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Theparrotsof 8uton Island,SouthWest SulawesibyMarkCatterall I havebeenamemberof theWorld ParrotTrustfor anumberof years andhaveakeeninterestin parrot conservation. During1996I was involved,initiallyasa volunteerand subsequently asexpeditionleader, in a surveyof theremoteIndonesian islandof Buton.Thisis locatedin south-east Sulawesiandthe expeditions formedpartof Operation Wallacea's Butonand Tukangbesi birdandmarine surveys. Theprojecthasbeen runningfor overthreeyearsand1 understand thatthereareproposals for it to continueoverthenextfew years. Butonhasrecentlybeendesignated asatransmigration site,despite beingcomparatively small(150km longby 1O-30km across)andthe unsuitabilityof manyareasfor agriculture. Theislandis coralline andlargeareasareexceptionally rugged,withlittle soil.Extensive areasin thesoutharecoveredin cashew-nut plantations andareasof poorsubsistence cultivation.Forests in thesoutharelargelyrestrictedto thesteeper slopes,althoughloggers arenowmovingintotheseareas. Lar~eareastherehavebeen designated asprotectedforest. (watershed protection)butthis appears to meanlittle.An extensive areaof protectedforestexistsin the north,centredaroundButon'sonly mountainwhichreaches analtitude of 1,1O0m. Proposals arecurrentlybeing considered for theupgradingof the
areaintoanationalparkbut alarge transmigration sitehasrecentlybeen established within theexisting boundaries of theprotectedarea. Hugeareasof primaryandmature secondary foreststill exist, especiallyonthehigherslopes.The aimof OperationWallaceaISto establishthenationalparkin the northof theislandandto encourage localinitiativesin conservation. Whenthecollecteddatais written up,it is hopedthat recommendations will include educational programmes aimedat schoolchildren. I amhopingto obtainapprovalfor a separate educationprogramme for theLesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. The Bupati(localgovernor)has expressed agreatdealof interest andenthusiasm in theprojectasa whole,sothiscouldwell be successful. LESSERSULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOOCacatuasulphurea Accordingto arecentlycompleted statusassessment by BirdLife InternationalandtheIndonesian Department of NatureConservation (PHPA),populations of theYellowcrested(orLesserSulphur-crested) Cockatoohavecrashedsincethe 1970s.Thesubspecies sulphurea is knownto havevanishedfrommany partsof Sulawesiandthelargest knownpopulation,in theRawa AopaWatumohai NationalPark, numbers onlyabout150 birds.
c.s.sulphurea is anuncommonand evidentlylocalisedspecieson Buton,whichappears to occur predominantly in thedrierforestsin thesouthof theisland.All birds werecloselyassociated with forestedhabitats,including degraded forest.It wasgenerally encountered in pairsandsmall groupsof 3-9birds.A totalof 34 birdswererecordedin 1996from ninewidelyspacedsquares, all in thesouthof theisland.In 1995 nineteenbirdswererecordedfrom four squares, includingtheonly northernrecordfor thisspeciesfive birdsseennearMaliganoin north-westButon.Fairlylargeareas of Butonhavestill to besurveyed, includingextensiveareasof lowland forestandmorebirdswill undoubtedly befound.Thetotal Butonpopulationof theYellowcrestedCockatoos is probably between50-100birds,but numbers aredecreasing dueto trappingand thespeciesis underenormous pressure. Cockatoos arestill widely trappedfor thepettradedespite beingfully protectedby Indonesian law.No Yellow-crested Cockatoos wereobservedduringbriefvisitsto theTukangbesi Islandsouth-east of Butonin theBandaSea,but surveys wererestrictedto thesmallislandof Hoga.Accordingto localpeople interviewedatWancion nearby WangiwangiIsland,thespeciesis still presentin smallnumbersbut is widelytrapped.
The Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoos is one of the species threatened by deforestation and trapping on Buton.
