Indonesia is a country that is rich in its natural resources, including species of animals, spices, plants and so on. The richness of its natural resources enables this country to be well-known throughout the world. Long time ago, many people from European and other continents were doing trade in this country.
One of natural resources that is highlighted here is the species of birds. For example, there are 6 stunning birds of paradise species that are native to Papua. Also look at the native animals of South-east Asia, our continent is very rich of animals.
Unfortunately, Indonesia is also well-known for having the highest number of endangered species of birds. There are some factors affecting the number of threatened bird species in Indonesia, such as deforestation, illegal hunting, and lack of protection.
This situation is so serious that we need to take serious actions. Humans, as the primary cause of this situation need to stop doing uncivilized actions that humiliate the bird species.
Here are the top 5 species of birds in Indonesia which existence is in danger.
- Sumatran Ground Cuckoo
This species of bird originally comes and stays in Sumatra Island of Indonesia that is why the name is “Sumatran”. This bird is 55 cm long and has noticeable feature of greenish black tails and wings, green legs, black crown, dull green on the mantle on the side of its neck, upper back, upper breast and lower back, and blue and green surrounding the eyes’ skin.
Unfortunately, the number of this bird population is decreasing significantly due to illegal hunting and deforestation. However, there are some protected areas that become home for this bird species on the Barisan Mountains.
There are another endangered species of animals, which is Sumatran Tiger. See the differences between Sumatran tiger and Bengal tiger and the reasons why the population of Sumatran tiger declines.
- Black-Chinned Monarch
Another endangered bird species in Indonesia is the Black-Chinned Monarch. This bird is mainly found in the Island of Boano in Indonesia. This bird inhabits tropical and subtropical moist shrub land and lowland forest on the island.
This bird is characterized by its black with white underparts and black chin. Deforestation on Boano Island is the main cause of the decreasing population of this bird species.
- Blue-Fronted Lorikeet
It is a species of parrot that is originated from the Buru Island in Indonesia. The diet of this bird species is mainly nectar and pollen of the flowering trees. This bird species’s population is greatly decreasing because of the deforestation.
The destruction of their habitat greatly impacts the number of this bird in that island. However, there are some protected areas in the Gunung Kapalat Mada and the Waeapo to preserve the number of this bird species. Talking about parrot, you might be wondering the differences of wild parrots and true parrots.
- Siau Scops-Owl
As you can see in its name, this bird species originally comes from the Siau Island in Indonesia. This bird is characterized by having large feet and head.
This bird can grow up to 17 meters tall. The Siau Scoops-owl is very rare as people think that this species is extinct. The decreasing number of this bird species is mainly caused by deforestation and illegal cutting.
- Waigeo Brush-Turkey
This bird species inhabits the main forests of Waigeo island of Papua, Indonesia. Waigeo Brush-Turkey is a kind of large bird that can grow up to 43 cm long.
It is characterized by its bare red facial skin, red comb, maroon rump and chestnut brown below. The existence of this bird species is threatened by logging, fires and predatory by dogs. This type of bird is one of the 7 flightless birds in the world.
These are the species of birds that are endangered in Indonesia. Let’s compare it with the endangered birds around the world. We need to start the actions of preventing this condition to be worse.
The government also needs to work seriously on this problem, as it may get worse and as a result extinction of these bird species might happen as well. Setting fixed and firm rules to those who do deforestation and illegal hunting will give beneficial impact to reduce the number of endangered bird species in Indonesia.
These bird species are the treasures and identities of our country Indonesia, and everyone must participate to keep and preserve them.
If you are curious about other animal species all over the world, read endangered primates in the world and endangered sea turtles species. We need to start the action to stop this!