Surprise Cley Spy visitor leads to OBC windfall

Steve Gantlett took this superb photo of the Long-eared Owl at Cley Spy shortly before it flew off to hunt one evening.

Birdwatchers have been flocking to Cley Spy, one of OBC’s Corporate Sponsors, for the rare opportunity to observe a Long-eared Owl at its day time roost.

The bird was first seen by a visitor to Cley Spy, located in Glandford in north Norfolk, UK, who was testing out the wide range of optics sold by the company.

As he scanned the vegetation behind the buildings he was astonished to find a Long-eared Owl roosting in one of the bushes.

Word quickly spread of the owl’s presence that has led to a steady stream of birdwatchers coming to see it in recent days.

A suggestion box put out by Cley Spy staff asking for donations from grateful owl watchers to the OBC Conservation Fund has already led to more than £2,200 being collected for the Club.

“The Oriental Bird Club is hugely grateful to the quick thinking and generosity of our corporate sponsor Cley Spy and the generosity of the birdwatchers making donations to the OBC Conservation Fund,” said Chris Gooddie, Chairman of the Oriental Bird Club.

“The Long-eared Owl’s surprise appearance has resulted in a significant windfall for the Club’s bird conservation efforts in the Asian region.”

Cley Spy commented: “Cley Spy are delighted that such a great bird has given so many people so much pleasure and that visitors have been so generous in their support for the OBC, with some even donating more than once.”

OBC Young Conservation Scientist Award for shorebird research

Introduction: The Oriental Bird Club is offering research awards aimed at nurturing young scientists from Southeast and South Asia who are dedicated to developing their careers in conservation science with a focus on shorebirds. The selected grantee will be awarded up to £2,000 for a one-year research project focused on shorebirds. 

Research Focus: Shorebirds, especially research which supports conservation of shorebirds and their habitats. Research which may lead to clear outcomes to support the conservation of globally threatened migratory shorebirds will be prioritized. Proposals do not need to target a species but can be focused on a site, habitat type or a group of shorebird species. While proposals on the biology and ecology of shorebirds are expected, we also encourage proposals on social research (e.g. surveys with local people on hunting).

Eligibility: Young scientists aged less than 30 years old on 31 August 2022 from Southeast and South Asia (see list of countries below), where the research should take place. Applications may be for projects that are part of on-going studies, a conservation project, or stand-alone studies or research. When applying, please indicate the names and institutions of supervisors and their related backgrounds in the application form. Applicants will be expected to have the necessary permits to carry out their projects.

Award Limit: £ 2,000 

Deadline for application:  Friday 8th July 2022

Starting date for projects: It is expected that projects could begin in September if necessary. 

Countries eligible: 

Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, The Philippines, Indonesia and Timor Leste

South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan

Download the application form here: https://www.orientalbirdclub.org/s/OBCGrantApplication.docx  

Submit to: conservation@orientalbirdclub.org with “Shorebird Research Award” in the Subject field.  

Egyptian Vulture migrations in Asia described for the first time

© DickDaniels / CC Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence

The Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), distinctive with its white body, black flight feathers and yellow facial skin, is globally Endangered having experienced severe declines throughout its range, including in India, Africa and Europe. Satellite tracking has been an integral part of identifying the causes for declines in the migratory populations in Europe and Africa, and consequently where conservation efforts should be focussed to halt the decline of “the white scavenger vulture”. The situation, however, is much less clear in central Asia where its migratory populations, numbering an estimated 700–1,300 pairs, are also thought to be declining. There are few data available on population status or trends and nothing is known about their migration routes or wintering sites. While some threats, such as electrocution, are known on the breeding grounds, little is known about the relative importance of threats, their demographic impacts and how these vary during migration.

The recent Convention on Migratory Species Multi-species Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures identified these critical gaps in knowledge as a key priority needing to be addressed. The Central Asian Vultures Project (www.CentralAsianVultures.org) aims to tackle this by satellite tracking Egyptian Vultures originating from the Uzbekistan population where there is estimated to be only 135 breeding pairs and the species is listed in the National Red Data Book. 