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OnNovember5th,1996,two Cockatoos wereshotandinjuredat Ai~atuhby localtrappersduringa visitby oneof thesurveygroups. Thepolicewerecalledwhoarrested thetwomeninvolvedand confiscated thebirds.Bothbirds wereobserved chainedto a tree outsidetheBau-BauPoliceStation laterin Novemberandthecurrent fateof thebirdsis notknown.A single,extremelywarybird remainedatAirjatuhbut was impossibleto approachandwasnot observed to visitthenestcavity, althoughthebirdappeared reluctant to leavethearea.Thefateof the youngbirdis unknown,althoughit ISunlikelythatthebirdswere removedfromthenestasthehuge treein whichthecavityis foundis situatedabovea50foothigh waterfallandis thusinaccessible. Thissiteis theonlyknownbreeding sitefor thisparrotonButon; accordingto localpeoplethesiteis usedyearlyby thisspecies. Thenest cavitywassituatedatthebaseof a thickclumpof treefernsonthe maintrunkof thetree.(Thetreewas alsousedby a pairof Red-knobbed HornbillRhyticeros cassidix- the hornbillcavitybeingsome2-3 metreshigherup thetree).A numberof captiveCockatoos were seenthroughout theisland(around 10birds);all hadbeentrapped locally.Thisspecies is readily availablein thebirdmarketat Kendari,wherebirdsareofferedfor aslittle asUS$50. ORNATELORlKEET Trichoglossus ornatus An incrediblybeautifullorywhich is commonthroughoutButon wherevertherearefloweringtrees andpatches of forest.It is most oftenseenin areasof moreopen woodland,secondary growth,forest edge,lightly woodedcultivationand coconutplantations. It wasalso notedin mangroveforest.It is regularlyattractedto red-flowering treesalongthesea-shore. Flightis swift anddirectwith veryrapid wing-beats; it typicallyflies10w abovethetreetops.It is a noisybut difficult to observespeciesin the densefoliageof fruitIngtrees, despiteits brightcolouring.Locally nomadicon Butonbut absentfrom certainareaswhereit was previouslynumerous, the occurrence of thislory obviously depends on thepresence of
floweringandfruitingtrees.As a verypopularandcommonlykept petin mostvillagesthroughout Buton,populations mustultimately sufferasthereis noregulationof thenumbers caught.Mostcaptive birdsweretethered to theperches by woodenshackles - thesewere shaped likeafigureof 8,thebirds leggoingthroughthesmallerhole directlyabovethelargerhole.The birdslegwasthusalwayskeptatan angleandanumberof birdswere seentohavebadlydamaged and dislocated legs. MEYER'SLORIKEET Trichoglossus flavoviridismeyeri Thisis ahighlylocalisedandvery rarespecies onButon,with onlya handfulof recordsfromareasof hill forest.It appears to beconfinedto areasof matureforest,andwas neverseenin theopen.Onmainland Sulawesi thisspecies is shyand elusive,whichcouldhelpexplain thepaucityof recordsonButon.On mainlandSulawesithislorikeetis confinedto areasof hill and mountainforest,butit seemsthat matureforest,notaltitude,is the limitingfactorin thedistributionof thisspecies. It is threatened by forestclearance onButon. SULAWESIHANGINGPARROT Loroculusstigmatus Thecommonest of thetwo hangingparrotspecies onButon,it wasregularlymetwith around habitatIOn, especiallyin coconut plantations. Birdswerefrequently attracted to floweringtreesm more opencountry.It inhabitsawide rangeof forestedandwooded envIronments, includingareasof matureforest,degraded secondary forest,forestedge,cultivationwith scattered treesandmangroveforest. Generallyencountered singlyandin pairsor smallflocksof 3-10birds; occasionally in largeconcentration in floweringor frUItingtrees.More conspicuous thanL. exilis, particularlyin fig treesandcoconut palms,it is notparticularlywary.In themorning,it ISregularlyobserved perched in theopenonthetipsof rattanspikesabovethetreetops. Flightisfastanddirect,but slIghtly undulating. Withcareit is possIble to identifythisspecies in flight once thegeneralsizeandfrequencyheard callarelearnt.HangingParrotsare notcommonly keptaspetsandonly twobirdswereseenin captivity during1996.Breedingwasrecorded between AugustandNovember during1996. GREENHANGINGPARROT Loriculusexilis LesscommonthanL. stigmatus, it
Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo nest near Baubau. the hole is situated at the base of the fern dump on the left trunk. A cockatoo is perched on a branch above the nest.
