The Parrots of Indonesia - Indonesian Parrot Project

Indonesian Parrot Project
Born to Be Wild!
The Parrots of Indonesia
© January 2007, Indonesian Parrot Project
Indonesia’s Avifauna
• Indonesia's avifauna ranks #4 in the world which is 17% of the
earth’s avian population including some of most diverse and
exquisite psittacines
• In the province of Maluku there exists nearly 350 species of
birds (20% of those in Indonesia), with at least 81 endemic to
that region
• Many of the Moluccan species are renowned for their
exceptional beauty or behavioral traits and intelligence, which
makes them highly desirable for pets. That issue has provoked
intense poaching which, in combination with both legal and
illegal logging of requisite forest habitat, has endangered many
birds and brought some close to extinction.
• Four of the five cockatoos of the world which are now listed on
Appendix 1 of (CITES) are Indonesian.
Distribution of Cockatoos
Within Indonesia the following cockatoo species can be found: Citron-crested
cockatoo, Lesser sulfur-crested cockatoo, Umbrella cockatoo, Salmoncrested cockatoo, Goffin’s cockatoo, Triton cockatoo, Eleanora cockatoo, and
Palm cockatoo
Seram Cockatoo
or
Salmon-crested
Cockatoo
•Status:
• Breeding: Seram cockatoos nest in dark tree cavities, and the
parents stay close to the chick, lavishing it with attention. Even after
fledging, the juvenile stays with its parents for a year or more. We
have observed parents feeding a fledgling while sitting on a tree limb,
even seeming to try to force more food upon an obviously-sated
youngster. This bird was much older than the weaning age of
companion birds.
• The limited breeding data on Indonesian cockatoos indicates that the
Seram cockatoo breeds once a year between July and September,
and probably a second time at the beginning of the year. Usually two
eggs are laid; only one is raised.
• Diet: Obviously we know that cockatoos favor nuts and wild
cockatoos prefer canari nuts. But in fact the parts of the tree and
plant most often favored by the white and pink cockatoos are the
fruits, which they supplement with some nuts, flowers, berries, young
leaves and shoots, and the occasional larva or arthropod. In fact, wild
cockatoos will eat the fruits off favored delicacies and then drop the
nuts!
• Behavior: However, cockatoos live in a complex society based long
term social bonds. Generally it is a monogamous society, but this is
not absolute. Trappers claim that Seram cockatoo hens have brief
"affairs" before returning to their partners but we do not recommend
incorporating this into your household protocol!
Enrichment: Seram cockatoos play by
bathing in wet leaves after a rain; playing
with twigs they break off; and striping
bark off larger branches. Their highly
developed brains are also kept active
during the large percentage of the day
spent foraging for food
• Feather Destructive Behavior: According to trappers and our
observations of the wild parrots and birds that come to Kembali
Bebas, feather destructive behavior has not been observed in wild
Salmon-crested, Citron-crested, or Triton cockatoos--at least until
they are trapped and put into cages, where it may rapidly appear.
• Mate Aggression: The same is true for cockatoo aggression
against mates or chicks. Thus the stress of confinement without
adequate space in which to move (and to fly) might be a major
contributor to some types of aberrant cockatoo behaviors
Eclectus Parrot
• Range and Habitat: Eclectus can
be found in both secondary and
primary rainforest throughout many
parts of Eastern Indonesia. Small
fenced in gardens surrounded by
primary rainforest are the perfect
environment for Eclectus parrots.
They have been seen from sea
level to 800 meters.
Behavior: These birds are very gregarious and tend to congregate in
single sex groups. For males the group can run up to 20 individuals,
female groups are smaller and usually 5 - 10 birds.
Males sound an alarm when they first take flight, and they all
continue to squawk while they fly. Since they do not normally need to
fly long distances unbroken by trees, their flights away from predators
are usually short and they scream the whole way.
• Enrichment: These birds are playful, and we have observed them
chasing other birds just for fun. The birds have also been observed
bathing in the wet leaves of trees.
• Diet: Eclectus love to eat seeds and grains and in some areas of
Papua New Guinea, they get into the village sugar cane and corn
crops. They also favor papaya, mango, star fruit, pomelo, bananas,
pineapple, passion fruit and guava.
• Breeding: From research conducted on Australian eclectus, we found
some similar characteristics in the Indonesian birds.
– The eclectus displays one of the most dramatic powers of “sex
allocation” ever reported in birds, that is, the hen seems capable of
somehow controlling the sex of her offspring. One hen (reported
elsewhere) produced a run of 30 straight male offspring.
– Females “breed co-operatively” with as many as 5 male suitors
during a given breeding cycle. The males bring food and provide
sexual favors, but are not allowed to enter the nest cavity.
– Each female is attended by these males during the up to eight month
period when she does not leave the nest hole: rather she feeds the
nestlings and guards the nest hole against intruders even to the point
of her death.