Uzbekistan is in the middle of the central Asian-Indian flyway with many migrants funnelled through it because of the Caspian Sea in the west and the Hindu Kush range in the east. This flyway ends with Iraq in the west and Pakistan and the Indian subcontinent in the east. The majority of Uzbekistan is covered in desert, with the Kyzylkum Desert at its centre. The semi-arid region is predominantly flat, but does provide some nesting habitat for the Egyptian Vulture in the form of low-lying hills and cliffs along wadi systems. In August 2021, the field team visited three different nests in the regions of Ayakaghytma and Bukantau in central Kyzylkum and satellite tagged four juvenile Egyptian Vultures (read about the birds here). Of the four birds, three transmitted GPS data allowing their movements to be tracked for the first time in Asia.

All three birds started migration from Uzbekistan between 5–15th September 2021. Each bird took a different route with two (Arys & Anya) migrating via Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan and ultimately wintering in India (Rajasthan and Haryana). The third bird, Timur, took a very different route making a long journey with several stops through Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and finally arriving in Yemen in late November 2021 (Fig. 1). You can read about Timur’s journey to the Middle East in more detail on the OSME Blog.

Figure 1. Autumn migration routes of three Egyptian Vultures from Uzbekistan. 

Anya followed a traditional route south from Uzbekistan (Fig. 1) and made a fairly direct migration south, avoiding mountain crossings, until she reached the Rann of Kutch, north of the Indus near Karachi in Pakistan. The Rann of Kutch (which actually spans parts of Pakistan and India) is known for its populations of Egyptian Vultures. Anya, however, only remained here for a few weeks before crossing the Indus and entering the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, India, where she has stayed in the deserts west of Barmer (Fig. 2). Judging from satellite photos, she has largely remained in remote areas and not utilised human refuse sites or dumps. 

Figure 2. Wintering site movements of the Egyptian Vulture, Anya, through Pakistan and India, remaining in the Thar Desert. Most recent point (3rd Jan 2022) shown with the dropped pin. 

In contrast, Arys has shown quite a different migratory behaviour. Arys’s route was much farther east and took him right over the Hindu Kush Mountain range in Afghanistan/Pakistan (Fig. 1). He then followed the ridge of the Sulaiman range in Pakistan all the way south, after which he directly crossed the Indus south into the Thar Desert. Once in India, Arys has used man-made habitat several times, in the forms of slaughter areas and carcass dumps. Notably, his first arrival point in India, Bhadriya, was near a livestock facility, after which he moved east to the town of Bikaner. Bikaner is famous for its carcass dump which attracts thousands of vultures and Steppe Eagles (Aquila nipalensis) during the winter months. Arys spent several weeks at this site before moving east again where he has spent more than a month just south of New Delhi. He is a real tourist, as by the end of December he had visited all three cities making up the famous Golden Triangle; New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. On his journey he flew over the India Gate in New Delhi (Fig. 4) and within 200 m of the world famous Taj Mahal (Fig. 5) where he remains until the time of writing.

Figure 3. Wintering site movements of the Egyptian Vulture, Arys, through India, moving from the carcass dump in Bikaner to New Dehli and Agra. Most recent point (3rd Jan 2022) shown with the dropped pin.

Figure 4. The yellow line shows the route and altitude of Arys as he flew past India Gate in New Delhi. 

Figure 5. The yellow line shows the route and altitude of Arys as he flew past the Taj Mahal in December 2021. 

These results confirmed what we had expected, namely that the migratory populations in Central Asia would join resident Egyptian Vultures populations in the Indian sub-continent during winter. However, we did not expect the birds to migrate to Yemen in the Middle East. This establishes for the first time that the central Asian populations show connectivity to the European/Balkan, Arabian and Oriental Asian populations. Migration in European populations has been shown to be particularly dangerous with juvenile migrants susceptible to a high mortality from a range of threats, including drowning, hunting, poisoning and electrocution. These threats mainly exist in Africa and crossing the Mediterranean, but also in Yemen. In contrast, accidental poisoning by diclofenac and other veterinary drugs is the main threat in India and is potentially ongoing although much effort is being put into actively tackling poisoning in Asian countries as it is a recognised problem.

Here we have only tracked three individuals and more should be tracked to confirm the relative frequencies of individuals wintering in these different regions. The picture is nonetheless complex and interesting. In 2022, we aim to track more individuals to improve the knowledge of the routes. You will be able to follow the project updates at www.CentralAsianVultures.org.

