeper helped

collect Streaked Shearwater eggs and adults in the early twentieth

century, when it was noted that their numbers were few compared

with the breeding population of Black-tailed Gulls, although the

population was never quantified (Kuroda 1923).

Republic of Korea

There are 12 islands in the ROK with confirmed Streaked

Shearwater breeding colonies, four with potential colonies, three

possibly extirpated sites and one island where it was thought a

breeding colony might be present, but it has now been confirmed

that this is not the case (Table 1, Figure 1).

8. Baengnyeong Island (37.950°N 124.680°E)

9. Daecheong Island (37.824°N 124.703°E)

10. Socheong Island (37.770°N 124.750°E)

These three islands lying in the Yellow Sea, near the DPRK border,

may hold Streaked Shearwater colonies. Although active Streaked

Shearwater nests have never been confirmed, the species is often

seen close to the islands and raffs occur in large numbers at sunset

to the west of Socheong Island during the breeding season, with

more than 6,400 individuals seen there in a single day (Moores

2007, Birds Korea 2010). Although Park & Kim (2009) searched

Socheong Island and found no evidence of Streaked Shearwaters,

many male and female Streaked Shearwater calls were heard from

three different locations on the island in 2009 (Birds Korea 2010). A

thorough search of all three islands is recommended; there appears

to be a good chance of finding at least one Streaked Shearwater

breeding colony, even though the islands are inhabited and rats and

domestic cats and dogs have been introduced.

11. Gwan-eum Island (37.549°N 130.923°E)

12. Juk Island (37.525°N 130.936°E)

13. Ulleung Island (37.505°N 130.866°E)

Won (1963) recorded that Ulleung Island was once a Streaked

Shearwater breeding site and in late summer the species was

abundant at sea between this island and the Korean mainland

(Gore & Won 1971). However, unfortunately when Ulleung Island

was resettled from 1883 onwards, the species became a source of

famine-relief food (Kim 2006). Birds and eggs continued to be

used to supplement the food supply and the species was probably

extirpated by the mid-twentieth century (Won & Woo 1958, Kim

2006), with the introduction of rats and domestic cats and dogs

probably accelerating the extirpation. It appears that, at present,

small relict Streaked Shearwater populations exist on Gwan-eum

and Juk islands off Ulleung Island’s north-east coast.

Gwan-eum Island, well known to the local community as a

Streaked Shearwater breeding site, is close enough to Ulleung Island

to be connected by a footbridge built in 2012 to accommodate

walkers visiting the uninhabited island. Inevitably, the connection

to Ulleung Island has led to the arrival of Black Rattus rattus

and Brown Rats R. norvegicus, and in September 2014, during

a reconnaissance of the island, we found the carcass of an adult

Streaked Shearwater in a forested area — -probably the result of

rat predation — suggesting that any Streaked Shearwaters still

attempting to breed on the island are under serious threat.

Juk Island, about 2 km south-east of Gwan-eum and 2.5 km east

of Ulleung, is inhabited by a farming community who confirmed

that at night the boisterous calls of Streaked Shearwaters were to

be heard emanating from the forest in the south-east of the island,

where Yoon & Yoon (1996) found at least four breeding pairs in

their burrows. In April 2001, prior to the egg-laying season, about

100 unoccupied burrows were found, but obviously the population

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59

could not be estimated (K-BN pers. obs.). The presence of rats has

not been confirmed, but is likely given the island is inhabited and

there are regular ferries.

There may be a small colony on one or both of these islands, as

up to 900 Streaked Shearwaters were seen at sea in this area on 15

September 2014, the early stages of the chick-rearing season (K-BN

pers. obs.).

14. Dok Island (37.240°N 131.867°E)

Often referred to as the Liancourt Rocks, Dok Island is actually

two small islets, both circular and about 350 m in diameter, named,

in Korean, Seodo (West island) and Dongdo (East island), and 35

surrounding smaller rocks, lying about 90 km east-south-east of

Ulleung Island. At present, the ROK occupies the islets and has

built permanent structures on both; consequently, domestic dogs

and Brown Rats are now present (Chung et al. 2010). Owing to

strict government control, scientific access is difficult and data on

Streaked Shearwaters have usually been limited to sightings at sea

near the islets. However, Kim et al. (2007) discovered 50 breeding

individuals in a small area of the island, while many more were

heard calling from an inaccessible part of the island. Although the

survey was not specifically for nocturnal, burrow-nesting seabirds,

it demonstrated that there was still a breeding population on that

island, possibly larger than the 50 individuals found. A thorough

burrow search survey and night-time observations are recommended

to achieve a more accurate estimate. The Vulnerable Japanese

Murrelet Syntbliboramphus wumizusume also breeds there and

adds to the requirement for effective surveys of this group of islets

(Kim et al. 2012).

15. Daeryeong Island (36.971°N 125.748°E)

16. Soryeong Island (36.970°N 125.751°E)

In 2006, during a general survey of the flora and fauna of coastal

islands, Incheon municipal government researchers discovered

breeding Streaked Shearwaters on these two small uninhabited

islands, both about 5,000 rrr in area, located about 80 km south¬

west of Incheon International Airport (Incheon Metropolitan City

2007, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries 2015). Appropriate surveys

for nocturnal burrow-nesting seabirds have not been carried out and

are recommended as soon as possible.

17. Nan Island (36.660°N 125.824°E)

Located off Taean county on the west coast of the ROK, the island

was designated Natural Monument 334 in 1982 because it held

a breeding colony of Black-tailed Gulls. During a visit in 1989, a

small number of adult Streaked Shearwater were found on the island

(J-Y Park pers. comm.). Park & Won (1993) later confirmed the

presence of Streaked Shearwater when they were heard calling on

the island at night, and there were further observations in the later

1990s (Oka 2004). The current status of this colony is unknown;

gull egg collectors visit the island, which raises the possibility that

shearwater eggs are also harvested and rats introduced (Park &

Won 1993).

18. Jik (or Pium) Island (35.894°N 126.074°E)

This uninhabited island has been used as a target for live fire exercises

(LFEs) by ROK and US military forces since 1971. Although local

fishermen have long known that seabirds, predominantly Black¬

tailed Gulls, bred on the island, it was first surveyed and confirmed

as a seabird breeding colony only in 1994, when an estimated 200

pairs of Streaked Shearwaters along with many dead seabirds were

found (Cultural Heritage Administration 1994). The Cultural

Heritage Administration immediately suggested that the island

should be designated a natural monument to protect the breeding

seabird colony, but the request was denied for national security

reasons. Vegetation and soil have been seriously disturbed and

habitat destroyed by the continual LFEs of the past four decades,

and the current status of the seabird colony is unknown because

of the lack of follow-up surveys. Austin (1948) noted that the Li

Wong Museum, Seoul, had one adult bird and fifteen eggs collected

17 June 1916 off the coast of Kunsan, Cholla Pukto (currently,

Gunsan, North Jeolla province), and these specimens seem to have

been collected on Jik Island.

19. Chilbal Island (34.794°N 125.794°E)

This island, Natural Monument 332, lies about 50 km west of

Mokpo City in the south-west of the country and is a 120 m high

granite rock with very steep slopes and cliff edges; it is about 13.5

ha in area and predominantly grassy, being covered with the sedge

Carex boottiana (Choi etal. 2010). There are no permanent residents

but it is visited from time to time for lighthouse maintenance.

The only published survey of Streaked Shearwaters on Chilbal

Island was by Kang et al. (2008), who made a brief survey and

estimated that there were only 10 breedingpairs present. However,

they made only day-time burrow searches using only five 2 x 2 m

quadrats and one 5 x 5 m quadrat and, given the limited number of

sample burrows and the difficulty in assessing Streaked Shearwater

occupancy by hand due to burrow depth, this is probably not an

accurate assessment. In 2014, KAH et al. made simple night-time

observations and audio recordings and concluded that there were

at least 100 pairs present.

20. Jang Island (34.670°N 125.370°E)

The island is important because it holds Jangdo High Moor, a

pristine mountainous wetland, designated Ramsar site 1458.

According to residents of the island, which lies about 100 km off

the mainland close to the larger Heuksan island, there had been

a population of Streaked Shearwaters there in the past. During a

brief daytime visit to confirm this anecdotal report, old nests were

found but no individuals were currently breeding at that site (J.-G.

Park pers. comm.). Although a simple daytime survey cannot be

regarded as conclusive, human occupancy has inevitably led to the

presence of domestic cats and dogs as well as rats, which may have

extirpated the colony.

21. Hong Island (34.534°N 128.733°E)

This island, designated Natural Monument 335, near the city

of Busan, hosts a large colony of Black-tailed Gulls. It has been

suggested that the island could be a breeding site for Streaked

Shearwaters based on observations of the species at sea nearby —

about 150in 1992and 1, 000 in2003 were seen flying in the vicinity

(Park & Won 1993, Oka 2004, Kwon et al. 2007). However,

burrow searches and night-time surveys have failed to find evidence

of their presence (Oka 2004, K-BN pers. obs.) and it appears that

the birds observed were foragers from other colonies (one large

Japanese colony is only 150 km away). Perhaps limited nest space

and the rocky terrain has prevented Streaked Shearwaters from

establishing a colony.

22. Gugul Island (34.110°N 125.080°E)

This uninhabited island, Natural Monument 341, lies about 3

km north-north-east of Gageo Island (see below). A peak count of

2,623 Streaked Shearwaters was reported from a simple daytime

survey (Cultural Heritage Administration 2001). Although the

population size is unconfirmed, Streaked Shearwaters undoubtedly

breed there as confirmed by the presence of eggs and nesting adults,

and other researchers have seen more than 1,000 birds rafting on the

water near the island at dusk (Won & Lee 1986, C-YC pers. obs.).

Gugul Island is very important for seabirds, holding the world’s

largest breedingpopulation of Swinhoe’s Storm Petrels Hydrobates

monorhis and probably also holding Korea’s second largest Streaked

Shearwater colony (Won & Lee 1986).

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23. Gageo (also known as Soheuksan) Island

(34.050°N 125.070°E)

Won & Yoon (1971) noted that local villagers knew ol a seabird

colony around the northern tip of Gageo Island, which was

suspected of holding breeding Streaked Shearwaters (Oka 2004).

Located 3 km Irom Gugul Island (see above), the larger Gageo

Island was thought to be a potential breeding site for shearwaters.

However, during a broad avifaunal survey, Park & Lee (2009) found

no evidence ol the presence of Streaked Shearwater. The island is

inhabited and the consequent introduction of rats, domestic cats

and dogs, and Siberian Weasels Mustela sibirica , may have caused

the extirpation ol Streaked Shearwaters.

24. Bveongpung Island (34.154°N 125.945°E)

This island was previously thought to be apotential breedingsite for

Streaked Shearwaters (Oka 2004). During the early 2000s a number

of surveys of the flora and fauna of uninhabited islands throughout

the ROK were made and, according to the Cultural Heritage

Administration (2001) island survey, Streaked Shearwaters were

confirmed to breed on Byeongpung Island although numbers are

uncertain.

25. Yeoseo Island (33.970°N 126.920°E)

Oka (2004) reported the potential for breeding on this inhabited

island lying in the Jeju Strait. We have been unable to confirm or

update the situation because we have failed to find any additional

pertinent reports.

26. Sasu Island (33.923°N 126.632°E)

The largest and best documented colony in the ROK and Natural

Monument 333, Sasu is a small, tree-covered island approximately

22 ha in size, off the south coast, between the mainland and Jeju

Island (Lee & Yoo 2002).

Non-native Brown Rats Rattus norvegicus are present and are

known to reduce Streaked Shearwater breeding success (Nam et

al. 2014). It is not known when the rats were introduced but they

probably arrived by ship as humans occupied the island until the

end of the Second World War and it is still frequented by fishermen.

Estimates of numbers of Streaked Shearwaters have varied. Park

& Won (1993) estimated that there were 16,094 pairs in 1992 , while

Lee & Yoo (2002) estimated a population of about 7,500 pairs in

2000, and Kang et al. (2008) suggested a further decrease to less

than 5,000 pairs — indicating a significant and worrying decline

in the main ROK Streaked Shearwater colony during that period.

