(Tempo/Dasril Roszandi)

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed ten Indonesian birds as endangered species on Sunday, adding that immediate conservation efforts are urgently needed.

The endangered species are Nias hill myna (Gracula robusta), black-winged starling (Acridotheres melanopterus), pied myna (Gracupica contra), Bali myna (Leucopsar rothschildi), Medan white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus), straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus), Javan green magpie (Cissa thalassina), Rufous-fronted laughingthrush (garrulax rufifrons), Sumatran Laughingthrush (Garrulax bicolor) and Anis (Crotophaga ani).

"There are only two to three Nias myna birds in the wild of Nias Island and there are only four to five of them in captivity. They are very rare," Tony Sumampau, director of privately owned zoo Taman Safari Indonesia said as quoted by tempo.co.

Tony said the decline in the bird population was caused by the widespread capturing of the birds that gradually hampered the species' ability to reproduce, and would, in the long run, lead them to extinction.

Tony said birds captured in the wild were sold at bird markets, where 60 percent of them died before being sold. He said that no more than 20 percent of birds survived the market.

"Many of the birds die after 1 to 2 days at the buyer's place. Transporting them to the bird markets causes them [to suffer from] stress," he said.

He suggested that in order to prevent the birds from going extinct, conservation efforts should be carried out near the birds' natural habitat. An example of conservation activities, he said, was a local breeder of Anis birds in a regency in Denpasar, Bali. The facility was located in the birds' natural habitat, he added, which allowed the breeder to breed and sell specimens, although only in limited numbers.

Such attempts would help maintain Anis bird populations in their own habitat, he said, while the breeder may also sell the birds. (afr/rin)(+)

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