This project (OBC ref: P1410) is run by Dr Robert (John) Burnside (University of East Anglia), Vladimir Dobrev (Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds) and Anna Ten and Valentin Soldatov (Institute of Zoology, Uzbekistan). Funding and support for the project is provided by OBC, Ornithological Society of the Middle-east (OSME) and the Hawk Conservancy.

If you are not already a member of the Oriental Bird Club, please consider joining the Club to support our vital conservation work in Asia—as an OBC member, each year you will also receive two issues of BirdingASIA and one issue of the Journal of Asian Ornithology.

Video of the Egyptian Vulture migrations.

Black-browed Babbler documented in the wild

Indonesia—Following its sensational rediscovery after 172 years, the mysterious Black-browed Babbler has finally documented in the wild for the first time.  A team of ornithologists discovered, photographed, and obtained the first-ever footage of the rare babbler in its limestone habitat in Kotabaru Regency, South Kalimantan, Indonesia.

It is the first documentation of this species in its natural habitat following the picture of this bird on hand that circulated the internet after its rediscovery in 2020. This discovery has sparked global interest, given that the species has gone unobserved since colonial times.

The Black-browed Babbler was initially described by the renowned French naturalist, Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850, based on a single specimen collected by German geologist and naturalist Carl Anton Ludwig Maria Schwaner from his expeditions to southern Borneo around 1843-1848. This mysterious species, widely considered to be Borneo’s greatest ornithological enigma, was finally seen again in 2020 after being captured by a local resident. With a 172 years gap between its discovery and its first documentation in the wild, the species has indeed gone missing for a longer time than any other bird, including America’s presumed extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

While the researchers were able to glean several clues about the species’ ecology, much of its life history is still shrouded by mystery. It is currently listed as “Data Deficient” by IUCN, with no information regarding its population or range. It is also not listed as a protected species by the Indonesian government due to the lack of data, which may make it vulnerable to threats such as poaching or habitat destruction.

In September 2021, a team of ornithologists from Birdpacker Indonesia collaborated with Kalimantan Selatan’s Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA Kalimantan Selatan) and Dinas Kehutanan Kalimantan Selatan KPH Cantung became the first team to explore the babbler’s habitat in an area of rugged limestone hills. The project was funded by Oriental Bird Club and American Bird Conservancy and was aimed to understand the status of the Black-browed Babbler’s population. On the first day of fieldwork, the team managed to re-find the bird and documented its natural behaviour for the first time in the wild.

According to Panji Gusti Akbar, the lead scientist from Birdpacker Indonesia, a pair of the birds were spotted in thick undergrowth on the side of a karst cliff just a few hours after they commenced their search. The birds were very secretive and moved quietly in extremely rugged terrain, making them difficult to observe—which may help explain why their evaded science for so long. After an intense wait, one individual of this strikingly marked babbler finally perched close enough for the team to capture the very first images and footage of the species in the wild.

“It was a breathtaking moment to finally see this species in the wild, as most of its natural history is entirely unknown—so that every single behaviour we observed can be new to science,” said Akbar.

Akbar also explains how Muhammad Suranto, a local community member and one of the original discoverers who also co-authored the paper documenting its rediscovery last year in 2020, greatly helped the expedition. The team went under his guidance during the entire expedition, and his expertise with the terrain along with some past encounters with the mysterious bird eventually led to the team’s success in re-finding the species.

“Suranto’s rediscovery in 2020 is like a Rosetta Stone in the ornithology community, a clue that eventually led us to the location of this enigmatic species and eventually kickstarted this expedition,” said Akbar. “All information he collected during the initial discovery helped us in designing this expedition, and without him who knows how many more years we have to wait until we can solve this century-long mystery about this bird’s whereabouts.”

The importance of this finding is noted by Paul Insua-Cao, Chair of the OBC Conservation Committee, who mentioned that this is a landmark project as global leaders meet to plan actions to address the biodiversity crisis. He also explained that this species’ extinction would have been inevitable without this discovery and that this project brings hope for other poorly known species.

“Significantly this work has been done by Indonesians reflecting a growing interest in this megadiverse country to understand and protect its unique natural heritage,” Paul said. “The OBC urges the relevant authorities to do what they can to protect the habitat of the black-browed babbler as soon as possible based on Birdpacker Indonesia’s work.”

