In line with OBC policy, papers from back issues of the Club's journal, Forktail, are made available for free download after three years. PDFs from the 2014 issue (Forktail 30) are now available.
Helmeted Hornbill records sought
Bee Choo Strange of the Hornbill Research Foundation is on an urgent mission to collate all records of Helmeted Hornbills Rhinoplax vigil within the species's geographic range in preparation for a report to delegates attending the Helmeted Hornbill Conservation Strategy and Action Plan workshop in Sarawak, Malaysia, in May 2017.
The Helmeted Hornbill was uplisted in the IUCN Red List from from Near Threatened to Critically Endangered in 2015 owing to severe hunting pressure for its casque and habitat loss. Hunting pressure is expected to increase across the species's range and urgent conservation action is required.
The Indonesian government recently called upon the international community to help prevent illegal trade in the species - in particular bill casques - during last year's meeting of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
The forthcoming Sarawak workshop will include NGO representatives from range countries and aims to develop a conservation Action Plan for the Helmeted Hornbill.
Phase I (March - May 2017) involves collating Helmeted Hornbill records from the literature, databases, museums and most importantly, recent and near-recent records from birdwatchers.
If you have records of Helmeted Hornbills - particularly recent sightings - please enter your data by visiting the following location and following the instructions there.
Please note any information provided will be used for research purposes only and will not be disclosed publicly.
Helmeted Hornbill Rhinoplax vigil © Muhammad Alzahri
Three tagged cuckoos reach Africa
Routes from Asia to Africa followed by Flappy (red), Skybomb (gold) and Meng (blue).
Flappy, the satellite-tagged Common Cuckoo sponsored by the Oriental Bird Club is currently in southern Mozambique, having crossed around 20 international borders on her migration south.
Flappy's journey south, and that of two other satellite-tagged cuckoos, Meng and Skybomb, is shown in the map above.
All three have moved from their breeding grounds in Asia to south-east Africa. Flappy is currently the furthest south, close to the Zimbabwe border in Mozambique, while Skybomb was last reported a few weeks ago just north of Flappy, also in Mozambique. The lack of a recent signal from Skybomb could be because of tag failure, if the bird is inhabiting dense forest where a signal is not possible, or because the bird has perished. Researchers will be keenly awaiting further signals. Meanwhile, further to the north is Meng, the only male of the trio and a different subspecies (bakeri) to the two tagged female canorus. This individual migrated somewhat later than the other two birds and is some way behind in southern Tanzania.
Regular and social media, particularly in China, have carried numerous articles about the travels of the birds, reaching potentially hundreds of thousands if not millions of readers, and all helping raise awareness of the remarkable migrations undertaken by some Asian species.
Birding Beijing reports that “Cuihu Urban Wetland Park in Beijing, the location where Flappy was tagged, is planning to erect an information board about cuckoos for the general public. It will include what we know about the life-cycle and migration and, all being well, will include a map showing the migration route of Flappy.”
The Beijing Cuckoo Project aims to engage Chinese audiences about the wonders of bird migration with a view to promoting conservation and helping to strengthen the links between Chinese and international bird conservation organisations.
The main scientific goal was to discover the unknown migration route and winter quarters for Common Cuckoos breeding in East Asia.
The Beijing Cuckoo Project is a collaboration between the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (BWRRC), China Birdwatching Society (CBS), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Birding Beijing.
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Alongside OBC, other supporters of the project are the Zoological Society of London and the British Birds Charitable Foundation and BirdLife International.
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2016 Autumn Meeting
The OBC Autumn Meeting, incorporating the 32nd AGM, will be held in the Wilkinson Room, St John the Evangelist, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8RN on Saturday 29th October 2016. The meeting starts at 11:00 and all are welcome - please bring your friends. Snacks, cakes and hot and cold drinks will be available all day.
Sales by WildSounds Prize draw in aid of the OBC Conservation Fund The AGM, at which only OBC members may vote, will be held at 12:10
Parking in side streets around the venue is very limited and we recommend that you travel by rail where possible or use the 'Park and Ride' service (www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/info/20149/park_and_ride). Walking time from Cambridge Station forecourt is about 15-20 minutes. Walk up Station Road to the junction with Hills Road and turn left. The venue is on the left hand side of Hills Road, about 400m after it crosses the railway, directly opposite Homerton College. There is a frequent bus service from Drummer Street bus station via the railway station forecourt, and along Hills Road. For a map, type the postcode CB2 8RN into ww.streetmap.co.uk.
Please find here the Minutes of the 2015 AGM, held in September 2015 and the OBC Accounts for 2015, both in PDF format.
