Bali Starling
Encyclopedia
The Bali Starling also known as Rothschild’s Mynah, Bali Myna, or Bali Mynah, locally known as Jalak Bali, is a medium-sized (up to 25 cm long), stocky myna
, almost wholly white with a long, drooping crest, and black tips on the wings and tail. The bird has blue bare skin around the eyes, greyish legs and a yellow bill
. Both sexes are similar.
genus
Leucopsar, it appears to be most closely related to Sturnia
and the Brahminy Starling
which is currently placed in Sturnus
but will probably soon be split therefrom as Sturnus as presently delimited is highly paraphyletic (Jønsson & Fjeldså 2006). The specific epithet commemorates the British
ornithologist Lord Rothschild
.
in Indonesia
, where it is the island's only endemic
vertebrate species. (An endemic subspecies
, the Bali Tiger
, has been extinct since 1937.) The bird was discovered in 1910, and in 1991 was designated the fauna symbol of Bali. Featured on the Indonesian 200 rupiah coin, its local name is "Jalak Bali".
however it is far less conspicuous, using tree tops for cover and–unlike other starlings–usually coming to the ground only to drink; this would seem to be an adaptation
to the fact that it is instantly noticeable to predators when out in the open. The Bali mynah often gathers in groups to better locate food and watch out for predators.
The Bali myna's diet includes fruit, seeds, worms and insects.
, hovering immediately above extinction in the wild for several years now (BirdLife International 2006). The Bali Starling is listed in Appendix I of CITES. Trade even in captive-bred specimens is strictly regulated and the species is not generally available legally to private individuals. However, experienced aviculturalists may become affiliated with the captive-breeding program, allowing them to legally keep this species. About 1,000 individuals are believed to be held in captivity legally. The number of captive birds bought on black market is estimated to be twice the number of legally-acquired individuals in the captive breeding program.
There are 2 remaining locations on Bali where the birds exist in the wild: the West Bali National Park; and Bali's small island of Nusa Penida
There were an estimated 350 birds in the West Bali National Park in the 1980s. During the 1990s over 400 cage-bred birds were released into the park to increase their numbers. But by 2005, the park authorities estimated the number to have fallen to less than 10. This decline was caused primarily by poachers responding to the lucrative demand for rare birds in the caged bird market.
The second and much larger population of Bali Starlings now exists on the island of Nusa Penida and its sister islands of Nusa Ceningan, Nusa Lembongan, which are 14 km off the south east coast of Bali. 64 cage-bred Bali Starlings, belonging to Begawan Foundation, were released onto Nusa Penida over 2 years from 2006 by Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF), the Indonesian NGO that operates the bird rehabilitation and release program on Nusa Penida. FNPF's monitoring of the released birds state that their numbers had increased to +100 by 2009, and had spread across Penida, with small numbers also breeding on Ceningan and Lembongan.
The success of the project to create a wild population on Nusa Penida is primarily due to the threat of poachers being removed, combined with a successful breeding, rehabilitation and release program.
The removal of the threat from poachers was achieved by Drh I. Gede Nyoman Bayu Wirayudha (veterinarian) and his Indonesian NGO, Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF) by persuading all Penida communities to protect birds. FNPF spent 2 years counseling all of the key people of influence on the Penida islands on the benefits of protecting birds and conservation. In 2006 all 35 villages (now 41 villages) unanimously agreed to make bird protection part of their traditional regulations (“awig-awig”), making it a social and spiritual obligation for all Penida residents to protect birds. Bali Starlings and other endangered birds that are released by FNPF onto Nusa Penida are now protected by the local communities. Monitoring of the birds by FNPF indicate that none of the released Bali Starlings or their subsequent offspring have been stolen. FNPF retains the ongoing commitment of the Penida communities to protect birds through a variety of community development and community education projects ... all of which bring social and economic benefits to the local residents.
The birds released onto Nusa Penida were bred by Begawan Foundation in Ubud, Bali, under expert supervision by Bali’s leading avian veterinarian, Drh I. G. N. Bayu Wirayudha. His methodology ensured that the birds were bred and prepared to survive in the wild. Two pairs of birds were purchased from the aviaries of Mr Nick Wileman, a successful and knowledgeable breeder living near London, and brought to Begawan Foundation’s breeding facility in Bali on 24 June 1999. By November 2005, Begawan Foundation’s captive population had grown to 97 birds.
The birds and enclosures belonging to Begawan Foundation were then transferred to FNPF's bird centre on Nusa Penida and over a period of 2 years, FNPF rehabilitated and released 64 birds onto Nusa Penida.