Dr. Ir. Mahrus Aryadi, M.Sc, Head of the BKSDA South Kalimantan also noted the significance of this finding and give the highest appreciation to the team who have successfully found black-browed babbler in its native habitat. Mahrus noted that this is the first step towards the availability of valid and reliable data as a basis for future biodiversity management and that mapping location and human activities that might be a potential threat for the preservation of this species and the other wildlife are necessary things to get the point.

“Given that several encounters are outside the conservation area, it is important to collaborate with many parties regarding the protection of their habitat. BKSDA South Kalimantan will propose the area become Essential Ecosystem Area by collaborating with related stakeholders,” said Aryadi.

Just like other things in the world, the expedition has also been affected greatly by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Akbar said that the expedition was supposed to be commenced in June 2021, but the worsening condition of the pandemic delayed the project for over three months. However, after the condition is finally getting better some of the team made their way to Kalimantan and started fieldwork right away. The team will continue searching for more sightings of this babbler for another month to figure out its distribution and possible threat to its population, which will help determine the species’ threatened status and necessary action to conserve it.

Source:

Akbar, P.G., Nugroho, T.W., Suranto, M., Rizky Fauzan, M., Ferdiansyah, D.,Trisiyanto, J.S. & Yong, D.L. (2020) Missing for 170 years—the rediscovery of the Black-browed Babbler Malacocincla perspicillata on Borneo. BirdingAsia 34: 13–14.

BirdLife International (2001) Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International. 

BirdLife International (2020) Species factsheet: Malacocincla perspicillata. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 08/11/2020.

Collar, N.J. (2014) Blue-wattled Bulbul Pycnonotus nieuwenhuisii and Black-browed Babbler Malacocincla perspicillata: two Sundaic passerines in search of a life. BirdingASIA 21: 37–44.

OBC Young Conservation Scientist Award for shorebird research

Great Knots © Sayam U. Chowdhury

The Oriental Bird Club is offering a research award aimed at nurturing young scientists from Southeast and South Asia who are dedicated to developing their careers in conservation science with a focus on shorebirds. The selected grantee will be awarded up to £2,000 for a one-year research project focused on shorebirds. 

Research Focus:

Shorebirds, especially research which supports conservation of shorebirds and their habitats. Research which may lead to clear outcomes to support the conservation of globally threatened migratory shorebirds will be prioritised. Proposals do not need to target a species but can be focused on a site, habitat type or a group of shorebird species. While proposals on the biology and ecology of shorebirds are expected, we also encourage proposals on social research (e.g. surveys with local people on hunting).

Eligibility:

Young scientists aged less than 30 years old on 31st August 2021 from Southeast Asia and South Asia (see list of countries below), where the research should take place. Applications may be for projects that are part of on-going studies, a conservation project, or stand-alone studies or research. When applying, please indicate the names and institutions of supervisors and their related backgrounds in the application form. Applicants will be expected to have the necessary permits to carry out their projects.

Award Limit: £2,000 

Deadline for application:  Saturday 4th September 2021

Countries eligible: 

Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam.

South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.

Download the application form here. 

Submit to: conservation@orientalbirdclub.org with “Shorebird Research Award” in the Subject field.  

Spoon-billed Sandpipers and the East Asian-Australasian flyway webinar

Leg-flagged Spoon-billed Sandpiper © Sayam Chowdhury

On Saturday 20th March 2021, OBC hosted the Club’s inaugural webinar, on Spoon-billed Sandpipers and the East Asian-Australasian flyway.

If you were one of the unlucky ones who missed out on this fabulous event, don’t worry, you can catch up with all the latest news and information in this recording.

This webinar will introduce you to the conservation of threatened migratory shorebirds in the Oriental Region, with a special focus on the highly charismatic and Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, a species that many of you may have observed in the coastal wetlands of Thailand. 

The guest speakers are: Dr. Christoph Zockler, Dr. Nigel Clark, and Mr. Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok. 

Christoph and Nigel are leading scientific authorities on the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and play key roles in the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force. Ayuwat oversees the shorebird conservation work led by the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand, including the OBC-supported project at the famed Pak Thale wetlands, and is also a well-known bird artist. 

Besides learning about conservation efforts targeted at some of the region's most threatened species, attendees will also able to hear updates from the OBC, including our conservation priorities going forward, and have a chance for feedback and discussion. 

The webinar is supporting fundraising for a satellite tagging Spoon-billed Sandpipers project to understand better their migration patterns and where to focus future conservation action. 