Programme 10:30 Doors open – hot drinks & cakes available 11:00 Opening remarks by the Chairman 11:15 The Bengal Florican in India and Nepal – new insights from satellite telemetry – Paul Donald, Principal Conservation Scientist, RSPB 12:10 Annual General Meeting 12:40 Lunch break – refreshments and sales 13:40 How many bird species ARE there in Asia? – Dr Nigel Collar, Birdlife International 14:30 Birding in China 1984—2016 – Dr Per Alstrom , Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 15:20 Break for refreshments & sales 15:50 Remote Sulawesi – a search for hidden avian gems – Mike Edgecombe 16:30 The Beijing Cuckoo Project: tracking migrations to engage, discover and inspire – Dr. Chris Hewson, BTO Senior Research Ecologist, International Research Team 17.15 Prize draw and closing remarks by the Chairman 17:30 Meeting closes
Flappy currently in northern India
Flappy, the satellite-tagged Common Cuckoo sponsored by the Oriental Bird Club has been making astonishing progress on her autumn migration and is currently in northern India, having crossed several international borders on her migration south.
Since the last update here on 15th July she crossed the Mongolian desert, arriving in Hebei Province, southwest of Beijing, on 1st August, where she stayed for a few weeks. Next stop ruled out Southeast Asia as a wintering destination, as she travelled an incredible 2,400 km southwest into Myanmar, arriving there on 1st September.
Not for long, however, and speculations that she may stay in Myanmar were soon overturned, as only two days later her transmitter was picked up by satellites showing her to be in India, just north of the border with Bangladesh, in the state of Meghalaya. Pushing on in a west/northwesterly direction for 800 km, by 5th September Flappy had passed through the northernmost part of Bangladesh and arrived 120 km southwest of Kathmandu on the India/Nepal border.
Birding Beijing received an email from an excited follower at the Wildlife Institute of India, who noted that Flappy's route is similar to that taken by Amur Falcons, and speculating she may fly across India and migrate to Southern Africa taken an oceanic crossing like the Amurs.
Flappy has since carried on travelling northwest into Nepal and skirted the foothills of the Himalayas.
On the latest update she appeared to have changed tack from the consistent bearing of 290 degrees she had followed for the 1,700 km since Myanmar, and on 12th September was 200 km east of Delhi in Uttar Pradesh.
Birding Beijing also reports that "Cuihu Urban Wetland Park in Beijing, the location where Flappy was tagged, is planning to erect an information board about cuckoos for the general public. It will include what we know about the life-cycle and migration and, all being well, will include a map showing the migration route of Flappy."
The Beijing Cuckoo Project aims to engage Chinese audiences about the wonders of bird migration with a view to promoting conservation and helping to strengthen the links between Chinese and international bird conservation organisations.
The main scientific goal will be to discover the presently unknown migration route and winter quarters for Common Cuckoos breeding in East Asia.
The Beijing Cuckoo Project is a collaboration between the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (BWRRC), China Birdwatching Society (CBS), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Birding Beijing.
Alongside OBC, other supporters of the project are the Zoological Society of London and the British Birds Charitable Foundation.
Spoon-billed Sandpiper wintering site under threat
Spoon-billed Sandpiper © Richard Thomas/TRAFFIC
Khok Kham, one of only two regular wintering sites in Thailand for the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper and other wader species of the East Asian-Australasian flyway is under threat from a solar farm development.
A number of Thai organizations and individuals are campaigning against the development. The Oriental Bird Club is offering our support to their efforts.
More information about the nature of the threat can be found in this article on the Birdguides website.
BirdingASIA 25 distributed
Oriental Bird Club members should now have received their latest issue of BirdingASIA 25. Featuring a superb image of a Western Tragopan Tragopan melanocephalus photographed near Shilt, Great Himalayan National Park, Dirthan, Himachal Pradesh, India, by Jainy Kuriakose on the cover, the issue is packed full of bird news from around the region.
For anyone with an interest in birds of the Oriental region, subscribing to the Oriental Bird Club to receive your biannual BirdingASIA and the Club’s Journal, Forktail, is an absolute necessity – so if you haven’t done so already, subscribe today!
Flappy goes cuckoo and leads a merry dance
There was exciting news earlier this week when Flappy – or Flappy McFlapperson to give her full name: the female Cuckoo sponsored by the Oriental Bird Club through the Beijing Cuckoo Project—apparently began her southward migration. Speculation was rife as to whether she would head towards Africa or South Asia. However, as the maps below demonstrate, she is not about to give her secret away just yet.
By 15th July, Flappy was back in China, having been tracked to the edge of the Gobi Desert, and it appeared as if she was retracing her route from her tagging location in Beijing.
Things looked to be quite normal, but then her latest position revealed she had headed north once more to a location in Mongolia to the southeast of where she had started, thus completing three sides of a parallelogram!
Although the behaviour might appear extraordinary, such return movements of southbound migrants are not unknown, according to the BTO’s Dr Chris Hewson, who manages the project.
According to Hewson, migrant birds are sometimes even known to return to where they began their autumn migration.
In this instance, it is possible that on encountering harsh conditions on the edge of the Gobi Desert, Flappy turned back north to where she knew there was favourable habitat and a food source.
The next few days are keenly awaited to see where Flappy will make her next move.
Meanwhile, the other four cuckoos fitted with transmitters through the Beijing Cuckoo Project are all still on their breeding grounds.
All five of the birds were trapped in the Beijing area where local schoolchildren chose names for them and encouraged to follow their movements online as they move first to their breeding grounds then in the autumn to their as yet unknown wintering grounds.