However, these three estimates were made at different stages of

the species’s breeding cycle and therefore reflect different nest

attendance patterns. To ensure maximum nest attendance, K-BN

& KAH surveyed Sasu Island from late June to early July 2014

during the incubation period, and estimated 20,805 breedingpairs.

27. Hwa Island (33.720°N 126.35DE)

This uninhabited island lies close to Sasu Island (see above), about 30

km north of Jeju Island, and appears to be free of invasive mammals

(Kang etal. 2012). However, many sport fishermen visit the island,

raising the possibility of infestation in the future. Between 2009

and 2010, Kang et al. (2012) spent four days searching for signs of

breeding Streaked Shearwaters and other birds. They found adults

and chicks in burrows and estimated there were 300 pairs on the

island.

DISCUSSION

Streaked Shearwater colonies are found around the entire coastline

of Korea, but there is a marked concentration of them in the south¬

west of the ROK, where we estimate more than 60% of the Streaked

Shearwaters on the Korean coastline breed. This might be explained

by the higher level of ocean productivity in that area relative to the

rest of Korea (Son et al. 2005, Yamamoto et al. 2010). Sasu Island

is well established as the largest breeding colony in Korea (Park

& Won 1993, Lee & Yoo 2002, Kang et al. 2008). Because few

high-quality surveys have been made elsewhere, the relative size/

importance of other colonies is hard to assess. However, based on

observations of the species at sea near Socheong, Daecheong and

Baengnyeong Islands, Gugul Island and the west coast islands of the

ROK appear to hold the next largest colonies (Moores 2007, C-YC

& K-BN pers. obs.). Although there is no definite data on the size

of other colonies, it appears that most outside the south-west area

are probably small, holding fewer than 1,000 pairs.

Potential threats to Streaked Shearwaters

Invasive species

Introduction of predators, mainly rats and domestic cats, has led

to the decline and even extinction of seabirds on many remote

islands worldwide (Jones & Tershy 2008, Nogales et al. 2013).

Small, burrow-nesting, nocturnal seabirds are the most heavily

affected by these predators (Donlan et al. 2003, Jones & Tershy

2008). Introduced mammals are present on at least 10 of 24 islands

where Streaked Shearwaters currently breed, have bred or are

evidently present (Table 1). Considering their close relationship

with humans, it is likely that any island with an established human

presence also has introduced rats and/or domestic cats. These

introduced animals are undoubtedly having negative effects on

Streaked Shearwater populations and are probably why shearwaters

are rare on Gwan-eum, Byeongpung and Dok Islands. Streaked

Shearwaters also appear to have been extirpated from Jang, Ulleung,

and perhaps Gageo Islands as a result of introduced species and

overexploitation. Near LTleung Island, the species has survived as

two relict populations on Gwan-eum and Juk Islands; however,

with the recent construction of a footbridge connecting Gwan-eum

to Ulleung Island and the subsequent invasion by rats, and with a

permanent human presence on Juk Island, Streaked Shearwaters

in this region are at high risk of extirpation.

On Sasu Island, Brown Rats were introduced more than 60 years

ago and are known to have had serious effects on the survival and

reproductive success of Streaked Shearwaters, destroying more than

90% of eggs and chicks in some years (Lee & Yoo 2002, Nam etal.

2004, 2014). While one would assume this high rate of predation

is causing a decline in the total population, the sustained Streaked

Shearwater population on Sasu Island suggests another factor is

involved, such as a high rate of immigration from other colonies.

Until a series of standardised surveys are completed on Sasu Island,

the long-term effects of this high rate of predation will not be clearly

understood.

Fisheries bycatch

Streaked Shearwaters are vulnerable to drowning as a result of

fisheries bycatch, having been accidentally caught in large numbers

in gill-nets in the waters around Japan (Nakamura 1974), Hong

Kong (Everett & Pitman 1993) and Taiwan (Blackshaw 1978).

Streaked Shearwaters also regularly follow fishing vessels, attracted

by discarded bait and fish parts (Warham 1990, Birds Korea 2009)

and recreational fishing gear (KAH pers. obs.), which may leave

them vulnerable to mortality in the long-line fishery. Recreational

fishermen frequent the waters around Sasu Island and Streaked

Shearwaters appear to be attracted by their baited lines; some birds

that swallow baited hooks manage to break the line and escape,

sometimes with metres of line trailing from their mouths (KAH

pers. obs.). These birds inevitably get entangled in trees and perish

(KAH pers. obs.).

Streaked Shearwaters have also been photographed around the

vessels of the commercial tuna pole-and-line fishery near Japan (J.

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Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas of the Korean Peninsula

61

Holmes pers. comm.). The probable outcome of their attraction to

baited long-line hooks is that, in common with other similar-sized

shearwater species e.g. Flesh-Footed Shearwaters Pujfinus carneipes

in the Pacific Ocean (Baker & Wise 2005) and Cory’s Shearwaters

Calonectris diomedea in the Mediterranean (Belda& Sanchez 2001),

they may be drowned in significant numbers. No information

currently exists regarding the bycatch of Streaked Shearwaters in

long-line fisheries, and to determine the number and significance

of such events further research is necessary.

Military activity

Over the past 40 years, the Streaked Shearwater breeding

population on Jik Island has been greatly threatened by the ROK

and USA military forces LFEs. When the colony was first identified,

hundreds of shearwaters were still breeding there despite 20 years

of aerial bombardment (Cultural Heritage Administration 1994).

Today, in the face of socio-economic and safety debates, the island

continues to be used as a TFE ground target because of complex

political, diplomatic, and national security issues.

Oil spillage

On the Korean peninsula during the breeding season, the majority

of Streaked Shearwaters are concentrated near the south-west

corner. This is a relatively productive region, but also one which

sees frequent maritime activity (Kim et al. 2010). Large oil spills

are devastating to entire ecosystems and attract significant media

attention, e.g. the VLCC Sea Prince accident off the south coast

of Korea (Yim et al. 2002) or the MT Hebei Spirit oil spill which

dumped more than 12.5 million litres into the coastal waters of

south-west Korea (Kim et al. 2010); both of these incidents were

within the foraging range of the Korean population of Streaked

Shearwaters. However, chronic or micro-spills occur far more

frequently (Carter 2003) and are arguably more damaging to

seabirds over time (Hampton et al. 2003a), whilst attracting little

or no public or political attention. The term ‘chronic oil pollution’

is used to describe a persistent release of oil at a low concentration

that results from the inefficient extraction, transportation and/or

consumption of oil. In waters around the USA chronic oil pollution

makes up about a third of the total released annually. There are many

sources of chronic oil pollution in the marine environment, e.g.

deliberate discharge by marine vessels of bilge water contaminated

with oil and other chemicals, the slow leaking of oil from wrecks,

leaks or spills during loading and unloading of tank ships, and run¬

off from land-based activities (Hampton et al. 2003b). The chronic

release of oil by ships is a continuing threat to seabirds living near

shipping lanes, and heavy mortality of birds due to this has been

documented in Japan (Kazama 1971). In the aftermath of the 2014

sinking of the ferry MV Sewol within 100 km of the two largest

Streaked Shearwater colonies in Korea, the possibility of a chronic

leak of oil from its wreck is of particular concern.

Unfortunately, there is little information on oil-related Streaked

Shearwater fatalities in Korea, but every year Ancient Murrelets

Synthliboramphus antiquus killed by oil contact are washed up on

the Korean shoreline (Sea Alarm Foundation 2010) and many other

oiled seabirds have been seen off both west and east coasts during

winter (Birds Korea 2010). The actual mortality from a particular

oil spill is probably at least 4-5 times higher than the beached bird

count suggests (Burger 1993). Carcasses sink, are eaten by scavengers,

buried by sediment on beaches or drift further out to sea, thereby

never being included in damage assessments. So it is likely that the

majority of Streaked Shearwaters which perish due to encounters

with chronic oil releases in Korea are never seen. Considering the

massive impact of oil pollution on all seabirds, especially diving

seabirds which spend significant periods on the sea surface, it is

likely that around Korea Streaked Shearwaters are affected by oil;

an in-depth study is required to assess the seriousness of this impact.

CONCLUSIONS

Oka (2004) provided a detailed account of the global distribution of

Streaked Shearwaters, including those around the Korean Peninsula.

However, in the years since its publication, through an increased

interest in seabird research on the Korean Peninsula, several new

Streaked Shearwater colonies have been documented. Colonies on

the islands of Hwa, Soryeong, Daeryeong, Jang (although possibly

now extirpated), Nan (DPRK), Samcha, Al, Deok and Gwan-eum

were unknown in 2004 but have since been confirmed. Colonies

are also thought to exist on Socheong, Baengnyeong and Daecheong

(Moores 2007, Birds Korea 2010) while the absence of Streaked

Shearwaters on Hong and Gageo Islands has been confirmed (Kwon

et al. 2007, Park & Lee 2009, K.-B. Nam pers. obs.). Oka (2004)

listed Byeongpung Island as a potential breeding site and breeding

there has since been confirmed.

The number of new colonies discovered in the past decade

not only reflects an increased interest of Korean ornithologists in

their local seabird populations but also indicates just how little we

know about Streaked Shearwater distribution around the Korean

Peninsula. These birds can be found in every marine location

surrounding the peninsula and, because of their foraging behaviours

and role as a food source for marine animals, are important in the

regulation of marine environments (Wootton 1992, Polis & Hurd

1996). They play a significant role in maintaining the biodiversity

of Korea’s marine ecosystems.

Park & Won (1993) attested to Korea’s serious need for a

seabird population assessment and long-term monitoring and

protection programmes. While some Streaked Shearwater colonies

are protected by government as ‘natural monuments’, there is a lack

of long-term, extensive monitoring, which makes it impossible

to assess changes to Streaked Shearwater populations (Moores

2012). However, by looking at global trends and also factoring

in the introduction of alien predators to some colonies, it is a safe

assumption that numbers have declined over the past 100 years and

will continue to do so.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Kuniko Otsuki for translation ofjapanese literature Jong-Seong Son

and In-Ki Kwon for assistance on Sasu Island, and Teresa Tomek and Yukata

Yamamoto for supplying valuable references. We also thank the communities

ofUlleunglsland for providing valuable information on Streaked Shearwaters

during our interviews. This research was supported by the Oriental Bird Club

through the AEC Award, IdeaWild, and the basic Science Research Program

through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the

Ministry of Education (NRF-2013R1 Al A2058587).

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FORKTAIL 31 (201 5): 64-69

Loss of remnant trees causes local population collapse

of endemic Grosbeak Starling Scissirostrum dubium in

Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

BEA MAAS, TEJA TSCHARNTKE & CHRISTIAN H. SCHULZE

Large and isolated trees are often last refuges for rare forest species in highly fragmented and human-dominated landscapes. This is

of particular importance in tropical forest margin areas where remnant forest trees are being cleared at an alarming rate. Drivers and

consequences of such remnant forest tree losses are still poorly documented. Here we report the rapid destruction of remnant trees, closely

associated with colonies of the Sulawesi endemic Grosbeak Starling Scissirostrum dubium, which excavates nest holes in large dead trees.

In 2008, we mapped all the species's potential breeding trees, tree characteristics and the local population density on the east margin of

Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. When the area was revisited in 2010, we found a dramatic loss of 92% of the recorded

nest sites, accompanied by a remarkable decline of the local Grosbeak Starling population. This study provides an alarming example of the

immediate consequences of the loss of remnant forest trees in tropical human-dominated landscapes for species dependent on this habitat

structure. Without the contemporary implementation of strategies maintaining a high density of isolated large trees in forest margin zones

and adjacent cultivated areas, associated species will experience dramatic population declines and a high local and, in the mid- to long-term,

a high regional risk of extinction.

INTRODUCTION

Deforestation degrades habitats and isolates populations, thereby

substantially reducing biodiversity (Brook et al. 2003, Gardner et

al. 2009). South-East Asia, a region of high biodiversity holding

an exceptionally high number of endemic species, is threatened by

the highest rate of human-caused habitat loss (Sodhi et al. 2004,

Sodhi et al. 2010a, b). The ecological impacts of deforestation are

poorly understood in many parts of South-East Asia (Sodhi et al.