A huge thanks to all those of you who have already donated to support our work on satellite tagging Spoon-billed Sandpipers! You can show your support by making a donation here.

Trouble ahead for heavily smuggled Oriental Magpie-robin

Oriental Magpie-robin © James A. Eaton/Birdtour Asia

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, 5th March 2021 – The Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis, a popular songbird in Southeast Asia is headed for trouble if it is not protected from rampant trapping in Malaysia and smuggling to feed international demand, warns a new report by conservation organisation TRAFFIC and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (PERHILITAN).

The Oriental Magpie-robin is common in the wild in Malaysia and other range states. Yet worryingly large numbers are being intercepted in seizures with at least 26,950 of the birds confiscated in just 44 incidents that implicated Malaysia from January 2015 to December 2020.

The research shows that a staggering 66% of these birds were smuggled in 2020 alone.

The report Smuggled for its Song: The trade in Malaysia’s Oriental Magpie-robins reveals that the majority (64%) of the seized birds were being trafficked from Malaysia to Indonesia.

“This points to Malaysian populations of the Oriental Magpie-robin being targeted to feed demand in neighbouring countries, particularly Indonesia. It also indicates an escalation of international trafficking in recent years to feed the persistent demand for the pet trade,” said PERHILITAN Director-General Dato’ Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim.

Seizures in Malaysia took place in only four states implicating these as key source or consolidation points for smuggling. Large shipments of the birds were mostly smuggled by sea to Indonesia, with such cases involving 17,314 birds.

A seizure of 1,825 Oriental Magpie-robins and one White-rumped Shama in Senggarang, Johor by General Operations Force of the Royal Malaysian Police in January 2020. © Pasukan Gerakan Am, Polis Diraja Malaysia

The authors identified greater collaboration between Malaysia and Indonesia as a priority to investigate and disrupt the trafficking chains that drive the trade and also called for improved legal protections for the species in Malaysia as it is not uniformly protected within the country. At present, the Oriental Magpie-robin is only listed as a protected species under Sabah’s Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 and not Peninsular Malaysia’s or Sarawak’s wildlife law.

The Oriental Magpie-robin also faces demand within Malaysia. TRAFFIC’s trade assessments of online marketplaces – where most of the wildlife pet trade in the country currently takes place – found that the Oriental Magpie-robin is one of the top species recorded for sale.

“History has shown that when sought-after species are not properly regulated, wild populations can be depleted quickly. Take for instance the once-common Straw-headed Bulbul, which has now vanished from much of its range because of trade,” said Kanitha Krishnasamy, Director for TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia.

“Establishing a strengthened regulation system could prevent this from happening to the Oriental Magpie-robin,” Krishnasamy said.

The Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus only remains in Singapore and some parts of Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. It was listed as Critically Endangered by IUCN in 2018, due to trapping pressure for trade.

The Oriental Magpie-robin was trapped to near-extinction in the wild in Singapore in the 1980s and required a conservation reintroduction programme to reverse the trend.

“Listing this species as Protected across the three laws is the first step to improved monitoring and regulation of the trade through a licensing system. That way, its legal status and management is harmonised across the country, and will allow for more informed decisions to guide future efforts,” said Serene Chng, Programme Officer for TRAFFIC.

Enigmatic bird missing for 172 years rediscovered in the rainforests of Indonesian Borneo

Black-browed Babbler © Muhammad Rizky Fauzan

Banjarmasin, Indonesia—The Black-browed Babbler (Malacocincla perspicillata), widely considered by experts the “greatest enigma in Indonesian ornithology”, has been sensationally rediscovered in the rainforests of Borneo more than 172 years after it was first seen.

Mr. Muhammad Suranto and Mr. Muhammad Rizky Fauzan, both locals in Indonesia’s South Kalimantan Province, were gathering forest products in an area not far from where they live when they accidentally stumbled upon an unfamiliar bird species. They caught and released it after taking some photographs.

The two contacted local birdwatching groups, BW Galeatus and Birdpacker who then suspected the bird might be the missing Black-browed Babbler. This was subsequently confirmed after consultations with expert ornithologists from Indonesia and around the region.

“It feels surreal to know that we have found a species of bird presumed by experts to be extinct. When we found it, we didn't expect it to be that special at all – we thought it was just another bird that we simply have never seen before”, said Rizky Fauzan.