The Beijing Cuckoo Project aims to engage Chinese audiences about the wonders of bird migration with a view to promoting conservation and helping to strengthen the links between Chinese and international bird conservation organisations.
The main scientific goal will be to discover the presently unknown migration route and winter quarters for Common Cuckoos breeding in East Asia.
The Beijing Cuckoo Project is a collaboration between the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (BWRRC), China Birdwatching Society (CBS), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Birding Beijing.
Alongside OBC, other supporters of the project are the Zoological Society of London and the British Birds Charitable Foundation.
Flappy makes a flying start
An exciting new project is currently underway to find the wintering grounds of East Asia's Common Cuckoos.
Through the Beijing Cuckoo Project, satellite transmitters have been placed on five Common Cuckoos in order to track their international movements.
The birds were all trapped in the Beijing area where local schoolchildren have chosen names for them and encouraged to follow their movements online as they move first to their breeding grounds then in the autumn to their as yet unknown wintering grounds.
The Oriental Bird Club has sponsored a transmitter on one of the cuckoos, which the pupils at Dulwich International School, Beijing, chose to name Flappy McFlapperson.
The project follows a hugely successful study on Common Cuckoos breeding in the United Kingdom that for several years has tracked the birds' movements between Europe and their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa.
That project attracted huge interest, both from the scientific community and from those with an interest in the natural environment.
The Beijing Cuckoo Project similarly aims to engage Chinese audiences about the wonders of bird migration with a view to promoting conservation, and help to strengthen the links between Chinese and international bird conservation organisations.
The main scientific goal will be to discover the presently unknown migration route and winter quarters for Common Cuckoos breeding in East Asia.
Speculation is rife about whether the birds will head for: Southeast Asia or, like their European cousins, sub-Saharan Africa.
Flappy, which is probably of the race canorus (blood analysis should confirm), has already provided some interesting insights into Common Cuckoo migration in the region. Following her fitting with a transmitter at Cuihu Urban Wetland Park, she first headed east then NNW and is currently on the border of Mongolia and Russia. The route taken suggests she flew in an arc around the Mongolian Plateau.
Remarkably a second female cuckoo, tagged 161315, followed almost precisely the same route and at one point the two were within 50 km of one another in the Hentiyn Mountains. However, female 161315 carried on even further north and is now around 200 km east of Lake Baikal.
By contrast the three tagged male cuckoos, probably of the race bakeri, have all remained in the Beijing area.
You can keep up-to-date with all the latest developments through the Beijing Cuckoo Project pages on the Birding Beijing website, which includes further migration maps.
The Beijing Cuckoo Project is a collaboration between the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (BWRRC), China Birdwatching Society (CBS), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Birding Beijing.
Alongside OBC, other supporters of the project are the Zoological Society of London and the British Birds Charitable Foundation.
Trade wiping out Indonesia’s bird species
Indonesia’s national bird – the Javan Hawk-eagle – is one of those most at risk © Chris R Shepherd / TRAFFIC
Jakarta, Indonesia, 26th May 2016 — A new study published in the latest issue of Forktail, the journal of the Oriental Bird Club, has revealed that 13 bird species—including Indonesia’s national bird, the Javan Hawk-eagle—found in Sundaic Indonesia are at serious risk of extinction because of excessive over-harvesting.
The study, Trade-driven extinctions and near-extinctions of avian taxa in Sundaic Indonesia, also finds that an additional 14 bird subspecies are in danger of extinction. The driver behind this crisis is the enormous demand for birds for the domestic pet trade.
The keeping of birds as pets in Indonesia is an integral part of the national culture, yet the high levels of demand for some species have fuelled excessive hunting with the populations of many rapidly disappearing.
Besides the Javan Hawk-eagle, the other full species at risk include the Silvery Woodpigeon, Helmeted Hornbill, Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Scarlet-breasted Lorikeet, Javan Green Magpie, Black-winged Myna, Bali Myna, Straw-headed Bulbul, Javan White-eye, Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush, Sumatran Laughingthrush and Java Sparrow.
Although most of them are kept as pets, the Helmeted Hornbill is an exception: as TRAFFIC recently revealed, thousands are being illegally killed and traded for their unique solid bill casques, carved as a substitute for elephant ivory, to meet demand in China.
Another of them, the Javan Green Magpie, was recognized as a full species as recently as 2013—and simultaneously documented as in grave danger of extinction owing to trade pressure. In direct response, the Threatened Asian Songbird Alliance (TASA), operating as a formal body of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), initiated a programme of captive breeding in a number of zoos, as assurance colonies, for security and propagation purposes.
Such conservation breeding is the last hope for some of the taxa affected. According to the study: “Regrettably five subspecies…are probably already extinct, at least in the wild, due primarily to trade.” They include one subspecies of a parrot (Scarlet-breasted Lorikeet), three subspecies of White-rumped Shama, an accomplished songster and one of the Hill Myna, popular because of its ability to mimic human voices.
“Whether its species or subspecies, the message is the same: excessive trade is wiping out Indonesia’s wild bird species at an alarming rate” said Dr Chris Shepherd, TRAFFIC’s Director for Southeast Asia, and a co-author of the study.