2005), including Sulawesi, the largest island in Wallacea, which is

characterised by an extensive endemic avifauna (Stattersfield et al.

1998, Lee et al. 2007). Many South-East Asian bird species suffer

from a lack of protected reserves and conservation funding as well as

from intense human encroachment into their habitat (e.g. Whitten

et al. 1987, Sodhi et al. 2010a).

In this study, we focused on large remnant trees at the forest

margin and the adjacent cultivated area of Lore Lindu National

Park (hereafter NP), which are increasingly threatened by habitat

modification and land-use intensification. Large remnant trees are

important structural elements for birds in human-modified habitats

(Abrahamczyk et al. 2008). However, the conversion of semi-natural

habitats into intensively used agricultural land results in population

declines in many different species groups (Berry et al. 2010). Given

the rapid and ongoing conversion of natural habitats into human

land-use systems in Sulawesi, improvement in forest management

and conservation is overdue to prevent the extinction of endangered

and endemic species (Sodhi et al. 2005, 2010a, Miettinen et al.

2011). This includes improved understanding of largely unknown

species and their habitat requirements; in the case of the Sulawesi

endemic Grosbeak Starling Scissirostrum dubium data are very

limited (Coates & Bishop 1997, Craig & Feare 2009). This species

utilises large and isolated dead trees for nesting and foraging, and is

mainly found on the margins of forests and in lightly wooded areas.

It is a colonial breeder and the only starling known to excavate its

own nest-holes in tall dead or rotten trees. The species forages in

small groups, mainly feeding on a wide range of fruiting trees (e.g.,

Fabaceae, Moraceae, Myrtaceae) as well as insects and seeds (BM

unpubl. data). Colonies comprise highly social flocks of 20-150

birds (Coates & Bishop 1997), which may form ‘super-colonies’ of

more than 1,000 individuals in several adjoining trees. It appears

that the species was originally a forest-dweller that has adapted to

forest margin habitats very well.

In 2008 and 2010, we quantified the large remnant forest trees

on the east margins of Lore Lindu NP, Central Sulawesi, associated

with a Grosbeak Starling population. The study focused on (1)

mapping the remnant forest trees and Grosbeak Starling colonies in

the forest margin zone in 2008 to identify important characteristics

of nesting trees and habitat requirements, (2) based on the mapping,

the species’s population density was assessed and (3) in 2010 the

mapping of colonised trees was repeated to quantify the extent of

remnant forest tree decline (involving the loss of nesting sites) and

to re-evaluate the species’s current conservation status in the area.

METHODS

Study area

The study site was about 75 km south-east of the provincial capital

Palu. The area was declared a UNESCO Man and Biosphere

Reserve in 1977 and the 229,000 ha national park was established

in 1993 (Adiwibowo 2005). It is an exceptionally species-rich area

holding about 78% of Sulawesi’s endemic birds (Coates & Bishop

1997). The forest-margin landscape outside the closed block of

near-primary forest is a mosaic of secondary forest and a rapidly

increasing number of land-use systems — cocoa, coffee, maize and

rice being the main crops (Schulze et al. 2004, Maas et al. 2009).

Remnant forest trees were mapped in an area of about 45 km2 at the

northern end of Napu Valley near the villages ofWuasa (1.426°S

120.315°E), Alitupu, Kaduwaa, Banyusari and Watumaeta, in the

lower montane forest zone (Whitten et al. 1987) between 1,100

and 1,200 m, an area with mean annual rainfall of over 3,000 mm.

Data collection

The first mapping of remnant forest trees, including tree

measurement, observation of Grosbeak Starling colony trees and

an estimate of the species’s local population density, was carried out

between 22 August and 22 September 2008. All the colony trees

were re-visited between 1 April and 5 May 2010. Mapping was done

between 06h00 and 19h00 daily in both periods. We also mapped

the forest margin at 158 GPS points in 2008 and re-mapped it in

2010, taking additional data at locations where the forest margin

had changed due to conversion, logging and land-use expansion.

Throughout the study, the code of ethics of the American Birding

Association was observed (www.aba.org/about/ethics.html).

Forktail 31 (2015) Local population collapse of Grosbeak Starling Scissirostrum dubium in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

65

Tree mapping was carried out using a geo-referenced map of the

study area (Bakosurtanal 1991), GPS data (Garmin 12 Map) and a

digital rangefinder to measure and estimate distances (Nikon Laser

800S). In 2008, all trees with a diameter at breast height (dbh) greater

than 20 cm and more than 2 m tall outside the closed forest margin

area (using 50x50 m grids within the study area) were mapped. We

also mapped all trees formerly or currently occupied by Grosbeak

Starling inside the forest, on 22 forest transects, 300 m long and

200 m wide, with buffer zones 100 m left and right of each transect.

Each of the 547 trees recorded was allocated an individual number,

a GPS position and plotted on the map. For each tree, we recorded

the height (estimated using a digital rangefinder), dbh, distance to

primary forest (GPS data), date when the area around it was last

logged (3 categories: less than 5 years, 5-10 years, more than 10

years), the habitat type (agricultural, primary or secondary forest)

and the number of Grosbeak Starling breeding holes; these have a

characteristic shape, easily distinguished from other tree-holes (e.g.

created by arthropods or other animals). Breeding holes were not

necessarily in active use by Grosbeak Starlings, and we also checked

whether the trees (n = 24) with breeding holes were visited by the

species in 2008 — twenty trees were in use. Almost all the trees lacked

identification characters (e.g. leaves, branches) or were dead or rotten

and could not be confidently identified. In 2010, we re-assessed the

24 colony trees recorded in 2008. All mapping data were analysed

using ArcGIS (ESRI 2005).

We determined the number of Grosbeak Starlings in each

occupied tree. The number of available breeding holes on each tree

was counted, then each occupied tree was watched for six hours

(divided into 2-3 observation periods) and the number of active

holes determined. These observations, carried out by BM and an

experienced local guide, also served to obtain additional information

on behaviour, breeding activity and foraging times. Each occupied

hole was used by two adult Grosbeak Starlings (and occasionally

their chicks). Accordingly, the number of active breeding holes

multiplied by two provided a conservative estimate of the population,

including only adults which regularly returned to their holes. The

long observation period at each tree ensured that holes not occupied

by Grosbeak Starlings were correctly identified. The population was

recorded on a tree-by-tree basis, and if the birds occupied more than

one tree at a location it was designated a ‘super-colony’.

Statistical analyses

To determine the importance of individual parameters in

colonisation by Grosbeak Starlings, we analysed tree parameters by

calculating Pearson correlations to relate tree height (m) and tree

dbh (cm) to the number of breeding holes for each colonised tree.

The distribution of the response variable was either assumed to be

approximated by normal (tree height, tree dbh) or overdispersed

Poisson (number of breeding holes) distribution. In the last case,

variables were log-transformed. In addition, the tree parameters were

divided into five dbh classes with 50 cm intervals and seven tree

height classes with 5 m intervals and tested against the respective

percentage of trees colonised within the intervals using Spearman

rank correlations. Tree occupation by the species was displayed

within a bubble plot with colony size as weighted variable (colony

size intervals of 20 individuals) against both tested tree parameters

(tree height and tree dbh) on the plot axes. All statistical tests and

two-dimensional plots were computed using STATISTICA version

7.1 (StatSoft Inc. 2005).

RESULTS

Tree mapping and Grosbeak Starling nesting requirements

We mapped 547 trees in 2008, and identified Grosbeak Starling

breeding holes in 24 trees, with 20 trees in active use for nesting

(Table 1). Correlation between tree height and dbh was highly

significant for all 547 mapped trees (r = 0.412, p < 0.001), significant

for all 24 trees with breeding holes (r = 0.456, p = 0.025) and not

significant for 20 occupied trees (r = 0.269, p = 0.252). Larger

Grosbeak Starling colonies occupied larger trees. The number

of breeding holes per tree (log) was correlated significantly with

the dbh of colonised trees (Figure 1A) but not with their height

(Figure IB). However, the percentage of colonised trees increased

with both increasing size of dbh class (Figure 1C) and tree height

class (Figure ID).

Trees with breeding holes were all more than 16 m high,

with a minimum dbh 43.3 cm. The majority of occupied nesting

trees (75%) had a dbh greater than 80 cm (Figure 2). Besides the

preference for large trees, the species also preferred to make its holes

in the upper trunk. The minimum height of an occupied breeding

hole was 11m. Some of the occupied trees made up ‘super-colonies’

of up to three trees in one location. Trees with breeding holes were

located in secondary forest habitat (42%), agroforestry systems

(33%), vegetable fields (12.5%) and other intensified land-use

systems (> 5%). The sites of 67% of the trees were last logged more

than ten years previously while the rest were split equally between

sites cleared, leaving only a single tree, in the last ten or five years.

Of the 24 trees with Grosbeak Starling breeding holes recorded in

2008, only two remained in the re-mapping survey of 2010. These

two trees had formed a ‘super-colony’ consisting of three trees which

remained in uncultivated land of complex topography and difficult

access owing to water-logged areas. All other 22 former colony trees

were lost as a result of logging and wildlife trading activities — trees

were cut down either to collect Grosbeak Starlings or to make land-

use changes, or else they had collapsed naturally. However, it was

very difficult to determine specifically the fate of individual trees.

Information obtained locally indicated that some trees became so

rotten that village farmers were able to pull them down without

Table 1. Trees with Grosbeak Starling breeding holes in 2008.

Trees 1-20 held active colonies; trees 21-24 had nest holes but had been

abandoned. The height of the lowest occupied breeding hole and the

total number of breeding holes on each tree are shown. Habitat type: PF

primary forest, SF secondary forest, AF agroforestry, OLopen land: annual

crops and pasture, VF vegetable field. *the trees still standing in 2010.

66

BEA MAAS, TEJA TSCHARNTKE & CHRISTIAN H. SCHULZE

Forktail 31 (2015)

Figure 1. Effects of tree dbh and tree height on colony size and the proportion of colonised trees. (A) The number of breeding holes is correlated

significantly with the tree dbh (cm) of colonised trees (n = 24) whereas (B) tree height is not related to colony size (results of Pearson correlations).

The percentage of colonised trees of different tree size classes (x axis) significantly increases with increasing tree size although the effect is stronger

for dbh class (C) than for tree height class (D) (results of Spearman rank correlations).

Figure 2. Bubble plot of tree height (m) and dbh (cm) of occupied trees

(n = 20) with increasing Grosbeak Starling colony size (intervals of 20

individuals per tree) indicated by circles of increasing size. Only trees

outside the dashed lines (taller than 16 m and dbh greater than 43.3

cm) were occupied.

recourse to use of saws or axes before they fell naturally, and in

one case the area was burnt. Several areas were converted to cacao

plantations and young shade trees were planted in place of the relict

forest trees, whilst limitations in accuracy of GPS did not allow the

location of erstwhile nesting trees to be pinpointed. It was confirmed

that two trees were cut down specifically to obtain the birds which

were subsequently sold, but it cannot be ruled out that trees that

were lost in cacao plantations or pulled down manually by villagers

were also taken down to obtain birds and sell them.

Grosbeak Starling population and biological data

A total of 684 Grosbeak Starlings were observed at the 20 occupied

trees within 45 km2, corresponding to 15 individuals per km2. The

mean colony size per tree (± SD) was 26.29 (± 22.06) birds. We

also recorded breeding activity — chick feeding — in August and

September 2008. Previously, breeding had apparently only been

reported in May (Craig & Feare 2009).

DISCUSSION

Our results document the rapid local decline oflarge remnant forest

trees and the loss of 92% of Grosbeak Starling nesting sites in only

Forktail 31 (2015) Local population collapse of Grosbeak Starling Scissirostrum dubium in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

67

two years. The rapid decline of the Grosbeak Starling population

in our study area indicates that suitable nesting sites are likely to

become the limiting factor for this species’s survival, at least at local

level. In 2008, four of the 24 trees with breeding holes were not in

active use. This may have been due to a sufficiency of nesting sites

at that time, or to abandonment due to high parasite densities or

anthropogenic disturbance (the four trees were in agroforestry

systems frequently used by the local community).