On July 10, 2006, 25 micro-chipped birds were released into the wild during a ceremony that involved local villagers, temples and provincial and local government officials. Microchips were supplied by Theo Pagel, Director of the Cologne Zoo in Germany.
Within two weeks of their release, several birds had paired up and were observed bringing nesting materials to a variety of local trees, ficus, sugar palms and coconuts. Their first eggs had hatched by September 10, and on September 28, three birds instead of two were observed on the nesting tree.
Twelve more birds were released on December 12, 2006, and this flock was soon joined by two young birds that were the offspring of birds from the first release. On April 28, 2007, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Republic of Indonesia and First Lady Kristiani Herawati accepted an invitation from FNPF's founder, Drh I. G. N. Bayu Wirayudha, to release a further 12 birds, when they visited Nusa Penida to celebrate the launch of a ferry service to mainland Bali.
Further official recognition came during a visit to Nusa Penida on August 25 by the Indonesian Forestry Minister M. S. Kaban and Dr Ir Tonny Suhartono, the Director General for Forestry Preservation and Nature Conservation. These two dignitaries officially announced that the island was a suitable site for further releases of Bali Starlings.
FNPF and Begawan Foundation continue to monitor and observe the birds in the wild, tracking where the birds nest and breed, ensuring that each bird released or born is followed throughout its life. This important role ensures that any future releases will be made with planned knowledge of how the bird survives in the wild, what food is required, and how it breeds.
, West Java
. As a collateral every breder should put up a cow in case all the birds died. The breeders are obliged to release 10 percent of the brood into the national park and the rest can be sold off privately.
Myna
The myna is a bird of the starling family . This is a group of passerine birds which occur naturally only in southern and eastern Asia...
, almost wholly white with a long, drooping crest, and black tips on the wings and tail. The bird has blue bare skin around the eyes, greyish legs and a yellow bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. Both sexes are similar.
Naming
Placed in the monotypicMonotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Leucopsar, it appears to be most closely related to Sturnia
Sturnia
Sturnia is a genus of Asian birds in the family Sturnidae. It is sometimes merged with Sturnus.-Species:The old genus placements with the starlings was found to be polyphyletic resulting in changes in the placement...
and the Brahminy Starling
Brahminy Starling
The Brahminy Myna or Brahminy Starling is a member of the starling family of birds. It is creamy orange bird with a black cap and a slight crest. They are usually seen in pairs or small flocks in open habitats on the plains of South Asia.-Description:This myna is pale buff creamy with a black cap...
which is currently placed in Sturnus
Sturnus
Sturnus is a genus of starlings. As discussed below, the taxonomy of this group is complex, and other authorities differ considerably in which species they place in this genus, and in the species boundaries within Sturnus....
but will probably soon be split therefrom as Sturnus as presently delimited is highly paraphyletic (Jønsson & Fjeldså 2006). The specific epithet commemorates the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
ornithologist Lord Rothschild
Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild
Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild FRS , a scion of the Rothschild family, was a British banker, politician, and zoologist.-Biography:...
.
Distribution
The Bali Starling is restricted to the island of BaliBali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, where it is the island's only endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
vertebrate species. (An endemic subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, the Bali Tiger
Bali Tiger
The Bali Tiger , harimau Bali in Indonesian, or referred to as samong in archaic Balinese language, was a subspecies of Tiger which was found solely on the small Indonesian island of Bali...
, has been extinct since 1937.) The bird was discovered in 1910, and in 1991 was designated the fauna symbol of Bali. Featured on the Indonesian 200 rupiah coin, its local name is "Jalak Bali".
Behaviour
In its natural habitatHabitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
however it is far less conspicuous, using tree tops for cover and–unlike other starlings–usually coming to the ground only to drink; this would seem to be an adaptation
Adaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
to the fact that it is instantly noticeable to predators when out in the open. The Bali mynah often gathers in groups to better locate food and watch out for predators.
The Bali myna's diet includes fruit, seeds, worms and insects.
Breeding
During breeding season, males attract females by calling loudly and bobbing up and down. The birds nest in tree cavities, with the female laying and incubating two-three eggs. Both males and females bring food to the nests for chicks after hatching.Endangered
The Bali Starling, Bali’s regional mascot, is critically endangeredEndangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
, hovering immediately above extinction in the wild for several years now (BirdLife International 2006). The Bali Starling is listed in Appendix I of CITES. Trade even in captive-bred specimens is strictly regulated and the species is not generally available legally to private individuals. However, experienced aviculturalists may become affiliated with the captive-breeding program, allowing them to legally keep this species. About 1,000 individuals are believed to be held in captivity legally. The number of captive birds bought on black market is estimated to be twice the number of legally-acquired individuals in the captive breeding program.