“Despite the alarming scale and consequences of the bird trade, governments and even conservation organizations often don't view this issue as a high priority. This hampers efforts to prevent further losses.”
The solutions to the bird trade crisis in Indonesia lie in a combination of better law enforcement, public awareness campaigns, in situ management, conservation breeding, conversion of trappers to wardens and field, market and genetic surveys, say the study’s authors.
Meanwhile as certain favoured species disappear because of trapping, others are targeted as “next-best” substitutes, while commercial breeders sometimes hybridise taxa for “better” effects, leading to further conservation complexities.
The study’s authors also consider whether commercial breeding could help alleviate the situation, but conclude that “while attractive in theory, [commercial breeding] presents difficulties that are probably insurmountable in practice.”
Conservation breeding is the focus for efforts to save the Javan Green-magpie © Chester Zoo
Forktail 31 published
OBC Members will now have received, or shortly be receiving, their copy of Forktail 31 appeared later than anticipated, for which the Club apologies. The delay was due to technical problems outside of our control. However, we are sure members will consider it has certainly been worth the wait. The latest issue is packed full of 14 full papers and 7 short notes covering a wide variety of topics. Among the main papers is one documenting the extinctions or near-extinctions caused by excessive wild trapping and trade in a number of Asian bird species. This is an issue of growing concern, but there is gathering momentum for action to be taken.
A paper on the number of species and subspecies in the Red-bellied Pitta Erythropitta erythrogaster complex is certain to be of particular interest to pitta-listers.
Non-members will have to wait until 2018 before they can download all the papers from Forktail 31. The Club's policy is to make the scientific information freely available three years after publication date. The papers from Forktail 29 will therefore soon be available on this website.
Volunteers sought to survey Yellow-breasted Buntings in Mongolia
Male Yellow-breasted Bunting © G. Amarkhuu
Populations of Yellow-breasted Bunting, Emberiza aureola, are rapidly declining across their range and the species has recently been classified as Endangered by IUCN. They were once common in the northern Palearctic from Finland and Belarus, eastwards to north-east Asia. Mainly due to excessive hunting in China and several other reasons, the species has declined across its range and become quite rare. However, ecological aspects of the decline remain unclear.
It is vital to understand the breeding ecology and migratory behaviour of this species to help identifying conservation actions in future. During the breeding season in June 2016, we want to find and identify locations suitable for deploying geo-locators next year and establishing a long-term population study and monitoring for this species.
We are looking for volunteers who can help us to find breeding localities of Yellow-breasted Bunting in north-eastern Mongolia. However, due to lack of funding and urgency of the issue, Mongolian biologists cannot do this on their own.
We seek volunteers who are able and willing to pay for costs related to their travel and participation in field surveys in Mongolia in the first half of June 2016. We can help arrange the logistical support you will need while you are in Mongolia. The field survey will last 2-3 weeks in June, and we would appreciate volunteers willing to contribute their time and resources during this period.
If you are interested, please contact:
Mr. Batmunkh Davaasuren at Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia, batmunkh@wscc.org.mn, or
Mr. Alex Ngari at BirdLife International, Alex.Ngari@birdlife.org
BirdingASIA 24 published
Oriental Bird Club members should now have received their latest issue of BirdingASIA 24. Featuring a superb image of a Rufous-bellied Niltava Niltava sundara by Jainy Kuriakose on the cover, the issue is packed full of bird news from around the region.
Articles include the latest taxonomic updates - splits and other changes - through to little known birding areas in the Philippines, together with all the latest conservation news.
For anyone with an interest in birds of the Oriental region, subscribing to the Oriental Bird Club to receive your biannual BirdingASIA and the Club's Journal, Forktail, is an absolute necessity - so if you haven't done so already, subscribe today!
Mixed news for Asia's vultures
Slender-billed Vultures, Assam (c) James Eaton / Birdtour Asia
The latest issue of the IUCN's Vulture Specialist Group newsletter (PDF, 200KB) has been published. Covering vulture news from around the world, the newsletter includes mixed news from Asia where, on the positive side, there is a growing prospect of the first releases back to the wild of Critically Endangered vulture species in Nepal and India.
Offset against this, however, are ongoing concerns over the continuing use of the vulture-killing drug diclofenac and derivatives thereof: one Indian pharmaceutical company is challenging in court the latest ban on multi-dose vials of the human formulations. Meanwhile a paper demonstrating that aceclofenac (a pro-drug to diclofenac) is indeed metabolised directly to diclofenac in cattle has been published this month, highlighting the urgent need for a veterinary ban.
Forktail 28 papers available
First published in 2012, all 18 full articles and the 19 short communications from Forktail 28 are now available for free download online through the Forktail 28 page on the OBC website.
OBC Autumn Meeting 2015
The OBC Autumn Meeting, incorporating the 31st AGM, will be held in the Wilkinson Room, St John the Evangelist, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8RN on Saturday 5th September 2015. The meeting starts at 11:00 and all are welcome - please bring your friends. Snacks, cakes and hot and cold drinks will be available all day.