Deforestation and the intensification of land-use systems are

ongoing in Central Sulawesi and elsewhere on the island (Sodhi et

al. 2012), putting pressure on the remaining local Grosbeak Starling

populations and other species associated with remnant forest trees

(Gardner et al. 2009). The long-term effects of remnant forest tree

losses and deforestation on biodiversity and ecosystem resilience

(e.g. soil quality) are largely unknown, but there is evidence that the

resulting species extinctions can continue for many decades (Brooks

et al. 1999) and that this loss of biodiversity might be irreversible

(Dupouey et al. 2002).

Grosbeak Starling, a forest species adapted to the forest edge,

depends on tall, large standing trees at the forest margin or in

the adjacent cultivated area for establishing breeding colonies.

We found that trees suitable for Grosbeak Starling could best be

described using the dbh of colony trees (minimum 43.3 cm), which

was positively related to the number of breeding holes per tree.

Furthermore, the proportion of trees colonised increased rapidly

with increasing dbh, and most nesting trees (75%) were more than

80 cm dbh. Tree height was a rather poor indicator for colonisation,

probably because thick and mainly rotten, often dead, trees were

frequently broken at the top.

The majority of trees colonised were in secondary forest and

agroforestry systems as well as in areas last logged ten years or

more previously. Secondary forest and logged forest can hold high

bird species diversity, although species abundance declines as a

consequence of logging (Berry etal. 2010). The removal of remnant

trees and shade trees in human-dominated landscapes is also likely to

increase the risk of pest outbreaks and leads to a loss of the multiple

ecosystem services provided by these trees, including food and non¬

food resources, carbon storage, nutrient cycling and erosion control

(Bhagwat et al. 2008, Tscharntke et al. 2011). Beside these very

valuable ecosystem services, the trees are often utilised by native

forest species in areas adjacent to remaining forest fragments, as in

the case of the Grosbeak Starling.

H owever, tolerance of anthropogenic activities becomes

a disadvantage for species negatively affected by land-use

intensification (e.g. Sodhi etal. 2012,Newbolder^/. 2013) as well as

those species that are hunted, traded and removed from their nesting

trees (Fuller 2002, Wilcove etal. 2013, BM unpubl. data, K. Darras

pers. comm. 2014). The Grosbeak Starling population in Sulawesi,

as well as an increasing number of bird species in South-East Asia

(many of them forest margin species, habitat specialists and species

with poorly documented habitat requirements and responses to

habitat fragmentation), are facing multiple threats associated with

remnant tree loss (e.g. Maas etal. 2009, Bregman etal. 2014). Major

threats include illegal logging and hunting activities (e.g. Fuller

2002), with potential consequences for ecosystem resilience and

ecosystem services in areas with high anthropogenic disturbance

(Sethi & Howe 2009). Hunting pressure has become a serious

additional threat to Grosbeak Starlings owing to their increasing

attractiveness for the pet trade — caged birds for sale were frequently

observed in Sulawesi, Java and Jambi, Sumatra, between 2009 and

2014 (BM & CHS pers. obs., K. Darras pers. comm.), and because

they are frequently confused with agricultural pest species such as

Short-tailed Starling Aplonis minor by the local community (BM

pers. obs.). Inadequate law enforcement in maintaining protected

areas and the rapid ongoing loss of suitable nesting trees seem to

be the most immediate threats to this species. The communication

and integration of research results into awareness training of

local communities represents a promising contribution to the

conservation of endangered biodiversity in the tropics (Laurance

2013), especially in smallholder-dominated areas (Persha etal. 2011)

such as Central Sulawesi. Furthermore, landscape management

practices in the tropics should take into account the high potential of

forest patches, extensively used agroforestry systems and vegetation

corridors to support high levels of species diversity (e.g. Harvey

& Villalobos 2007, Bregman et al. 2014), and to allow species

recolonisation after local extinctions (e.g. Gillies et al. 2011).

Large remnant trees represent important structural elements

for birds in human-modified habitats in the tropics (Abrahamczyk

et al. 2008), as well as for many other species (e.g. Gardner et al.

2009). Although our recorded trees could not be identified with

complete certainty, the majority may be the species hassk Erythrina

subumbrans, a common species in our study area, native to India

and Sri Lanka and today widely distributed, or the somewhat larger

hassk Parkia speciosa, native to Sulawesi; both are used as shade

trees for cacao crops. Available studies from Neotropical forests

illustrate the high variation of age (~15 to 1 15 years) of tree species

with dbh values higher than 40 cm (Schongart 2008, Leoni et al.

2011). It is well understood that tree growth rates also strongly vary

depending on the species and location-specific characteristics. Trees

in secondary forests and agroforestry systems of Central Sulawesi

15 m or more in height are often older than the respective forest

succession stage or the land-use systems themselves, and were left

behind during ongoing forest conversion process (M. Kessler pers.

comm. 2013). Translated into the habitat requirements of the

Grosbeak Starling, an even longer and yet unknown period than

the minimum available estimate (15 years) would be necessary to

plant and grow new trees to provide future nesting sites for their

colonies, since the species can only excavate breeding holes in trees

which are already dead or rotten and therefore easy to perforate.

Consequently it mostly occupies tree remnants formerly part of

the forest interior but now at the forest edge owing to previous

slash-and-burn activities. The other category of trees colonised

by Grosbeak Starlings persists in patches of older, uncultivated

secondary forest or agroforestry sites in the open land area, adjacent

to the eastern border of Lore Lindu NP. Hence, to depend on ageing

secondary forest habitats or extensive agroforests appears to be an

unsuitable strategy to avoid further tree declines and local Grosbeak

Starling extinctions in the near future.

CONCLUSIONS

The loss of remnant large trees in tropical forest margins is a serious,

probably underestimated threat to associated forest species. Our

findings on the eastern border of Lore Lindu NP are consistent

with an alarming trend in many tropical forest margin landscapes

(Bregman et al. 2014). Until now, the population size of Grosbeak

Starling has not been quantified (BirdLife International 2015)

and more evidence is needed to determine whether the clearance

of breeding trees and the collapse of nesting sites is widespread.

Our study provides an example of the immediate consequences

of remnant forest tree losses that potentially affect many different

species (e.g. Gardner et al. 2009, Bregman et al. 2014) and

underlines the importance of direct observations of the effects

of habitat conversion and land-use intensification on associated

biodiversity. The risk of indirect observations is that rapid changes

in the associated species community might be missed or largely

underestimated.

Increasing the understanding and valuation of ecosystem services

and biodiversity functions among rural and local smallholder

communities can decelerate the rapid loss of remnant forest species in

Central Sulawesi and may provide a promising conservation strategy

68

BEA MAAS, TEJA TSCHARNTKE & CHRISTIAN H. SCHULZE

Forktail 31 (2015)

in many protected areas in the tropics (Persha etal. 201 1, Laurance

2013). The protection of large trees (such as the widespread Erythrina

shade trees) in the human-dominated rainforest margins of Lore

Lindu NP is necessary to maintain stable population densities of

Grosbeak Starlings, at least in the short to mid-term.

Wilcove et al. (2013) point out the major challenges of

improving biodiversity-friendly concepts in cash-crop producing

areas; they show that the financial returns from logging and palm

oil production in lowland Sabah, East Malaysia, are, on average,

twice as large as those currently possible under conservation

measures (incorporating payments for carbon, biodiversity, water

and ecotourism). However, this calculation does not account for

the negative long-term effects of habitat transformation, forest

fragmentation, land-use intensification and biodiversity loss which

are likely to affect ecosystem services such as biological control and

seed dispersal (e.g. Sethi & Howe 2009, Bregman et al. 2014) and

therefore to result in tremendous economic impacts in the future

(Kellerman etal. 2008, Karp etal. 2013, Maas etal. 201 3), especially

affecting smallholder plantation owners and being potentially

irreversible (Dupouey et al. 2002, Lindenmayer et al. 2006).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank all local smallholders in our study area for permission to carry out

research on their land. Special thanks go to Idris Tinulele who often guided BM

during the first field study period and helped with identification of tree species.

We thank our colleagues Michael Kessler and Peter Hietz, who provided input

on tree growth and forest succession, as well as Kevin Darras, who provided

information on the bird trade in Jambi/Sumatra. We are grateful for the

kind support and the provision of all necessary research permits by Palu city

and Central Sulawesi province (Kecamatan Lore Utara) as well as Tadulako

University (CTFM Office). This study was funded with private resources and

conducted with the great support of many helpers in the field and in Austria.

Accordingly, no donors had any influence on the content of the manuscript

or require approval of the final manuscript to be published.

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Bea MAAS, Agroecology, Georg-August University,

GrisebachstraBe 6, D-37077 Gottingen, Germany and

Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of

Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria. Email: beamaas@

gmx.at

Teja TSCHARNTKE, Georg-August University, GrisebachstraBe 6,

D-37077 Gottingen, Germany. Email: ttschar@gwdg.de

Christian H. SCHULZE, Department of Botany and Biodiversity

Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030Vienna, Austria.

Email: Christian, schuize@univie.ac.at

FORKTAIL 31 (201 5): 70-81

Ornithological records from Bukit Barisan Selatan

National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia

CHRIS GOODDIE

Previously unpublished data are collated and presented for Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, an extensive site in south-west Sumatra,

Indonesia. Records have been compiled from three separate areas in the park, each of which covers a different altitudinal range: (1) the mid¬

altitude areas around Way Titias, Liwa and Kubuperahu; (2) the montane area surrounding Danau Ranau lake; and (3) the lowland areas of

Way Canguk and the southern peninsula including Sukaraja. All known reliable records have been collated and a list of 416 species created.

Records of threatened species, significant range extensions and other material of interest are documented, including the first discovery of

the nest of Rajah Scops Owl Otus brookii.

INTRODUCTION

Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (hereafter Bukit Barisan)

is located in south-west Sumatra, Indonesia (central coordinates

5.17°S 104. 10°E). The park is in the most southerly part of the Bukit

Barisan range, which forms the mountainous spine of the island

lying parallel with, and close to, the west coast. It has a total area of

3,568 km2, including a 216 krff marine sector, and lies within two

provinces — Lampung and Bengkulu. It was designated a wildlife

sanctuary in 1935 and became a national park on 14 October 1982.

Together with Gn Leuser and Kerinci Seblat National Parks to

the north it forms a World Heritage Site, the Tropical Rainforest

Heritage of Sumatra (UNESCO 2004, BirdLife International

2015a). The park lies between sea level and 1,800 m, with two

significant higher peaks, Gn Pesagi (2,262 m) and Gn Tangkit

Tebak (2,007 m). Habitat includes mangrove forest, lowland

tropical forest, and submontane and montane forest. The typical

temperature range is 20-30°C and annual rainfall is 1,000-4,000

mm/year.

Bukit Barisan is the third largest officially protected area in

Sumatra, although its narrow elongated shape and 700 km long

boundary makes protection difficult due to the high boundary-

to-interior ratio. The park is the main watershed for south-west

Sumatra (O’Brien & Kinnaird 1996), providing water and ecological

services to many local communities. A series of protected forests

were created to form buffer zones to the east of the park, but these

have all already been swallowed up by human encroachment. An

estimated 450,000 people live within 10 km of the park boundary,

which is now bordered by villages, agriculture and plantations

(Kinnaird eta/. 2003).

Throughout Sumatra, the most critical threat to wildlife is

deforestation, and although the park still contains some of the

largest remaining tracts of tropical forest on the island, clear-felling

for coffee cultivation has already occurred on a significant scale, for

example around low- and mid-altitude areas of Danau Ranau (see

site details below). Indonesia is the fourth largest coffee producer in

the world and the second largest producer of Coffea robusta. Robusta

coffee does not require shade to grow, allowing entire forests to be

clear-felled and converted to plantations.