There are 2 remaining locations on Bali where the birds exist in the wild: the West Bali National Park; and Bali's small island of Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida
Nusa Penida is an island southeast of Bali island, Indonesia. Administratively, the island is a district of Klungkung regency. There are two small islands nearby: Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. The Badung Strait separates the island and Bali. The interior of Nusa Penida is hilly with a maximum...
There were an estimated 350 birds in the West Bali National Park in the 1980s. During the 1990s over 400 cage-bred birds were released into the park to increase their numbers. But by 2005, the park authorities estimated the number to have fallen to less than 10. This decline was caused primarily by poachers responding to the lucrative demand for rare birds in the caged bird market.
The second and much larger population of Bali Starlings now exists on the island of Nusa Penida and its sister islands of Nusa Ceningan, Nusa Lembongan, which are 14 km off the south east coast of Bali. 64 cage-bred Bali Starlings, belonging to Begawan Foundation, were released onto Nusa Penida over 2 years from 2006 by Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF), the Indonesian NGO that operates the bird rehabilitation and release program on Nusa Penida. FNPF's monitoring of the released birds state that their numbers had increased to +100 by 2009, and had spread across Penida, with small numbers also breeding on Ceningan and Lembongan.
The success of the project to create a wild population on Nusa Penida is primarily due to the threat of poachers being removed, combined with a successful breeding, rehabilitation and release program.
The removal of the threat from poachers was achieved by Drh I. Gede Nyoman Bayu Wirayudha (veterinarian) and his Indonesian NGO, Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF) by persuading all Penida communities to protect birds. FNPF spent 2 years counseling all of the key people of influence on the Penida islands on the benefits of protecting birds and conservation. In 2006 all 35 villages (now 41 villages) unanimously agreed to make bird protection part of their traditional regulations (“awig-awig”), making it a social and spiritual obligation for all Penida residents to protect birds. Bali Starlings and other endangered birds that are released by FNPF onto Nusa Penida are now protected by the local communities. Monitoring of the birds by FNPF indicate that none of the released Bali Starlings or their subsequent offspring have been stolen. FNPF retains the ongoing commitment of the Penida communities to protect birds through a variety of community development and community education projects ... all of which bring social and economic benefits to the local residents.
The birds released onto Nusa Penida were bred by Begawan Foundation in Ubud, Bali, under expert supervision by Bali’s leading avian veterinarian, Drh I. G. N. Bayu Wirayudha. His methodology ensured that the birds were bred and prepared to survive in the wild. Two pairs of birds were purchased from the aviaries of Mr Nick Wileman, a successful and knowledgeable breeder living near London, and brought to Begawan Foundation’s breeding facility in Bali on 24 June 1999. By November 2005, Begawan Foundation’s captive population had grown to 97 birds.
The birds and enclosures belonging to Begawan Foundation were then transferred to FNPF's bird centre on Nusa Penida and over a period of 2 years, FNPF rehabilitated and released 64 birds onto Nusa Penida.
On July 10, 2006, 25 micro-chipped birds were released into the wild during a ceremony that involved local villagers, temples and provincial and local government officials. Microchips were supplied by Theo Pagel, Director of the Cologne Zoo in Germany.
Within two weeks of their release, several birds had paired up and were observed bringing nesting materials to a variety of local trees, ficus, sugar palms and coconuts. Their first eggs had hatched by September 10, and on September 28, three birds instead of two were observed on the nesting tree.
Twelve more birds were released on December 12, 2006, and this flock was soon joined by two young birds that were the offspring of birds from the first release. On April 28, 2007, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Republic of Indonesia and First Lady Kristiani Herawati accepted an invitation from FNPF's founder, Drh I. G. N. Bayu Wirayudha, to release a further 12 birds, when they visited Nusa Penida to celebrate the launch of a ferry service to mainland Bali.
Further official recognition came during a visit to Nusa Penida on August 25 by the Indonesian Forestry Minister M. S. Kaban and Dr Ir Tonny Suhartono, the Director General for Forestry Preservation and Nature Conservation. These two dignitaries officially announced that the island was a suitable site for further releases of Bali Starlings.
FNPF and Begawan Foundation continue to monitor and observe the birds in the wild, tracking where the birds nest and breed, ensuring that each bird released or born is followed throughout its life. This important role ensures that any future releases will be made with planned knowledge of how the bird survives in the wild, what food is required, and how it breeds.
Bali Starling breeding program
A 'breeding loan' involves 12 breeders who each received 15 male and 15 female from the association of Starling Conservationists from BogorBogor
Bogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...
, West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
. As a collateral every breder should put up a cow in case all the birds died. The breeders are obliged to release 10 percent of the brood into the national park and the rest can be sold off privately.