Sales by WildSounds Prize draw in aid of the OBC Conservation Fund The AGM, at which only OBC members may vote, will be held at 12:00
Parking in side streets around the venue is very limited and we recommend that you travel by rail where possible or use the 'Park and Ride' service (www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/info/20149/park_and_ride). Walking time from Cambridge Station forecourt is about 15-20 minutes. Walk up Station Road to the junction with Hills Road and turn left. The venue is on the left hand side of Hills Road, about 400m after it crosses the railway, directly opposite Homerton College. There is a frequent bus service from Drummer Street bus station via the railway station forecourt, and along Hills Road. For a map, type the postcode CB2 8RN into ww.streetmap.co.uk.
Please find here the Minutes of the 2014 AGM, held in November 2014 and the OBC Accounts for 2014, both in PDF format.
Programme 10:30 Doors open - hot and cold drinks available 11:00 Opening remarks by the Chairman 11:15 'China's Grippers' - a talk on the most sought-after birds of China by Pete Morris 12:00 Annual General Meeting 12:30 Lunch break - refreshments and sales 13:30 'Baer's Pochard: responding to a critical situation' by Dr Debbie Pain, Director of Conservation at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust 14:15 'In search of the endemic birds of Taiwan' by Andy Walker 15:00 'Restoration of Indonesian rainforest - sustainable model or Government whim?' by Andrew Impey, Head of Global Habitats, RSPB 15:45 Break for refreshments and sales 16:00 'Bangladesh's Spoon-billed Sandpiper and World Shorebirds Day' by Mya-Rose Craig (aka Birdgirl) 16:30 'Videoing around the Philippines' by Keith Blomerley 17:15 Prize draw and closing remarks by the Chairman 17:30 Meeting closes
Illegal cage bird trade threatens Black-winged Myna
Illegal trade is pushing the Critically Endangered Black-winged Myna towards extinction © Khaleb Yordan
Jakarta, Indonesia, 13th August—So rare that captive breeding centres have been robbed, the soaring prices and drop in availability of Black-winged Mynas in trade point to a species on the brink.
Black-winged Mynas are prized in the cage bird trade for their striking black and white plumage, lively behaviour and singing ability; today their extreme rarity in the wild adds to their desirability.
The species is native only to the islands of Java and Bali and is protected under Indonesian law. Despite this, illegal capture in the wild continues, while trade is carried out openly in Indonesia’s notorious bird markets.
Surveys by TRAFFIC and Oxford Brookes University researchers between 2010 and 2014 found significantly fewer Black-winged Mynas available in the three largest bird markets in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta: down by three-quarters since the 1990s. This coincides with a more than ten-fold increase in asking prices and the near complete decimation of the species in the wild.
The crisis facing the Black-winged Myna and other Asian songbirds is scheduled to come under expert scrutiny next month at the inaugural Asian Songbird Crisis Summit, taking place on 26-29th September 2015 in Singapore.
Just a few hundred individuals of the once common Black-winged Myna remain in the wild and the species is currently assessed as Critically Endangered by IUCN.
The birds are now so valuable that a captive breeding centre, where birds were being reared for conservation purposes, suffered a double robbery in June 2014, and almost the entire breeding stock, more than 150 birds were stolen.
While the bulk of trade in Black-winged Mynas appears to supply domestic demand, there is also an unknown level of international trade.
The authors of the latest study, published in Bird Conservation International, recommend that Indonesia lists the species in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
“An Appendix III-listing is essentially a call for support by a country to assess the international trade in a species,” explained Vincent Nijman, Professor at Oxford Brookes University.
“That information would be essential for devising an action plan to save the species,” he added.
There is an unkown level of international trade in Black-winged Mynas © James Eaton / BirdtourAsiaThe demise of the Black-winged Myna is an eerie reminder of the fate of its close relative, the Bali Myna. The two are similar in appearance, and indeed the trade in Black-winged Mynas partly arose as a replacement species for the increasingly rare and expensive Bali Myna.
Commercial captive breeding is unlikely to remove pressure from remaining wild populations of Black-winged Mynas as long as enforcement efforts to prohibit the poaching and trade of the birds are absent or inefficient.
“TRAFFIC is extremely concerned over the increasing threat of extinction from trade to the Black-winged Myna”, said Dr Chris Shepherd, Regional Director of TRAFFIC in Southeast Asia.
The open and widespread illegal trade in birds in Indonesia, is pushing these mynas and many other species down a dangerous path.
“Indonesian authorities should demonstrate willingness to uphold their own national wildlife laws. It is high time for uncompromising and swift action against the illegal trade in the notorious bird markets,” said Shepherd.
Illegal trade pushing the Critically Endangered Black-winged Myna Acridotheres melanopterus towards imminent extinction (PDF, 218 KB) by Chris R. Shepherd, Vincent Nijman, Kanitha Krishnasamy, James A. Eaton and Serene C. L. Chng is published in the journal Bird Conservation International.
100,000th image milestone for Oriental Bird Images
The 100,000th image on OBI: Bar-headed Goose at Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary, Dholpur, Rajasthan, India. (c) Sunil Singhal.