In 1977 the park suffered its most serious set-back when the

international price of robusta coffee peaked, triggering spontaneous

mass migration to the mountainous areas of southern Sumatra and

led to major deforestation on the eastern side of the park. Between

1976 and 1982, about 195,000 ha were illegally cleared and converted

into coffee plantations by an estimated 100,000 immigrant squatters,

mainly originating from Java (Gaveau et al. 2009). By the end of

the twentieth century, all easily accessible legally protected forest

(, butan /inching) in the east of the park had been converted to coffee

plantations. Today, a few forest patches remain on the mountain

tops, and the forested area of the park has been reduced by 63,726

ha — a 21% loss of forest cover from 1972 to date (Gaveau et al.

2009). Remarkably, at present a healthy avian biodiversity survives,

with significant populations of larger Irugivores including nine

species of hornbill, and a healthy gallilorm population persists in

the remaining montane forests. However, if the clearance continues

these populations will undoubtedly disappear. Recent economic

and political difficulties in Indonesia have intensified the pressure

on the park, including a large post-tsunami migration from Aceh

and North Sumatra provinces. The area around Bukit Barisan is

relatively densely populated with post-tsunami immigrants, adding

to the pressure already imposed on natural resources by the earlier

mass human influx from Java (Levang et al. 2012).

Whilst the remaining montane forest in Kerinci Seblat

National Park (central coordinates 2.25°S 101.50°E) is relatively

well known, Bukit Barisan, some 480 km to the south-east, remains

largely unexplored. MacKinnon & Phillipps (1993) noted the lack

of surveys and that only 121 bird species were confirmed for the

park. Indeed Bukit Barisan appears to have been systematically

surveyed only once for birds, from 7-24 March 1995 (O’Brien &

Kinnaird 1996). This survey recorded 276 species, but included one

or two which are questionable (e.g. Greater Adjutant Leptoptilos

dubius; omitted here, but possible) and mistakes (e.g. Common

Sandpiper Actitis bypoleucos is listed twice under different

systematic names, and both Fiery Minivet Pericrocotus igneus and

Small Minivet P. cinnamomeus, and Hair-crested Drongo Dicrurus

hottentottus and Sumatran Drongo D. sumatranus , are listed).

However, following the rediscovery of Sumatran Ground Cuckoo

Carpococcyx viridis in 1997 after 81 years (Zetra et al. 2002), the

number of visitors has increased a little.

The mammals of Bukit Barisan are rather better documented

(UNESCO 2015). Tire park supports a large number of species,

including about 500 ‘Sumatran’ Asian Elephant Elepbas maximus

sumatranus — about 25% of the remaining population of this

taxon. An estimated 60-85 Sumatran Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus

sumatrensis survive, the second largest population anywhere on

Sumatra, and 40-50 Critically Endangered Sumatran Tigers

Panthera tigris sumatrae are also said to survive in the park — about

10% of the remaining population. In addition, the rare Sumatran

Striped Rabbit Nesolagus netscheri occurs between 600-1,400 m.

Other mammals known to occur include Sunda Pangolin Manis

javanica , Western Tarsier Tarsius bancanus, Slow Loris Nycticebus

coucang , Mitred Leaf Monkey Presbytis melalophos, Silvered Langur

Trachypithecus cristatus, Agile Gibbon Hylobates agilis , Siamang

Symphalangus syndactylus. Wild Dog Cuon alpinus, Asian Sun

Bear Helarctos malayanus, Binturong Arctitis binturong. Leopard

Cat Prionailurus bengalensis , Marbled Cat Pardofelis marmorata.

Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa and Malayan Tapir Tapirus

indicus.

Forktail 31 (2015)

Orrnithological records from Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia

71

METHODS

Personal observations

Between 19 and 28 April 2009 CG and Troy Shortell (TS) visited

two areas in Bukit Barisan, Way Titias and Danau Ranau, both a

5-6 hour drive north of Bandar Lampung airport, and observed a

number of bird species that appeared to be new records for the park,

including some which were southward extensions of the species’

known ranges. During these visits no systematic or quantitative

survey methods were used. Data on species were collected by direct

observation, on occasion using playback techniques. We employed

the services of two local guides, Gamal and Toni (the latter based

in the nearby town of Liwa), who with a cook and the obligatory

forest ranger accompanied us throughout. For details of access,

accommodation and local guides see the Binding I ndonesia website:

http://burung-nusantara.org/birding-sites/sumatra/bukit-barisan-

selatan.

Way Titias (5.068°S 104.026°E) in the north-east of the park

is a four-hour, 5 km walk along hunting trails south-south-west

of Panyungkaian village at 950 m (5.067°S 104.100°E), located

about 2 km south-east of Liwa (5-033°S 104.067°E). The site is

in a valley and relatively difficult to access, involving a number

of river crossings. The terrain is for the most part steep-sided

forested valleys intersected by numerous streams. The habitat is

submontane forest, in which dipterocarps are far less common than

in lowland forest, and are largely superseded in terms of dominance

by Clusiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fagaceae and Myrtaceae. There are

numerous strangling figs including Ficus distica and F. elastica. In

the subcanopy between 25 and 30 m the Fagaceae and Myrtaceae

become more prominent. Smaller trees and shrubs include endemics

such as Dehaasia sumatrana and Vaccinium gracilipes. Tree ferns

are locally abundant and include the endemic Cyathea alderwereltii

(Rhind 2010). We spent three full and two half days here from

19-23 April 2009, camping immediately beyond the last river

crossing at about 850 m. All observations at the site were made from

hunting trails above the camp between 850-1,100 m. Key species

at the site include Long-billed Partridge Rhizothera longirostris ,

Ferruginous Partridge Caloperdix oculeus, Salvadori’s Pheasant

Lophura inornata, Sumatran Ground Cuckoo and Graceful Pitta

Pitta venusta.

Danau Ranau lake (4.867°S 103.950°E) is located 32 km north¬

west of Liwa; the importance of the area lies not in the lake itself but

the areas of primary forest on the surrounding hills and, although

partially deforested, these remain rich in montane species. After

crossing the lake by ferry we walked about 2 km to the start of the

'Puncak Trail’ (4.917°S 103.867°E). From here it is a five-hour steep

(occasionally very steep) climb south-west to the summit of the

trail at 1,366 m (4.950°S 103.850°E). The trail winds up through

agricultural areas and degraded secondary growth, before entering

primary forest just below the summit. We spent three full and two

half days at the site, 24-28 April 2009, camping about 0.5 km

beyond the summit by a river at about 1,260 m. Most observations in

the area (hereafter Danau Ranau) were made from trails around the

camp, between 1,200-1,366 m, although a day was spent climbing

the nearby Bukit Pogong, reaching 1,678 m. Habitat here is typical

montane forest lying between 1,400 and 1,900 m, which usually

consists of two tree layers, the 30 m high canopy and a subcanopy

layer between 10-20 m; beneath these is a shrub layer 5-10 m

in height. Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae, some Theaceae and

Sapotaceae are the main upper canopy families. Climbers are still

relatively common and include the endemic Passijiora sumatrana.

There are also many epiphytic species such as the endemic fern

Pyrrosia asterosora. The undergrowth is typically rich and includes

several endemics such as Lithocarpus orbicularis (Fagaceae) and

Rhododendron frey-wysslingii (Rhind 2010). The site holds avian

species that are scarce/elusive elsewhere, including Sumatran

Partridge Arborophila sumatrana , Rajah Scops Owl Otus brookii ,

Javan Woodcock Scolopax saturata, Schneider’s Pitta Hydrornis

schneideri , Sumatran Cochoa Cochoa beccarii , and possibly still the

elusive Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor, although the

latter now appears extremely scarce or locally extinct. Access to the

not easily accessible high ridges where it may still survive necessitates

some tough climbing.

Additional data sources

After our 2009 visit I contacted ornithologists and birdwatchers

who had visited Bukit Barisan since 1992 (Appendix 1) in order

to collate their (mostly unpublished) data, document the more

significant records, and compile a species list for the park to date.

Two invaluable contributors, Nick Brickie and Philippe Verbelen,

add important evidence from lower-lying areas in the park.

Nick Brickie kindly supplied a list of 208 bird species together

with a list of mammals recorded at the Way Canguk Research

Station (WCRS) between 1997 and 2009. This research station,

run by the Wildlife Conservation Society Indonesia Program (www.

wcsip.org), lies at an altitude of about 50 m in the south-west corner

of the park (5.689°S 104.409°E) near the village of Sumberejo, and

is accessible from Pemerihan to the west of the park. It is about 4

km inside primary lowland forest and a network of trails radiates

from the research buildings. Many lowland species are found

here, including good numbers of Great Argus Argusianus argus,

Railbabbler Eupetes macrocerus and Malayan Banded Pitta Pitta

irena, with regular sightings of Giant Pitta P. caeruleus.

Philippe Verbelen kindly supplied records from his visits

to Sumatra in 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2009. These provide

early data from Kubuperahu village lying a few km west of Way

Titias, between Liwa, Lampung province (c.940 m) and Krui on

the coast, and from Danau Ranau, plus records from the lowland

Bukit Barisan southern peninsula and from Sukaraja, 60 km west-

south-west of Kota Agung, Lampung province, just north of the

road which crosses the park en route to Bengkunat. Peninsula sites

PV visited included Belimbing, Tampang and Way Sleman and his

observations added almost 40 species to the park list, including

herons and other waterbirds observed in the lowland swamp and

beach habitat of Sumatra’s extreme south-west. He also confirmed a

few early records from Paul Jepson in 1992 and Jean-Marc Thiollay

in 1995-1996.

Sumatra’s luxuriant lowland forests are some of the most diverse

on earth with over 100 species of dipterocarps, six of which are

endemic. Trees can reach heights of 60 m, the undergrowth is

dominated by shrubs, tree ferns and palms, and lianas and climbers

are common, particularly climbing palms mostly represented by

rattans. The habitat in the lower Barisan hills (150-500 m) has

a different species composition from the true lowland forests,

although they are still classed as dipterocarp forests and have

canopies reaching 40 m (Rhind 2010).

In summary, whilst the coverage of Bukit Barisan as a whole

is still far from complete, these sites cover a wide range of habitats

and altitudes.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Our records, combined with those of other experienced observers

listed in Table 1, document 416 species within the national park

boundaries. This total includes 96 threatened and Near Threatened

species: three Critically Endangered species: Christmas Frigatebird

Fregata andrewsi , Sumatran Ground Cuckoo and Helmeted

Hornbill Rhinoplax vigil (uplifted from Near Threatened); three

Endangered species: White-winged Duck Asarcornis scutulata,

Milky Stork Mycteria cinerea, and Storm’s Stork Ciconia stormv, ten

Vulnerable species: Large Green Pigeon Freron capellei, Wallace’s

72 CHRIS GOODDIE Forktail 31 (201 5)

Hawk Eagle Nisaetus nanus , Asian Woollyneck Ciconia episcopus,

Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus , Schneider’s Pitta, Graceful

Pitta, Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhynomias brunneatus,

Sumatran Cochoa, Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus

and Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor-, and 80 Near

Threatened species.

The Bukit Barisan list may be expected to continue to grow,

as a result of visiting birdwatchers using audio playback to search

proactively for potential additional species at appropriate altitudes.

Species known to occur further north in the Barisan mountain

range, but which had never been searched for further to the

south-east, have been discovered. For example, in August 2008 a

proactive search using playback proved the presence of Sumatran

Wren Babbler Rimator albostriatus (R. & S. Thomas pers. comm.);

similarly, a short visit to Danau Ranau in April 2009 (CG, TS)

revealed the presence of Rusty-breasted Wren Babbler Turdinus

rufipectus. However, since only a limited number of sites have been

covered, and coverage remains very low, it is likely that a substantial

number of species remain to be found.

Selected species accounts

Details are provided in the selected species accounts below for

threatened species (Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable

and Near Threatened) and species which are new for the park (taxa

marked t) and/or which represent significant range extensions.

Observers are cited by their initials; full names are in Table 1.