The Black-browed Babbler was described by the noted French ornithologist, Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850 based on a specimen collected some time in the 1840s by German geologist and naturalist, Carl A.L.M. Schwaner during his expeditions to the East Indies.

Since then, no other specimen or sightings have been reported and the origin of the type specimen has been shrouded in mystery. Even the island where it was taken was unclear: widely assumed to be Java, it was only in 1895 that Swiss ornithologist Johann Büttikofer pointed out that Schwaner was in Borneo at the time of his discovery.

“The sensational finding confirms that the Black-browed Babbler comes from south-eastern Borneo, ending the century-long confusion about its origins,” said Mr. Panji Gusti Akbar of Indonesian bird conservation group, Birdpacker, lead author of the paper giving details of the rediscovery published today by the Oriental Bird Club, a UK-based bird conservation charity in their journal, BirdingASIA.

“We now also know what the Black-browed Babbler really looks like—the photographed bird showed several differences from the only known specimen, specifically the colour of the iris, bill and legs. These three parts of a bird’s body are known to lose their tint and are often artificially coloured during the taxidermy process.”

“The discovery also confirms that this species remains extant despite the massive deforestation and habitat conversion in this little-known part of Borneo. There is therefore a very high possibility of it being severely threatened by habitat loss.”

Mr. Teguh Willy Nugroho, a co-author of the BirdingASIA paper, a member of staff at the Sebangau National Park in Kalimantan, and a founding member of BW Galeatus, observed that the remarkable discovery demonstrated the importance of networks of local people, birdwatchers and professional scientists in gathering information on Indonesia’s biodiversity, especially some of the country’s least known species. This can be important in remote areas of the country that are not easily accessible to scientists.

“I think it is amazing that we managed to document one of the most remarkable zoological discoveries in Indonesia, if not Asia (largely through online communication) in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hampered us from visiting the site”, Teguh noted.

The dramatic rediscovery of the Black-browed Babbler demonstrates how poorly known Indonesia’s sprawling avifauna is, the largest in Asia—with more than 1,700 species found across the archipelago’s many little-surveyed islands.

“It’s sobering to think that when the Black-browed Babbler was last seen, Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species hadn’t even been published and the now extinct Passenger Pigeon was still among the world’s commonest birds,” said Mr Ding Li Yong, an Asia-based conservationist with the world’s leading bird conservation charity, BirdLife International, and a co-author of the paper.

“Who knows what other riches lie deep within Borneo’s fabled rainforests, especially in the Indonesian part of the island, and the paramount need to protect them for future generations.”

A further publication detailing the bird’s ecology is currently being prepared by the authors, while plans are ongoing to revisit the site where the species was discovered when conditions permit.

Details of the rediscovery are published today by the Oriental Bird Club, a UK-based bird conservation charity, in their members’ journal, BirdingASIA—click on the title below to download the paper.

Akbar, P.G., Nugroho, T.W., Suranto, M., Fauzan, M.R., Ferdiansyah, D., Trisiyanto, J.S. and Yong, D.L. (2020). Missing for 170 years—the rediscovery of Black-browed Babbler Malacocincla perspicillata on Borneo. BirdingASIA 34: 13–14.

---

Media contacts

For more information, please contact

Panji Gusti Akbar

Birdpacker

Email: panji.gusti@gmail.com

Teguh Willy Nugruho

Sebangau National Park Headquarters, BW Galeatus

Email: teguhwillynugroho@gmail.com

Doddy Ferdiansyah 

BW Galeatus

Email: ferdiansyah.doddy@yahoo.co.id

Ding Li Yong

BirdLife International (Asia)

Email: dingli.yong@birdlife.org

OBC supports breeding centre for Critically Endangered Indonesian species

Captive breeding is a lifeline for the Critically Endangered Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush Garrulax rufifrons
© Cikananga Conservation Breeding Center.

The Oriental Bird Club (OBC) is providing co-funding alongside ASAP (Asian Species Action Partnership) to keep the Cikananga Conservation Breeding Center going during the uncertain economic times.

This special Wildlife Center, located in West Java, Indonesia, has the goal of breeding endemic Indonesian species that are threatened with extinction with the long-term aim of re-establishing viable wild populations. They include Critically Endangered species like the Black-winged Myna Acridotheres melanopterus, Javan Green Magpie Cissa thalassina and Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush Garrulax rufifrons. With the combined threat of habitat destruction and poaching for the caged bird trade, all three species teeter on the brink of extinction in the wild.