Oriental Bird Images, www.orientalbirdimages.org, the online photographic image resource library of the Oriental Bird Club today celebrated with the upload of its 100,000th image.
The stunning landmark image is a portrait of a Bar-headed Goose taken by Sunil Singhal at Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary, Dholpur, Rajasthan, India on 16 March this year. Bar-headed Geese are known to migrate over the Himalayas at altitudes of more than 7,000 metres (23,000 ft).
“The uploading of the 100,000th image is testament to the years of dedicated hard work put in by a multitude of unpaid volunteers over the past 13 years since OBI was launched,” said Krys Kazmierczak, who conceived the idea for a publicly accessible online image library for Asian bird species and subspecies.
“The library speaks volumes for the sheer dedication of more than 1,500 amateur and professional bird photographers who have freely contributed their stunning images to this resource for bird researchers worldwide.”
Oriental Bird Images (OBI) includes photographic illustrations to a staggering 2,876 Asian bird species, around 99% of all those found in the region, and also includes examples of each known subspecies of the majority of species illustrated. There are just 29 “missing” species from the 2,905 species recognised by the Oriental Bird Club in the region.
Today, OBI is among the most visited bird images libraries on the internet, and has proved of immense value to the scientific community, ornithologists, conservationists and anyone with an interest in Oriental Birds.
“OBI goes way beyond just an image gallery for bird photographers to post their images—it is a vital academic resource for anyone with an interest in the birds of the Oriental region,” said Richard Grimmett, Director of Conservation at BirdLife International and author of several bird field guides to the Oriental region.
“I consult OBI on a regular basis when carrying out research on the Asia’s bird life—the site’s importance as a conservation tool is immense.”
ENDS
About Oriental Bird Club
The Oriental Bird Club, UK registered charity 297242, is for people around the world who are interested in birds of the Oriental region and their conservation. The Club was founded in 1984 and has around 2,000 members.
The Club exists: to encourage an interest in wild birds of the Oriental region and their conservation to promote the work of regional bird and nature societies to collate and publish information on Oriental birds
Through the generous support of members and corporate sponsors, the OBC conservation fund has supported more than 250 conservation projects throughout Asia, primarily run by local people. More than £200,000 has been invested in conservation in the region since 1984.
Website: www.orientalbirdclub.org Twitter: @orientbirdclub Facebook: /groups/OrientalBirdClub/
Superabundant bird decline mirrors Passenger Pigeon
Yellow-breasted Bunting male on the breeding grounds © Ulrich Schuster / Amur Bird Project
One of the Eurasia’s most abundant bird species has declined by 90% and retracted its range by 5000km since 1980 a new study shows.
Yellow-breasted Bunting was once distributed over vast areas of Europe and Asia, its range stretching from Finland to Japan.
New research published in the journal Conservation Biology suggest that unsustainable rates of hunting principally in China have contributed to a catastrophic loss of numbers and also in the areas in which it can now be found.
“The magnitude and speed of the decline is unprecedented among birds distributed over such a large area, with the exception of the Passenger Pigeon, which went extinct in 1914 due to industrial-scale hunting”, said Dr Johannes Kamp from the University of Münster, the lead author of the paper.
High levels of hunting also appear to be responsible for the declines in Yellow-breasted Bunting.
"A Century on from America's folly and Asia is blindly following suit, allowing a once superabundant bird to spiral into oblivion," said Richard Thomas, OBC Council Member.
The species has all but disappeared from Eastern Europe, European Russia, large parts of Western and Central Siberia, and Japan.
"Once Yellow-breasted Buntings were too numerous to count, today you can count on them nowhere being numerous," said Thomas.
In 2004, Yellow-breasted Bunting was the first species featured as A Bird to Watch in the OBC's journal BirdingASIA, where concern was expressed over the rapid levels of decline.
During migration and on the wintering grounds, Yellow-breasted Buntings gather in huge flocks at night-time roosts making them easy to trap in large numbers. Birds have traditionally been trapped for food at these roosts with nets.
Following initial declines, hunting of the species – known in Chinese as ‘the rice bird’ – was banned in China in 1997. However, millions of Yellow-breasted Buntings and other songbirds were still being killed for food and sold on the black market as late as 2013. Consumption of these birds has increased as a result of economic growth and prosperity in East Asia, with one estimate from 2001 of one million buntings being consumed in China’s Guangdong province alone.
“To reverse these declines we need to better educate people of the consequences of eating wildlife. We also need a better and more efficient reporting system for law enforcement”, said Simba Chan, Senior Conservation Officer at BirdLife International.
“The story of the Yellow-breasted Bunting illustrates how little we know about trends in populations in many species in the region. There is growing evidence that these declines are part of wider problems for common Asian birds. We need to better understand these in order to address them more effectively.“
Coordinated monitoring activities are urgently needed in East Asia. However, a new agreement between China, Japan, Republic of Korea and Russia is a first step in developing a coordinated monitoring of migratory birds across the region. The situation is now so serious that the Convention on Migratory Species has agreed to develop an international action plan for the recovery of the Yellow-breasted Bunting throughout its range by 2017.