Appendix 1 gives the full list of avian species known to have

occurred within the park boundaries. Species nomenclature and

taxonomy for passerines generally follow Inskipp et al. (2001),

except where superseded by more recent published information

(taxa marked *). For non-passerines taxonomy follows del Hoyo &

Coller (2014). Three taxa marked ** were at the time of preparation

of the paper not of conservation concern, but have recently been

uplifted to Near Threatened.

Long-billed Partridge Rhizothera longirostrisi

Near Threatened. A pair heard and seen duetting c. 1 km above camp

at Way Titias, 21 April 2009 (TS, G), with probably the same pair

heard and seen, 22 April 2009 (CG, TS, G). PV recorded a pair’s

contact calls at Way Titias, 18 February 2009 (avocet.zoology.msu.

edu/recordings/3467) and contact calls were heard there June 2009

(ZE, TJ). There have been few recent records from Sumatra (Madge

& McGowan 2002) and these are apparently the first records for

the park.

Sumatran Partridge Arborophila sumatrana *

Seen at Danau Ranau, 22 June 2008 (NB). Heard in forest above

Kubuperahu and in forest between there and Liwa, March 2009

(PV). Heard daily at Danau Ranau 24-28 April 2009 (CG, TS,

G), June 2009 (ZE, TJ) and 11, 12, 14 February 2013 (GK). Three

seen at Way Titias, September 2009 (WN).

Ferruginous Partridge Caioperdix oculeus t

Near Threatened. Two seen near Kubuphrahu, 23 June 1998 (PM).

Two heard at Way Titias, July 2007 (SL, E-LA). A pair seen at the

same site, 26 August 2007 (AL, AM), with a pair at Way Titias,

December 2007 (AB, JG). Another heard at Way Titias, June 2008

(JO), and two there, September 2009 ( WN etal). One was heard in

a forest edge coffee plantation during the walk to Danau Ranau, 28

April 2009 (CG, TS, G). Single birds were heard distantly at Way

Titias, June 2009 (ZE, TJ) and 8-9 February 2013 (GK).

Crested Partridge Rollulus rouloul

Near Th reatened. Heard in the southern peninsula, July 1997 (PV)

and a group heard and seen in forest near Sukaraja, March 2009

(PV). Present at WCRS where one seen 4 June 2004 (NB). Three

birds seen at Way Titias, 22 April 2009 (CG, TS) were rather high

at c.950 m: MacKinnon & Phillipps (1993) state ‘common resident

in lowland forests on Sumatra. ..to 800 m’.

Salvadori's Pheasant Lophura inornata

Near Threatened. There are 20+ camera trap records from WCRS

dating back to 1999 (NB). Two males and a female seen at Way

Titias, December 2007, and four more seen 10-13 April 2008 (AB,

JG). A single male seen at close range crossing a hunting trail 2.5 km

above camp, Way Titias, 22 April 2009 (CG, TS, G). A male seen

twice at Way Titias, June 2010 (JO). These are apparently the first

sight records for the park. The species is known from few localities

(Madge & McGowan 2002), the nearest being Gn Dempo, 150 km

to the north-west.

Malay Crested Fireback Lophura rufa

Near Threatened. Listed for the park by O’Brien & Kinnaird (1996)

but no confirmed records since.

Bronze-tailed Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron chalcurum

Heard on the waterfall trail, Kubuperahu, July 1997 (PV), well

below 800 m (van Marie & Voous 1988). Singles seen at Way Titias,

22 March 2007, and Danau Ranau, 22 June 2008 (NB), a male at

Way Titias, late June 2009 (BC) and a pair at Danau Ranau, July

2009 (BC). Singles heard at Way Titias 20 April 2009 (CG, TS, G)

and Danau Ranau, 26 April 2009 (CG, TS, G), with other ‘heard

only’ records from several observers. One glimpsed at Danau Ranau,

February 2013 (MG).

Forktail 31 (2015)

Orrnithological records from Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia

73

Great Argus Argusianus argus

Near Threatened. Seen regularly in forests around Kubuperahu,

1995, 1997 and 2009 (PV) and in forested areas of the southern

peninsula, 1998 (PV). Heard near Kubuperahu, 22 and 23 June

2000 (PM). Present in good numbers at WCRS (NB).

White-winged Duck Asarcornis scutulata

Endangered. One seen flying at dusk over swamp forest near Rawa

Sleman, southern peninsula, 24 August 1998 (PV). Local porter/

guide reported knowing the species well and confirmed its presence

on Way Sleman and in forest on nearby Way Blambangan (PV). Also

recorded at WCRS since 1997, but exact date(s) unknown (NB).

Malaysian Honeyguide Indicator archipelagicus

Near Threatened. Listed by O’Brien & Kinnaird (1996) without

further data. A singing male seen at WCRS, 22 Aug 2010, where

it had held a territory for several years (NB).

Olive-backed Woodpecker Dinopium rafflesii +

Near Threatened. One seen near Way Titias, 16 July 2007 (SL,

E-LA), and a pair seen there, June 2010 (JO). This species is

uncommon throughout its entire range, and there are few recent

records for Sumatra (Buij eta/. 2006).

Buff-necked Woodpecker Meiglyptes tukki

Near Threatened. Three seen near Kubuperahu, 23 June 2000

(PM). Present at WCRS where seen 4 June 2004 (NB). Seen in the

Sukaraja area, March 2009 (PV).

Red-crowned Barbet Psilopogon rafflesii

Near Threatened. Two birds seen in a fruiting tree near Tampang,

southern peninsula, July 1998 (PV). Seen at Danau Ranau, early

September 2008 (RT, ST). Present at WCRS (NB).

Red-throated Barbet Psilopogon mystacophanos

Near Threatened. Rather common around Kubuperaha and

Sukaraja; also regularly recorded in the southern peninsula (PV).

One seen and up to five heard Way Titias, July 2007 (SL, E-LA).

One heard there, 19 April 2009 (CG, TS) and two seen there June

2012 (JO). Singles heard at Danau Ranau, 10, 13, 14 Lebruary 2013

(GK). Present at WCRS where one seen 4 June 2004 (NB).

Yellow-crowned Barbet Psilopogon henricii

Near Threatened. Seen in Kubuperahu and the southern peninsula

(PV). One seen near Kubuperahu on 22 June 2000 (PM). One seen

at Way Titias, 22 March 2007 (NB). Present at WCRS (NB).

Black HornbiSI Anthracoceros malayanus

Near Threatened. Seen at Way Titias, early September 2008 (RT,

ST). Heard there, September 2009 (WN). Present at WCRS (NB).

Rhinoceros Hornbill Buceros rhinoceros

Near Threatened. Blocks of up to 19 birds seen in the Kubuperahu

area 1995 (PV), and rather common in the southern peninsula and

Sukaraja (PV). Two seen between Landos and Way Titias, July 2007

(SL, E-LA). One at Way Titias, 27 August 2007 (AL, AM). Two

heard between Landos and the Way Titias camp, 20 April 2009

(CG, TS). Two seen at Danau Ranau, September 2009 (WN). Seen

once at Way Titias and twice at Danau Ranau, February 2013 (GK).

Present at WCRS where one seen 4 June 2004 (NB).

Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis

Near Threatened. Seen in lowland forest near Belimbing and in

forest between Danau Menjukut and Tampang, July 1998 (PV).

Seen at Way Titias, early September 2008 (RT, ST). Present at

WCRS (NB).

Helmeted Hornbill Rhinoplax vigil*

Critically Endangered. Near Threatened at the time of preparation

of the paper, recently uplifted to the highest threat level as the

result of trade in ‘hornbill ivory’ (Collar 2015). Regularly seen in

Kubuperahu, Sukaraja, the southern peninsula and at Way Titias

(PV). One seen Way Titias July 2007 (SL, E-LA). Singles seen at

both Way Titias and Danau Ranau, August/September 2008 (RT,

ST). One heard at Way Titias, 22 April 2009 (CG, TS) with one

heard there, September 2009 (WN). Heard at Way Titias, 5-8

February 2013 (GK). Present at WCRS where seen 4 [une 2004

and 22 April 2008 (NB).

White-crowned Hornbill Berenicornis comatus

Near Threatened. Two feeding in a fruiting tree, Way Titias camp,

December 2007 (AB, JG). Recorded daily (usually heard only) in

Sukaraja area, February and March 2009, with sound recording

made, 28 February 2009 (PV). One heard Danau Ranau, 11

February 2013 (GK). Present at WCRS (NB).

Wrinkled Hornbill Rhabdotorrhinus corrugatus

Near Threatened. Listed by O’Brien & Kinnaird (1996) but no

confirmed records since.

Red-naped Trogon Harpactes kasumba +

Near Threatened. Several heard at Kubuperahu in July 1997 with

one seen well in response to tape playback (PV).

Diard's Trogon Harpactes diardii

Near Threatened. Present at WCRS, where one seen 4 June 2004

(NB). One seen at Sukaraja, February 2009 (PV).

Cinnamon-rumped Trogon Harpactes orrhophaeus t

Near Threatened. One male seen at c.800 m, along the waterfall

trail, Kubuperahu, July 1997 (PV). This is some 200 m higher than

the existing record of 600 m for the species on Sumatra (van Marie

& Voous 1988). MacKinnon (1993) described it as a rare montane

resident, recorded between 1,000-1,500 m, an error probably

resulting from observations on Borneo where the species does

occur in hill and montane forests. Few recent records on Sumatra,

although it is probably overlooked. Wells (1999) comments that ‘in

peninsular Malaysia, mist-netting suggests that this is actually the

commonest trogon, but is difficult to find due to its consistent use

oflow, concealed perches and generally silent behaviour’.

Scarlet-rumped Trogon Harpactes duvaucelii

Near Threatened. Photographed and sound recording made (avocet.

zoology.msu.edu/recordings/3332) in forests around Sukaraja, 28

February 2009 (PV). Present at WCRS (NB).

Red-headed Trogon Harpactes erythrocephalus t

At Danau Ranau, 25 April 2009, a single was heard shortly after

dawn at c.1,300 m in response to tape playback about 200 m from

camp towards the summit (CG, TS). Another was heard here, 14

February 2013 (GK). Collar (2001) described it as ‘rather rare in

Sumatra, where only one record in the period 1930-1985 . However,

it is surely under-reported, with e.g. sightings of ‘several’ on the

lower Tapan Road in the foothills of Gn Kerinci in July 2008 (JO).

Malay Blue-banded Kingfisher Alcedo peninsulae*

Near Threatened. One on the waterfall trail, Kubuperahu, July 1997

(PV). One on a small stream at Way Titias, late June 2008 (JO) and

another in similar location there, June 2009 (ZE, TJ). Seen daily

there June 2012 (JO). Present at WCRS (NB).

Rufous-colSared Kingfisher Actenoides concretus

Near Threatened. Heard at Tampang, southern peninsula, August

74

CHRIS GOODDIE

Forktail 31 (2015)

1998 (PV). Heard daily, February and March 2009, in Sukaraja

area (PV), photographed and sound recording made, 28 February

2009 (avocet.zoology.msu.edu/recordings/3240). One heard near

Kubuperahu, 23 June 1998 (PM), and there on 22 June 2000 (PM).

Another heard at Way Titias, 19 April 2009 (CG, TS). Present at

WCRS where one seen 4 June 2004 (NB).

Moustached Hawk Cuckoo Hierococcyx vagans t

Near Threatened. One heard between Landos and Way Titias, 16

July 2007 (SL, E-LA).

Horsfieid's Bronze Cuckoo Chrysococcyx basilis t

A juvenile seen at Belimbing, southern peninsula, 22 May 1992, by

Paul Jepson was the first record in Sumatra for 55 years (per PV).

Black-bellied Malkoha Phoenicophaeus diardi +

Near Threatened. One seen at Kubuperahu, July 1997 (PV).

Chestnut-bellied Malkoha Phaenicophaeus sumatranus

Near Threatened. Records from the Kubuperahu area, July 1997

(PV), also seen near Sukaraja, March 2009 (PV). Present at WCRS

(NB).