is foundin smallernumbersandin fewerlocationsaroundtheisland. Thisparrotappears to berestricted to moreforestedhabitatstheL. stigmatus, whereit keepsto the canopy.Repeatedly confusedwith L. stigmatusduringtheearlystages of 1996,all HangingParrotswithout redcrownswereattributedto the latterdespitethefactthatjuvenile andfemaleSulawesiHanging Parrotsoftenhavelittle or noredon thecrown.It is thusinevitablethat earlierrecordsfor thisspeciesare erroneous andmisleading.Dueto its smallsize,crypticcolouring,and habitof feedingquietlyin the canopyof foresttrees,thisspecies wasextremelyinconspicuous and easilyoverlooked. In flight it appears tiny; flight is swift.It producesanindIstinctshortsingle verythinpsst;frequentlyheardin flight. It wasoccasionally seenin thecompanyof thelargerSulawesi Hanging-Parrot atfruitmgtrees. Neverseenin captivity. GOLDEN-MANTLEDRACQUETTAIL PARROTPrioniturusplaturus A locallycommonevenabundant species, frequentingareasof forest, especiallyin hilly areas.Generally in flocksof 3-15birds,rarelysingly. In oneforestin thehills above Maliganoover150birdswere observed, duringa30minute period,in thelateafternoonflying highoverheadin small(4-7birds) looseflocks.Almostall birdswere flying in anortherlydirection, presumably to roost.-It is adifficult
birdto observe,beingshyandvery wary.Birdsfreezein thefoliage whenapproached, beforeexploding outof thecanopyscreeching loudly. Attractedto treeswith smallfruits andseeds,birdskeepto themidstoreyandsub-canopy of larger trees.Theywereregularlyobserved hangingupsidedownin orderto reachsmallfruitsattheendsof thin branches. Noisyflockswere regularlyencountered in most forestedenvironments, although birdsweresurprisinglyabsentfrom someof thednerforestsin the south.Flightwasswiftwith continuous rapidwing-beats. Active andnoisyatnight,it oftenflies aroundatheightscreeching continuously. Twofemalesseenin Maliganoweretheonlyevidenceof thisspeciesin captivity.According to Forshaw,thisRacquet-tailwas formerlycaughtin largenumberson Buton.Reportsof themuchlarger Yellow-breasted-Racquet-tail Parrot Prioniturusflavicansarein error andno substantiated recordswere made. BLUE-BACKEDPARROT Tanygnathus sumatranus An uncommonor locallycommon speciesonButon,whichwaswidely distributed,in inhabitedareasof forest,includingdegraded secondary forest,openwoodlands with remnantforestpatches,and cultivationwith scattered treesand scrub.It wasfrequentlyseenaround habitationin thenorth,around Maligano.Generallydifficult to
observe,in certainpartsof the islandbirdsweremoreeasily approachable (presumably dueto lesspersecution). Flightwas relatIvelyslow,butdirectwith shallowrapidwing-beats. It is very noisywhenin flight, especiallyat night.Generallyobserved in pairsor smallflocksof 3-7birds;rarelyit wasseensinglyor in largerflocks of upto 20bIrds.Attractedto fruitmgtreesandripeningcrops,it is oftenseematnight.A common bird in captivity,especiallyin the southof theisland,sevenbirdswere foundin onesmallvillage. An unusuallycolouredbirdwas seenonJulya 5thin forestnearLa Bundo-Bundo in thesouth-east of theisland.Generalplumagewas similarto theordinaryBlue-backed Parrot,but differedin havinga brownishwashonthebreastand neck,plusrufous-brown undertail feathers;theindividualhadawhite bill andiris.Thebirdwasseen clearlyin thecanopyof alargetree in thecompanyof apairof GreatbilledParrotsTmegaloryhnchos. Forshawdescribes a similarbird, theRufous-tailed Parrot Tanygnathus heteruruswhichis onlyknownfromthetypespecimen (Forshaw,1989).Accordingto Forshawthisspecimen probably represents anaberrantformof Tsumatranus. GREAT-BILLEDPARROT Tanygnathus megalorynchos Someconfusionsurrounded the identificationof thisspecies andthe morewidespread andabundant Tsumatranus. Great-billedParrots are,however,presentonButonin smallnumbers.Mostrecordsare fromthesouthof theisland, particularlyin coastalareas.They mhabittall secondary forest,bothin thelowlandsandnearbyhills, and in mangroves. Occasionally found in thecompanyof F.sumatranus, althoughbIrdsappeared notto mix. Foundsingly,in pairsandsmall flocksof 3-5birds;a singlerecord of 22birdsis theonlylarge concentration of thisspecies. It is presentontheTukangbesi Islands, andtwobirdswereobserved in November1995onthetiny island of Hoga.Peoplein theTukangbesi claimthatthisspeciesis not uncommonin thefewremaining forestpatches. Availablehabitaton thefourmainislandsin the Tukangbesi is animportantcentre for theillegaltradein parrotsand otherspecies. Birdsfromall over theregIOnareshippedthroughthe islandsin orderto meetlocal demandandfor shipmentout
ofthearea.
,. It .,
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