“In the last decade birdwatching has become increasingly popular in China. Birdwatchers will play an important role in future data gathering”, said Simba Chan. “Now is the time to address these worrying declines across the region by mobilising people for conservation action.”
The latest study is published in Conservation Biology: Kamp et al. (2015) Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China
Yellow-breasted Buntings are trapped in huge numbers to be sold as snacks © Huang Qiusheng
Birding Viet Nam
The following is based on an article by OBC member Andy Mears that first appeared on the Birdguides website. Many thanks to Birdguides for granting the OBC permission to repost the article here. Vietnam is a bird-rich country bordered by China, Laos and Cambodia and strategically placed on the OBC region's eastern seaboard. From wintering Rufous-tailed Robins to breeding White-winged Magpies, the country has much to offer the travelling birder or interested reader.
Talk to non-birders about Vietnam and they are usually surprised to hear that it is a popular birding destination. In the same way that Ethiopia is perceived to be stark and famine-ridden, Vietnam is often viewed as war-torn and scarred. Neither perception is correct. Vietnam is in fact within an important area of endemism and retains some valuable tracts of rainforest that can easily be visited by birders today. Add to that accessible mountains and wetlands that host some of the rarest shorebirds on earth, and Vietnam becomes a stunning destination.
Birders visiting for a two- or three-week trip may well head to a series of well-known sites in the south after flying into Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). The upland areas of the Da Lat Plateau — including the wonderful Mount Lang Bian — are home to such quality species as Indochinese Green Magpie, Vietnamese Cutia and Collared Laughingthrush; and not far away sits the steamy, lowland forest of Cat Tien, which is perhaps Vietnam's flagship nature reserve.
Central areas are harder to reach and less well known. The near-mythical Crested Argus used to be a real possibility here for anyone willing to undertake an expedition but it is now all but gone, sad to say. Other areas could produce a suite of birds rarely seen, including Sooty Babbler and Limestone Warbler.
In the north after flying into Hanoi (the country's capital), birders may well visit the mist-shrouded forests of Tam Dao and other sites to search for parrotbills and cochoas. New on the birding map is Ba Be National Park, where White-eared Night Heron can be found; and over on the coast is the Ramsar site Xuan Thuy, an extensive tidal wetland with some very special passage visitors. Last but not least, they may travel just a couple of hours south from Hanoi to Cuc Phuong National Park.
Cuc Phuong is likely to be an important feature of any Vietnamese birding itinerary. It is a large reserve set in the limestone foothills of the Annamite Mountains. Accommodation, catering and birding trails can all be found at the remote Bong substation, which is 13 miles beyond the park headquarters; and areas immediately around the headquarters itself are also well worth birding. I spent five days in the park with fellow Brit birder Dennis Teece and I recount here just a few of our most interesting experiences.
At the Bong substation, there is simple bungalow accommodation for visitors and it's ideal for birders. The substation is set in a large forest clearing where the air is cool and the nights quite chilly. A small, simple restaurant provides lunches and evening meals, and we were also able to prepare a flask of hot water every evening ready for early-morning coffees the next day. So our days started before dawn with hot drinks and homemade flapjack and we would then be out to catch the first of the avian activity. Undisturbed, extensive rain forest is literally on the doorstep.
A great thing to do as the forest wakes up is to walk the level valley trail carefully looking ahead for thrushes on the path. Some patience was needed and waiting on the trail close to the substation paid off when we had nice views of a 'bobbing and weaving' White's Thrush and, on another day, a foraging Japanese Thrush. Others have also seen Black-breasted Thrush and Chinese Blackbird so this early-morning routine is well worth the effort and you never know what else might appear.
Walking the valley trail later, we sometimes heard Grey Peacock-pheasants giving their grating, staccato calls from way back in the trees. These are shy, forest-dwelling birds and we never did see one. They are a world away from the introduced Common Pheasants bred year on year and let loose into the British countryside. The true pheasants form a stunning family, with most species being difficult to see and displaying intricate and spectacular plumage. They are always a top target on an Asian birding trip along with the trogons, broadbills, pittas, hornbills and kingfishers. I've birded several areas that have the peacock-pheasant from northeast India to southern Thailand and have yet to lay eyes on one of these forest-floor ghosts.
As it gets lighter, the forest starts to come to life. Early morning is still a good time to find skulkers on or close to trails, however, and it also gets you out before any noisy tourists. We spent plenty of time on the loop trail and found that one section was a favourite area for one particular Bar-bellied Pitta. We saw this bird, a male, on several days and he almost seemed to get used to us hanging around. This was luxury for the pitta connoisseur and what a bird it is; out of the same box as Gurney's and Banded Pittas, Bar-bellied is an Indo-Chinese endemic and the male a spectacular mix of blue, yellow, black, green and turquoise.
In this same area, we had a brief view of what appeared to be a Chinese Thrush in some dense trail-side shrubs. This species is certainly a possibility at Cuc Phuong and it was frustrating to miss out on definitive views. Blue Whistling-thrushes were also seen a couple of times, keeping the thrush count high.