Sumatran Ground Cuckoo Carpococcyxviridis

Critically Endangered. Following the rediscovery ol the species

at Sukaraja (Zetra et al. 2002), birds have been heard and seen by

a number ol observers (including NB, ZE, TJ, WN, RT, ST, PV)

at Wav Titias, between 2007-2013, e.g. one seen, 22 March 2007

(NB), up to three heard between 0.5-2 km from camp, 20-23 April

2009 (CG, TS, G).

Blue-rumped Parrot Psittinus cyanurus

Near Threatened. Seen occasionally in the Sukaraja area, and 2

singles seen in the Belimbing area, southern peninsula, August

1998 (PV). Also present at WCRS (NB).

Reddish Scops Owl Otus rufescens

Near Threatened. Heard in lowland forest between Tampang and

Belimbing, southern peninsula (PV). One seen at Way Titias 22

March 2007. Present at WCRS where seen 1 July 2005, 22 April

2008 (NB).

Rajah Scops Owl Otus brookii t

At Danau Ranau, 27 April 2009, a scops owl sp. was flushed

from cover (TS, G) in the morning and subsequently seen and

photographed sitting on a nest in a tree cavity, 500 m from camp at

c.l,300m(TS,CG,G).Atfirstwe thought the bird was a Mountain

Scops Owl O. spilocephalus but the face pattern and iris colour did

not appear to fit that species. The bird and eggs were photographed,

and we subsequently confirmed identification as Rajah Scops Owl

0. brookii , presumably race solokensis. Our identification is based

on the combination of the striking contrast between the blackish

crown and rufous face and the white supercilia and ear-tufts.

Mountain Scops Owl and Sunda Scops Owl O. lempiji do not show

such a contrast. In addition the iris was a pale yellow-orange colour,

which rules out Mountain Scops Owl, which has a pale yellow iris.

The nest site was located 2.5 m above ground in a large, old cavity

in the main trunk of a 5 m tall tree next to the main summit trail;

the hole was about 50 cm in diameter. The nest itself was not clearly

visible, but the cavity had been lined with soft mossy material. The

two eggs were off-white, with obscure, sparse and irregular buff, grey

and brown blotching which may possibly have been discolouration

resulting from contact with material within the nest-cavity. An

extensive literature search found no reference to the nest of Rajah

Scops Owl having previously been found; therefore this appears to

be the first record.

Collared Owlet Glaucidium brodiei t

One seen at Danau Ranau 10 February 2013 (GK). This record

represents a southerly range extension of 425 km.

Short-tailed Frogmouth Batrachostomus poliolophus t

Near Threatened. Two calling around the camp at Danau Ranau

on 22 June 2008 (NB), one seen there, 5 July 2009 (BC) and one

heard there, September 2009 (WN).

Salvador's Nightjar Caprimulgus puicheUus t

Near Threatened. One heard at Danau Ranau, 14 April 2008, (AB,

JG). In Sumatra the species was for long known only from the type

specimen collected in 1878, at Gn Singgalang, Padang Highlands,

west Sumatra, and a second male taken on GnDempo, 15 July 1936

(Cleere & Nurney 2000). There are recent records from Gn Kerinci,

August 2004 (D. Guthrie pers. comm.) and August 2009 (FD &

DM; http://www.xeno-canto.org/90805). This record represents a

south-east range extension of 150 km.

Large Green Pigeon Treron capellei

Vulnerable. Observed in primary forest at Tampang, southern

peninsula, August 1998 (PV). Present at WCRS, where seen 4

June 2004 (NB).

Sumatran Green Pigeon Treron oxyurus

Near Threatened. At least four seen near Kubuperahu, 24 June

1998 (PM), two seen there, 23 June 2000 (PM). Heard at Way

Titias, February 2009 (PV). Three in flight at Danau Ranau, 27

April 2009, at the lower edge of the forest below camp (CG, TS,

G). Singles heard daily at Danau Ranau, 11-14 February 2013, with

singles seen 12 and 13 February (GK). One seen at Way Titias, 5

February 2013, another heard there, 8 February 2013 (GK). Present

at WCRS (NB).

Jambu Fruit Dove Ramphiculus jambu

Near Threatened. One in the Tampang area, southern peninsula,

August 1998 (PV). Present at WCRS (NB).

Javan Woodcock Scolopax saturate +

Near Threatened. At Danau Ranau, 3-4 birds seen before dawn,

flying around in the forest near camp, each morning 22-24 June

2008 (NB).

Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata t

Near Threatened. One on the beach at Belimbing, southern

peninsula, August 1998 (PV).

Beach Thick-knee Esacus magnirostris

Near Threatened. Several on the beach between the Way Sleman

river mouth and Danau Menjukut, 25 August 1998, including an

alarm-calling adult close to a nest containing one egg (PV). This is

the second record for Bukit Barisan and mainland Sumatra, and

the first breeding record — Paul Jepson observed this species at the

same locality in 1992. There are few records from the Sumatran

faunal region (Holmes 1996) (per PV).

Malaysian Plover Charadrius peronii +

Near Threatened. At least 5 pairs with young seen on the beach at

Belimbing, 24 August 1998 (PV).

Lesser Fish Eagle Icthyophaga humilis

Near Threatened. Present at WCRS (NB).

Grey-headed Fish Eagle Icthyophaga ichthyaetus

Near Threatened. Adult photographed, Rawa Sleman, 24 August

1998 (PV). Present at WCRS (NB).

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75

Wallace's Hawk Eagle Nisaetus nanus

Vulnerable. Present at WCRS (NB).

Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus

Near Threatened. Listed by O’Brien & Kinnaird (1996) but no

confirmed records since.

A/lilky Stork Mycteria cinerea

Endangered. Listed by O’Brien & Kinnaird (1996) but no

confirmed records since.

Asian Woollyneck Ciconia episcopus *

Vulnerable. Listed by O’Brien & Kinnaird (1996) but no confirmed

records since.

Storm's Stork Ciconia stormi

Endangered. The species has been recorded at WCRS since 1997,

but exact date(s) are unknown (NB).

Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus

Vulnerable. Listed by O’Brien & Kinnaird (1996) but no confirmed

records since.

Christmas Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi

Critically Endangered. Listed by O’Brien & Kinnaird (1996) but

no confirmed records since.

Schneider's Pitta Pitta schneideri

Vulnerable. Regularly seen at Danau Ranau. A single on 22 June

2008 (NB), a male seen well and photographed at c. 1,200 m 25 April

2009 and two seen briefly in response to tape playback less than

1 km below camp at c. 1,100 m on 27 April (CG, TS, G). Heard

only, June 2009 (ZE, TJ). One male seen and two heard, September

2009 (WN). Afemale seen ll-12February2013 (GK) with another

heard 13-14 February. There are numerous old camera trap records

from the higher elevations at WCRS (NB).

Giant Pitta Pitta caeruiea

Near Threatened. One calling at Sukaraja, March 2009 (PV). One

almost certainly heard near Kubuperahu, 22 June 1998 (PM).

These are the only mid-altitude records in the park. However, in

the lowlands the species is present in small numbers at WCRS

where ‘September-November, when they are calling, they can be

relatively easy to see’ (NB).

Malayan Banded Pitta Pitta irena

Near Threatened. Common in the southern peninsula and around

Sukaraja (PV). One seen at Way Titias, between 800-1,000 m, 22

March 2007 (NB), was close to the upper limit for the Sumatran

population, which is usually ‘at least as high as 750 m’ (Lambert

& Woodcock 1996). Common at WCRS where seen 4 June 2004

and 22 April 2008 (NB).

Garnet Pitta Pitta granatina

Near Threatened. Present at WCRS (NB). In Sumatra this species

inhabits lowland forest from 0-200 m (Lambert & Woodcock

1996). At higher altitudes it is replaced by Graceful Pitta Pitta

venusta, and this is corroborated by the lack of records from either

Way Titias or Danau Ranau.

Graceful Pitta Pitta venusta

Vulnerable. Observed in the Kubuperahu area in 1995, 1997 and

2009 and commonly heard at Way Titias (PV). At Way Titias one

seen and photographed about 1 km from the camp, 21 April 2009

(CG). At Danau Ranau one was seen and photographed c.500 m

from camp at 1,240 m, 25 and 26 April 2009 (CG, TS, G), one

seen immediately behind camp, 26 April 2009 (G) and one c.600

m below camp 27 April 2009 (CG, TS, G). Other records from

Way Titias, March 2007 (NB), August and September 2008 (RT,

ST), February 2013 (GK) and from Danau Ranau, June 2008 (NB),

August and September 2008 (RT, ST), June 2009 (ZE, TJ) and

February 2013 (GK).

Black-and-yellow Broadbill Eurylaimus ochromalus

Near Threatened. Common in the Sukaraja area and below

Kubuperahu towards Krui, also throughout the lowland forests of

the southern peninsula (PV). Present at WCRS where e.g. one seen

4 June 2004 (NB). Two heard Way Titias, July 2007 (SL, E-LA),

with singles heard there, 26 August 2007 (AL, AM), 20 April 2009

(CG, TS) and 5 February 2013 (GK).

Green Broadbill Calyptomena viridis

Near Threatened. Singles seen and heard at Way Titias, 1995 and

1997, also regular in the southern peninsula and the Sukaraja area

(PV). Singles seen near Kubuperahu, 23 and 24 June 1998 (PM).

Two heard at Way Titias, July 2007 (SL, E-LA), one heard there,

April 2008 (AB, JG), 1-2 seen on two days there, September 2009

(WN), three there, June 2010 and ‘a few’ there June 2012 (JO).

Present at WCRS (NB).

Lesser Green leafbird Chloropsis cyanopogon

Near Threatened. Present in the Sukaraja area, March 2009 (PV).

Present at WCRS where one seen 4 June 2004 (NB).

Sumatran Leafbird Chloropsis media *

A little-known Sumatran endemic. A pair seen on Bukit Pogong

at Danau Ranau, 26 September 2009 (CG, TS). Two seen in the

Kubuperahu area, date unknown (PV). This species has only recently

been split from the Gold-fronted Leafbird C. aurifrons of South

Asia and mainland South-East Asia. It is designated Least Concern

(BirdLife International 2015b), although it has longbeen neglected

and is little known. We recommend that all visitors report sightings

to BirdLife International.

Blue-masked Leafbird Chloropsis venusta

Near Threatened. A male seen near Kubuperahu, 24 June 2000

(PM). One seen at Danau Ranau, 22 June 2008 (NB). A female seen

at Way Titias, September 2009 (WN). One seen at Danau Ranau,

12 February 2013, and 5 birds seen in a mixed species flock there

the following day (MG, HL).

RaiSbabbler Eupetes macrocerus

Near Threatened. Frequently observed in the southern peninsula,

August 1998, and in Kubuperahu up to 900 m (PV). One seen at

Way Titias, 22 March 2007 (NB). One heard there, July 2007 (SL,

E-LA) and a bird thought to be this species heard between Way

Titias and Landos, August 2007 (AL, AM). A pair seen between

Way Titias and Landos, September 2009 (WN). Common at

WCRS (NB).

Crested Jay Piatylophus gaiericulatus

Near Threatened. Frequently observed in Kubuperahu area (1995,

1997) and Sukaraja area (2009) (PV). Present at WCRS (NB).

Two seen at Way Titias, June 2008 (JO), with a single heard there

September 2009 (WN).

Black Magpie Piatysmurus ieucopterus

Near Threatened. Seen in the Kubuperahu area, 1998 (PM). Two

heard near Duku Banyak on the Blambangan River, August 1998

(PV). Two heard at Way Titias, July 2007 (SL, E-LA). One heard

at Danau Ranau, 27 April 2009 (CG, TS). Present at WCRS where

seen 4 June 2004 (NB).

76

CHRIS GOODDIE

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Dark-throated Oriole Oriolus xanthonotus

Near Threatened. Present at Kubuperahu, July 1997 (PV). Present

at WCRS (NB).

Fiery Minivet Pericrocotus igneus

Near Threatened. Several observations of single birds, August 1998,

southern peninsula (PV). Present at WCRS (NB).

Sumatran Drongo Dicrurus sumatranus *

Near Threatened. Recorded in forest above Kubuperahu, July 1997

(PV). Frequently recorded at Way Titias, with lower numbers at

Danau Ranau (several observers). Present at WCRS (NB).