Conservation breeding programmes are one of the final tools in the conservation toolbox for the survival of species. For now, the Cikananga Conservation Breeding Center is managing captive populations to maximise their genetic diversity, with the future aim of reintroducing birds into a safe habitat.

The funding from OBC will enable the team at Cikananga to provide a high-quality diet to the birds, which should encourage them to breed. The funding will also support a locally employed member of staff who has a wealth of avicultural experience with these species.

The team at Cikananga © Cikananga Conservation Breeding Center.

The funding from OBC will enable the team at Cikananga to provide a high-quality diet to the birds, which should encourage them to breed. The funding will also support a locally employed member of staff who has a wealth of avicultural experience with these species.

OBC-supported project goes cuckoo

Onon, photographed in 2019 just before release after being fitted with a satellite tag.

The remarkable travels of Onon, a satellite-tagged Common Cuckoo featured heavily in the media this week, with an article in the UK's Guardian and also featured on BBC radio and television.

Onon was one of five birds tagged in June 2019, four of them Common Cuckoos and one Oriental Cuckoo. The bird successfully completed a round trip of 26,000 km from its breeding site in Mongolia, all the way to Zambia in southern Africa.

The Mongolian Cuckoo Project

During its epic migration, the bird took in 27 border crossings and 16 countries and on the return leg flew right across the ocean from the Horn of Africa to northwest India.

The Mongolia Cuckoo Project is a joint initiative by the Wildlife Science and Conservation Center (WSCC) of Mongolia and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), facilitated by Birding Beijing and generously supported by the Oriental Bird Club and Mr Dick Newell.

Join the Oriental Bird Club and help support projects like this and conservation work across the Oriental region. Remember the Club is entirely run by volunteers so every penny we raise goes to where it counts most.

Forktail updates

Forktail 35

New issue mailed to 2019 members

2019 members should shortly be receiving their issue of Forktail, the Journal of Asia Ornithology. You can find the full contents here.

Congratulations to the new editorial team, led by Frank Rheindt and Ding Li Yong for another fabulous issue.

If members have not received their printed copy by the end of July 2020, please email membership@orientalbirdclub.org for assistance. Thank you.

Non-members can purchase the latest issue as either a printed or electronic copy here.

In line with OBC policy, that means the papers for Forktail 32 are now all freely available. You can download them here.

OBC supports Big Month Java & Bali 2020

Sunda Forktail (c) Lip Kee Yap / Singapore. CC-by-sa-2.0

OBC funding is supporting Big Month Java and Bali 2020 — a new citizen science project that aims to gather occurrence data for birds across the islands of Java and Bali, with a focus on areas that currently lack information.

For the whole of January 2020, birdwatchers across the islands are being asked to concentrate on areas away from the well-known national parks and other protected areas whose avifauna is relatively well-known and explore areas that are visited less frequently, such as agricultural areas, village edges, small forest patches, rivers, and urban areas.

Less experienced birdwatchers will be able to receive assistance in bird identification through the use of Burungnesia, a smart phone app, through which all bird records can be directly uploaded.

Burungnesia is one of the partners organising the Big Month Java and Bali 2020 initiative, alongside the Indonesian Ornithologist Union (IdOU) and Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.

Data from Big Month will be used to provides a baseline against which future changes in bird populations can be measured and to identify areas requiring targeted conservation effort.

Several songbird species in Indonesia are known to be in severe decline as a result of excessive trapping to supply demand for the cage bird trade and for their use in songbird singing competitions.

In 2015, ornithological experts met at the first Asian Songbird Crisis Summit and later developed an action plan to help restore populations of some of the most heavily impacted species.

"The idea for Big Month Java & Bali 2020 came out of the Singapore Asian Songbird Crisis meeting where it was seen as important to demonstrate the extent of declines in common birds across Java. It was also suggested that a good way to bring this to the attention of civil society on the islands would be for civil society itself to be involved in building the report on the State of Java’s birds," explained Professor Stu Marsden of Manchester Metropolitan University.

To find out more about Big Month Java & Bali 2020, and how you can become a supporter and take part, download this document which gives further details (in English and Bahasa) or visit the following websites:
https://www.birdpacker.com/big-month-en (English)
https://www.birdpacker.com/big-month (Bahasa Indonesia)