(ID) Rare bird rediscovered in Indonesia : protection measures afoot

October 15, 2009

ctisrediscovered

Tue Oct 13, 10:25 am ET

A critically endangered Indonesian crow - long feared extinct - has been

rediscovered in its native habitat, scientists announced today.

The all-black Banggai Crow (Corvus unicolor), known to science only by two

specimens described in 1900,

was found again by Indonesian biologists on Peleng Island, off the east

coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2007. Pamela Rasmussen, a Michigan State

University zoologist verified the finding.

Rasmussen studied the two century-old specimens, housed at the American

Museum of Natural History in New York, and compared them to the new

specimens to make sure they were not just members of a different

all-black subspecies of crow, the more common Slender-billed Crow (Corvus enca).

" The morphometric analysis I did shows that all four unicolor specimens are

very similar to each other, and distinctly different from enca specimens. We

also showed that the two taxa differ in eye color - an important feature in

Corvus, " Rasmussen said. " Not only did this confirm the identity of the new

specimens but also the specific distinctness of Corvus unicolor, which has

long been in doubt. "

The new specimens are now catalogued at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense on

the Indonesian island of Java.

Since the specimens were gathered, other birdwatchers in the mountains of

Peleng have photographed and recorded Banggai Crows, which Rasmussen said

also confirms the distinctiveness of the species.

A photo of the Banggai Crow appears this week in the " Handbook of the Birds

of the World. "

Mochamad Indrawan of the University of Indonesia, who spearheaded the

rediscovery, is now focusing on preserving the rare

species, which is hunted by local residents. That includes making

recommendations for

protection of its forest habitat through sustainable agriculture methods

and, perhaps, eco-tourism, to address the residents' livelihood needs.

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