Green lora Aegithina viridissima

Near Threatened. A single seen in Kubuperahu, 20 July 1997 (PV).

Present at WCRS (NB).

Maroon-breasted Philentoma Philentoma velatum

Near Threatened. A pair seen in the Kubuperahu area, 23 July 1997

(PV). Also seen at Way Titias and Sukaraja in February-March

2009 (PV). Singles recorded at both Way Titias and Danau Ranau

2007-2013 (several observers).

Chestnut-capped Thrush Zoothera interpres

Near Threatened. Several observed along the river on the waterfall

trail, Kubuperahu, July 1997 (PV). One seen well in primary

lowland forest near the Way Sleman shelter, near Belimbing, 22

August 1998 (PV). A few days later an adult and two very young

juveniles seen in the bird market, Kota Agung, were said to come

from the Tampang area (PV). Also seen at WCRS (NB) but detail

and date(s) unknown.

Scaly Thrush Zoothera dauma t

A single, presumably the endemic race borsejieldi , seen at Danau

Ranau on 30 June 2009 (ZE, TJ). Taxonomic relationships within

Z. dauma continue to require detailed evaluation (Collar 2004).

Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias brunneatus t

Vulnerable. Although the species is not included in van Marie &

Voous (1988), Parrott & Andrews (1996) reviewed ‘provisional’

records in Way Kambas National Park, Sumatra, and there is now

at least one wintering record from the Way Canguk area (60 m),

Bukit Barisan, March 2012 which has been verified by Yong &

Liu (2015) from images obtained by the discoverer Zulfikri bin

Bakhtiar.

Grey-chested Jungle Flycatcher Rhinomyias umbratiiis t

Near Threatened. A very territorial singing male was observed in the

Kubuperahu area, 22 and 23 July 1997 (PV). One seen west of Liwa

near Kubuperahu on 23 June 1998, with another there on 22 June

2000 (PM). One seen at Way Titias, 22 March 2007 (NB). O’Brien

& Kinnaird (1996) listed the species, but no details were given;

these are therefore the first confirmed records for Bukit Barisan.

Rufous-chested Flycatcher Ficedula dumetoria t

Near Threatened. Observed several times in the Way Titias area,

February 2009 (PV). A male seen, heard and photographed at

Danau Ranau, 50 m below camp, 28 April 2009 (CG, TS). A single

seen by the campsite at Way Titias, September 2009 (WN), one seen

between Landos and Way Titias, 5 February 2013 (GK). According

to MacKinnon & Phillipps (1993) ‘a local resident of hill forest,

from 600 m to 1500 m, not recorded south of Kaba’. These records

represent a southerly range extension of c.215 km.

White-tailed Flycatcher Cyornis concretus t

One seen at Way Titias, August 2008 (RT, ST).

Malaysian Blue Flycatcher Cyornis turcosus

Near Threatened. Listed (specific location unknown) by O’Brien

& Kinnaird (1996) but no confirmed records since. However, a

Cyornis sp. seen by a stream at Danau Ranau, April 2008 (AB,

JG) may have been this species. A second bird, an adult female,

also thought to have been this species, was video-recorded at

the same location, 4 July 2009 (BC). The species has been

recorded to 800 m in Borneo (MacKinnon & Phillipps 1993),

but only to 60 m in Peninsular Malaysia (Wells 2007), whilst

for Sumatra, van Marie & Voous (1988) noted ‘along rivers and

small streams in swamp forest and marsh in lowland, usually well

below 100 m.’ If identification is confirmed, it appears that this

sighting would represent a significant altitudinal range extension

for Sumatra.

Pygmy Blue Flycatcher Muscicapella hodgsoni +

Singles seen at Danau Ranau, 8 and 10 September 2009 (WN), one

seen and photographed there, 13 February 2013 (GK).

Rufous-tailed Shama Trichixos pyrropyga t

Near Threatened. One heard along the Blambangan River, southern

peninsula, 20 August 1998 (PV); species also photographed

and sound-recorded several times in rainforest (c.450 m) around

Sukaraja, March 2009 (PV).

Sunda Robin Myiomela diana +

An immature seen at Danau Ranau, 3 July 2009 (BC).

Chestnut-naped Forktail Enicurus ruficapillus

Near Threatened. Present at WCRS where one seen 1 February

2006 (NB). One at Way Titias 22 March 2007 (NB).

Sumatran Cochoa Cochoa beccariii

Vulnerable. One seen at Danau Ranau, 22 June 2008 (NB). Another,

probably an adult female, was seen, heard and photographed there in

a mixed flock (c. 1,230 m), 25 April 2009, about 250 m from camp

towards the summit (CG, TS, G). A single heard and briefly seen.

Way Titias, September 2009 (WN). One heard and seen, Danau

Ranau (c. 1,330 m), 12-14 February 2013 (GK).

Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus

Vulnerable. Listed without specific location by O’Brien and

Kinnaird (1996) but no confirmed records since. The continuing

presence of this species requires confirmation given the decimation

of its population in Sumatra by trapping for the cagebird trade

(BirdLife International 2001).

Spot-necked Bulbul Pycnonotus tympanistrigus t

Near Threatened. Endemic. Seen Danau Ranau, late August/early

September 2008 (RT, ST). The species is regularly recorded at

Bukit Tapan, Gn Kerinci foothills (PV), but there appear to be few

documented records further south.

Ruby-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus dispar*

Common in the Kubuperahu area, July 1997 (PV).

Scaly-breasted Bulbul Pycnonotus squamatus

Near Threatened. One seen in Kubuperahu, 19 July 1997. One

in a fruiting tree, at Sukaraja, March 2009 (PV). Also present at

WCRS (NB).

Grey-bellied Bulbul Pycnonotus cyaniventris

Near Threatened. At least three seen at Kubuperahu, July 1997

(PV). One seen Way Titias, July 2007 (SL, E-LA). One seen

at Danau Ranau, 24 April 2009 (CG, TS). Present at WCRS

(NB).

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77

Orange-spotted Bulbul Pycnonotus bimaeulatus f

Two seen at Danau Ranau, 3 July 2009 (BC). At least two on

different days, in a paddyfield below Danau Ranau campsite,

September 2009 (WN).

Finsch's Bulbul Alophoixus finschii

Near Threatened. Although previously recorded at WCRS (NB),

there appear to be no confirmed records since at least 2004.

Buff-vented Bulbul ioleolivaeea t

Near Threatened. Several seen at both Kubuperahu and Tampang,

October 1995 and July 1997 (PV).

Streaked Bulbul Ixos malaccensis

Near Threatened. Several observations from Kubuperahu, October

1995 and July 1997 (PV). One at Way Titias, 22 March 2007 (NB).

Present at WCRS (NB).

Mountain Leaf Warbler Phyiloscopus trivirgatus t

At least two singles, Danau Ranau, 9 September 2009 (WN).

Sumatran Laughimgthrush Garrulax bicolor*

Vulnerable. Three birds heard calling at close range several times

over a one-hour period at c. 1,500 m at Danau Ranau, 16 April 2008

(AB, JG). Birds thought to be this species also heard distantly on

other occasions around this date. A captive bird seen near Liwa,

February 2013, was either this species, local name Poxai Haji , or

an imported White-crested Laughingthrush G. leucolopkus (GK).

White-chested Babbler Trichastoma wstratum

Near Threatened. Frequently seen (sound recordings made) in

the extreme lowland forest and riverine forest patches along Way

Sleman, southern peninsula, August 1998 (PV). Three near Way

Titias, August 2007 (AL, AM), one seen briefly there September

2009 (WN et al). Present at WCRS (NB).

Short-tailed Babbler Malacodnda malaccensis

Near Threatened. Common in the Kubuperahu area, October 1995

and July 1997, and the Sukaraja area, March 2009 (PV). Two seen

near Kubuperahu, 23-24 June 1998, with two seen there 22 and

23 June 2000 (PM). One seen Way Titias, 22 March 2007 (NB),

another there, July 2007 (SL, E-LA), and a single there, September

2009 (WN). Present at WCRS where one seen 4 June 2004 (NB).

Sumatran Babbler Pellorneum huettikoferi *

Near Threatened. Several observations in the Landos and Sukaraja

areas (PV). One seen 5 February 2013 near Gamal’s house in Landos

village, and one heard there 9 February 201 3 (GK). A poorly known

but possibly overlooked species (Verbelen 2009).

Sooty-capped Babbler Malacopteron affine

Near Threatened. Not uncommon in lowland forest around

Belimbing, southern peninsula, August 1998 (PV). Recorded in

small numbers at WCRS June 2004 (NB) and Way Titias April

2009 (CG, TS).

Rufous-crowned Babbler Malacopteron magnum

Near Threatened. Seen in the Kubuperahu area, October 1995 and

July 1997, in the lowland forests of the southern peninsula, August

1998 and at Sukaraja, March 2009 (PV). Present at WCRS (NB).

Sumatran Wren Babbler Rimator albostriatus *

One seen Way Titias, late August 2008 (RT, ST). One seen at

c. 1,1 15 m, Danau Ranau, 12 February 2013, a notably low altitude

(GK, MG, FdL). An uncommon bird of mountain forest between

1,200-2,850 m, the species had previously been recorded south

to Gn Dempo (PV). This thus appears to be a southward range

extension of c.150 km.

Large Wren Babbler Turdinus macrodactylus

Near Threatened. Listed without location by O’Brien & Ivinnaird

(1996) but no confirmed records since.

Rusty-breasted Wren Babbler Turdinus rufipectus t

A single heard and subsequently seen in rhododendron forest with

mixed bamboo cover at 1,678 m on Bukit Pogong, Danau Ranau,

26 April 2009 (CG, TS, G). Three seen in response to tape playback

near the camp (c. 1,240 m), 27 April 2009. Birds also seen at Danau

Ranau, June 2009 (ZE, TJ) and 11-12 February 2013 (GK); it

appears that this species is not uncommon here.

Marbled Wren Babbler Turdinus marmorata t

An adult and newly fledged juvenile seen in a streambed at Danau

Ranau, June 2008 (JO). One was heard and seen with a second

heard simultaneously about 50 m away at 1,222 m, between the

camp and summit, Danau Ranau, April 2009 (CG, TS, G). Two

were heard there, 14 February 201 3 (GK). Previously only recorded

as far south as Gn Kaba (van Marie & Voous 1988). These records

indicate a southerly range extension of c.215 km.

Rufous-fronted Babbler Stachyris rufifrons t

A flock of 5 observed near Kubuperahu, October 1995 (PV), and

several in the Sukaraja area, March 2008 (PV). One seen in a mixed

species flock. Way Titias, 6 September 2009 (WN).

Black-throated Babbler Stachyris nigricoliis

Near Threatened. Seen twice and others heard in forest, southern

peninsula, August 1998 (PV). Present at WCRS (NB).

Chestnut-ramped Babbler Stachyris maculata

Near Threatened. Two at Kubuperahu, October 1995, and one seen

well in lowland forest near Tampang, southern peninsula, August

1998 (PV). One heard near Kubuperahu, 22 June 2000 (PM).

Present at WCRS (NB).

Fluffy-backed Tit Babbler Macronous ptilosus

Near Threatened. A party observed in lowland forest, southern

peninsula, August 1998 (PV). Present at WCRS where one seen

4 June 2004 (NB).

Brown Fulvetta Alcippe brunneicauda

Near Threatened. Common at Kubuperahu (PV). Common at Way

Titias, including22 March 2007 (NB), 20-23 April 2009 (CG, TS).

Red-throated Sunbird Anthreptes rhodolaemus

Near Threatened. Two seen near Kubuperahu, 23 June 2000

(PV). Present at WCRS (NB). One ‘well below 500 m’ in roadside

forest between Kubuperahu and Krui, August 1998 (PV) was just

outside the park, but is included here since there are few confirmed

Sumatran records.

Pin-tailed Parrotfinch Erythrura prasina t

On 26 April 2009, one male and three female/immature birds seen

and photographed (CG, TS, G) in a small area of woodland in a