Palm Cockatoo
• kkkkk
Great Billed Parrot
• Range: Widely distributed in
Eastern Indonesia with five subspecies
• Habitat: Mainly a small island
species but also occurs coastally
and, less commonly in nearby
hills on some larger islands.
Inhabits primary and tall
secondary lowland and hill
forest, forest edge, mangroves
and coastal woodland, and
lightly wooded cultivation. They
are seen sea level to 1000m –
although on Seram we measured
them with GPS flying almost
directly across from us on the
platform at about 70 meters.
Great fact: These birds are rarely trapped for
the illegal trade!
•
•
Behaviors: We observed these birds most
often in the late afternoon and early
morning or when flying to roost in groups
of 20 – 100 individuals. They are noisy
when in flight. They tend to perch in in the
open in dead trees (see video) or in the
lower canopy. They are also nomadic, and
sometimes travel between small islands. We
saw this first hand at Stone Island in West
Papua, In Joseph M. Forshaw’s book
“Parrots of the World” (1978) In it he cites
several instances where great bills were seen
flying in flocks of 100 or more in the early
evening always flying in an east to west
pattern. As we began to document our
sightings of these birds we found that at
least during roosting activities the birds
always fly from east to west.
Diet: Great bills like to feed in fruiting trees
including Sonneratira alba and canari. If
near a village or farm, they also have a
weakness for corn.
Video
Indonesian Parrot Project -Mission & Goals
•
The primary mission of the Indonesian Parrot Project is to conserve and protect
the endangered wild cockatoos and parrots of Indonesia, while providing
sustainable alternate means of income for local villagers in order to reduce
trapping and instill local pride in their endemic avifauna.
•
To achieve our mission we:
– Help provide sustainable income for local villages to reduce trapping of
cockatoos and parrots through eco-tourism, organic farming, health
initiatives, and our molucca nut program.
– Oppose the trade in wild-caught parrots and work towards ending illegal
trapping and smugglng
– Oversee Kembali Bebas Avian Center
– Develop projects and conduct field research to study, avian diet, and
behavior so that we can protect and enhance the lives of both wild and
companion parrots
– Serve as a source of information and education related to Indonesian parrots
and cockatoos
– Educate the public about conservation, protection of wild parrots, and
rescue and rehabilitation of companion parrots through all forms of media
– Encourage the collaboration and the sharing of knowledge between
scientists, zoos, conservationists, aviculturists, and companion parrot owners
The 120 Birds Currently Residing at
Kembali Bebas Include:
• Eclectus (eclectus roratus roratus) (eclectus roratus polychloros and eclectus
roratus vosmaeri
• Chattering Lory (Lorius garrulus flavopalliatus)
• Citron-crested Cockatoo (cacatua sulfurea citrinocristata)
• Salmon-crested Cockatoo or Seram cockatoo (cacatua moluccensis)
• Black-capped Lory (Lorius lory lory)
• Purple-capped Lory (Lorius domicellus)
• Blue-streaked Lory (eos reiculata)
• Sulfur-crested Cockatoo (cacatua galerita eleanora)
• Moluccan Red Lory (eos bornea bornea)
• Rainbow Lorikeet (trichoglossus haematodus)
• Umbrella Cockatoo (cacatua alba)
• Goffins Cockatoo (cacatua gofini)
Video
Soft Release Preparations
• Quarantine of all birds for a minimum of 30 days (usually 60 days or more)
• Medical examination, and treatment of all birds after confiscation and full
disease testing before the release.
• A period of "socialization" during which the birds can be observed to see if
they exhibit normal behaviors of a wild bird and are able to fly, eat natural
forest foods, and display other behaviors needed for their survival in the wild.
• Birds are given final brief physical exam, banded, marked and microchipped
• After the release, food and shelter (an open cage, usually the habituation
cage) is provided for at least four weeks so that the birds can return to get
supplemental food and protection, if needed, while they "learn" again how
to survive in the wild
Video
• After the release, the status of the birds is monitored to gain critical
information about whether the release was a success--were the birds seen
alive again? Were they in groups or alone? Did they need to return for the
supplemental food and shelter and if so, for how long after their release? Is
there evidence of injuries or death (bird carcass found in the forest) etc.
What Happened Next?
• Birds departed from the cage in less than fifteen
minutes
• They flew towards the village of Masihulan and then
turned around and went straight back into the
forest
• There were sightings two weeks after the release and
then nothing
• In January of 2007, two birds were positively
identified by their bands and observed less than
400 meters from the release site – at their NEST
SITE! These two birds were obviously a pair!
Thank-you!
References:
• To all of YOU for
your support and
help!
• To Stewart Metz,
Kevin Sharp &
Mandy Andrea for
their AWESOME
photos