As I entered the forest on the loop trail one morning, a movement close by caught my eye. We carefully waited beside a large tangle and peered in hoping for any sign of a bird. After a minute or two, a rufous sliver of wing could be seen, which turned out to be part of a small robin. This was a bird neither of us had seen before and we patiently tried to paste together a full mental image. Eventually it walked out into an open patch and hopped across, with a nervous gait and some tail flicking. The rufous wings and tail and distinct scalloped breast pattern meant Rufous-tailed Robin, no doubt a wintering bird. Another movement and another small bundle of feathers hopped into the clearing. With a supercilium to end all supercilia, and the most minimal of tails, there was no mistaking this guy, an Asian Stubtail; a tiny but spectacular warbler and another new bird for us. What a great little tangle!
Perhaps the main focus of the Bong area is the grid. This is a lovely patch of rich forest, criss-crossed by narrow concrete paths. You can walk nice and quietly, and check round every corner with care hoping for a ground bird caught off guard. We spent long periods in the grid scanning the canopy, the understory and the ground, and working through any mixed flocks we encountered as best we could. The back of the grid was a particularly quiet area and time spent here revealed Blue-rumped and more Bar-bellied Pittas, plus Limestone Wren-babblers. The Blue-rumpeds were a devil to see and only gave the briefest of glimpses after we spent long periods staking them out. Often their subdued 'teu' call was all that gave them away even when they were very close. The babblers were vocal and active, and much easier to connect with as they bounced around the limestone outcrops.
Up in the canopy, the grid was alive with birds. Fairy Bluebirds, Paradise Flycatchers, Blue-winged Leafbirds and a multitude of other species were regularly seen. A few Silver-breasted Broadbills showed well, very special birds that quietly occupy a mid-canopy niche. We only heard Long-tailed Broadbills but they're around in the area and can be seen with luck.
Warblers were seen in numbers and presented many identification conundrums. Up in the canopy, views were often brief and incomplete. The birds moved quickly and rarely could all their features be seen. Experience here makes a huge difference, but neither of us had studied the Asian Phylloscs in depth other than a range of treasured birds seen in the UK and a handful of species seen on a few other foreign trips. Arctic Warblers were something of a relief. They were fairly common and tended to call allowing a quick ID. We realised that Blyth's Leaf Warbler fed like a nuthatch and with just a few supporting features seen, we could name these with confidence. Other warblers that we confirmed were Eastern Crowned, Grey-crowned, Bianchi's, Kloss's Leaf, Yellow-bellied and Yellow-browed; but I wonder what we missed.
After much perseverance, we eventually clinched views of Cuc Phuong's third pitta species, the elusive Eared Pitta. We'd been hearing these birds regularly on the loop trail, an eerie, double-whistle uttered most commonly at dawn and dusk. They are shy birds, however, with an unhelpful habit of freezing if they spot an intruder. Their cryptic plumage then renders them all but invisible and I suspect we sometimes overlooked birds in full view. Eventually, we spotted dry leaves being tossed some way up an open slope and there was a pair, quietly feeding together in the lee of some limestone crags.
I haven't mentioned a host of other species we saw and every birding group that visits sees a different set of species. Anything between a couple of days and a week could be spent productively working this fantastic area and anyone visiting will come away with treasured memories of some classic Oriental forest birding. Andy MearsFebruary 2015
Vietnamese Cutia photographed in the Da Lat uplands of Southern Vietnam by BirdtourASIA tour guide James Eaton. James is a regular contributor to the OBC’s Forktail and BirdingASIA journals. BirdtourASIA is a proud corporate sponsor of the Oriental Bird Club — many thanks to James for providing photos for this article.
Red-collared Woodpecker is a Cuc Phuong speciality. We searched hard for it but never found one. I later read that it is often seen feeding very low on tree trunks so perhaps we walked right past one… (Photo: János Oláh).
Parrotbills are always popular with birders. This stunning Black-headed was photographed at Ta Nung in Southern Vietnam and is another highly range-restricted species that can be found in the country (Photo: János Oláh)
Limestone Warbler was only recently recognised as being distinct from Sulphur-breasted Warbler. It has a very restricted range but is one of a multitude of warblers that could be encountered at Cuc Phuong. This individual was photographed at Phong Nha (Photo: János Oláh)
Limestone Wren-babbler at Cuc Phuong (Photo by OBC Council Member Tony Sawbridge)
Your first view of a pitta is often incomplete; patience and perseverance are usually required to get the full show, even when you’ve located a bird. I well remember spotting male Bar-bellieds from Cat Tien’s Crocodile Lake Trail by the flash of a bright blue-green head popping up behind a log or darting between patches of low foliage. This one was photographed at Cat Tien by OBC committee member Chris Gooddie.
A Sooty Babbler photographed at Phong Nha in Central Vietnam and characteristically perched on a chunk of limestone (Photo: James Eaton)
Black-browed Barbet is widespread in South-East Asia but the Indochinese subspecies is distinct and also known as Annam Barbet. This individual was photographed at Da Lat by Birdquest tour guide János Oláh. Birdquest is a proud corporate sponsor of the Oriental Bird Club — many thanks to János for providing photos for this article.