Pop up: Maleo Bird
Environmentalists in Sulawesi are sounding the alarm for the dwindling population of Maleo, the big bird endemic to the island.
As of June 2002 they have noted that the Maleo has disappeared in 44 places where they used to be abundant.
Unlike most birds, Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) has the size of a chicken with brownish-black feathers with a prominent medium-length tail. This striking bird has a distinctive bony, dark casque on its crown, a yellowish face, and a bare pale bill. As its alternative name, Maleo Megapode suggests, it has characteristically large feet. The thighs are black, and the belly white, with pink hues on the breast. It usually flies from one tree to another, and just like a chicken, it seeks seeds and legumes on the ground.
This rare bird is usually silent but, especially around nesting sites, it can emit quite extraordinary noises. These include loud braying and, when in disputes, a duck-like quacking.
Maleo birds used to live in nearly all regions of Sulawesi. However, the places where the Maleo used to be found are now in a state of neglect. In Tatongko Dua Saudara, North Sulawesi, for instance, the population of Maleo was reported to have dropped by 80 percent due to uncontrolled egg collection, an activity which has been going on for decades.
A research conducted recently by the Jambata Foundation, a non-governmental organization focusing on Maleo protection, showed that out of 46 locations where Maleo could be found in the western part of Central Sulawesi and the northern part of South Sulawesi, Maleo's existence in 11 sites were considered "threatened" and "very threatened" in 16 sites.
Palu-based Jambata members also reported that another 44 Maleo habitats have disappeared in the last two decades. In the remaining sites, the birds were still considered safe, simply because they were located in the Lore Lindu National Park.
Another unique thing about Maleo birds are the way it lays eggs. Although it lives in forests and mountains about 1,200 m above sea level, it will find a lowland area to lay its eggs (usually a sandy beach or a sandy river bank). These places must get enough sunshine to warm the eggs.
Although a Maleo is as big as a chicken, its egg is the size of an adult's fist. A Maleo egg is the same as five to six chicken eggs, or weighs about 250 grams. The eggs are kept in warm sand about 60 cm - 70 cm underground. When the mother bird lays her eggs, the male bird will keep watch from a tree and immediately signal its "spouse" in case of danger.
The legs of a pair of Maleo birds are strong enough to allow them to move a cubic meter of sand when making a hole to lay the eggs. In the process, both of the "parents" take turns digging the eggs, including other holes as decoys to keep their eggs from being discovered by predators. That's why those digging for Maleo eggs often find only empty holes.
A pair of Maleo birds can only have, on average, about seven to eight eggs a year, although research data showed at least one pair was able to produce 12. The egg-laying periods are usually in April, October and November. The eggs are usually laid about a week apart. After being warmed by the hot sand, the eggs will hatch between 35 and 75 days after being laid. After the egg is hatched, the infant Maleo chicks will have to make its way up through the sand, to find food and deal with potential dangers on its own.
Til this day there is still no conclusive understanding in the scientific community revealing precisely how the infant Maleo gets out of the sand.
Some locals claim that Maleo always places its eggs in an upright position and when the egg hatches, the small Maleo will "cut" around the middle of the egg and use the nearly conical shaped top end of the egg as piercing shield/umbrella to plow its way up through the sand. If the shield/umbrella is broken on the way, the baby Maleo will never reach the surface.
At the Lore Lindu National Park, Maleo prefer laying eggs in sandy riverbanks. The locations are safer there than in other places, but there are still a number of poachers who enter the park. In fact, in Bakiriang, Pantai Toili, Banggai regency; Sausu Piore, Donggala regency; and Tanjung Matop, Buol Regency in Central Sulawesi, threat comes from government officials who visit captive breeding sites and take the eggs as "souvenirs" for their bosses. Worse, we still can find these eggs for Rp. 2,500 to Rp 5,000 (about 3 – 6 dollar) each in Buol or Toili market sold by forestry officers.
No wonder that this distinctive Megapode was recently up listed to Endangered because it has undergone a very rapid decline, which is projected to continue based on levels of exploitation and declines in extent and quality of habitat, combined with the fact that it has a small population, which is continuing to undergo severe fragmentation.
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As of June 2002 they have noted that the Maleo has disappeared in 44 places where they used to be abundant.
Unlike most birds, Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) has the size of a chicken with brownish-black feathers with a prominent medium-length tail. This striking bird has a distinctive bony, dark casque on its crown, a yellowish face, and a bare pale bill. As its alternative name, Maleo Megapode suggests, it has characteristically large feet. The thighs are black, and the belly white, with pink hues on the breast. It usually flies from one tree to another, and just like a chicken, it seeks seeds and legumes on the ground.
This rare bird is usually silent but, especially around nesting sites, it can emit quite extraordinary noises. These include loud braying and, when in disputes, a duck-like quacking.
Maleo birds used to live in nearly all regions of Sulawesi. However, the places where the Maleo used to be found are now in a state of neglect. In Tatongko Dua Saudara, North Sulawesi, for instance, the population of Maleo was reported to have dropped by 80 percent due to uncontrolled egg collection, an activity which has been going on for decades.
A research conducted recently by the Jambata Foundation, a non-governmental organization focusing on Maleo protection, showed that out of 46 locations where Maleo could be found in the western part of Central Sulawesi and the northern part of South Sulawesi, Maleo's existence in 11 sites were considered "threatened" and "very threatened" in 16 sites.
Palu-based Jambata members also reported that another 44 Maleo habitats have disappeared in the last two decades. In the remaining sites, the birds were still considered safe, simply because they were located in the Lore Lindu National Park.
Another unique thing about Maleo birds are the way it lays eggs. Although it lives in forests and mountains about 1,200 m above sea level, it will find a lowland area to lay its eggs (usually a sandy beach or a sandy river bank). These places must get enough sunshine to warm the eggs.
Although a Maleo is as big as a chicken, its egg is the size of an adult's fist. A Maleo egg is the same as five to six chicken eggs, or weighs about 250 grams. The eggs are kept in warm sand about 60 cm - 70 cm underground. When the mother bird lays her eggs, the male bird will keep watch from a tree and immediately signal its "spouse" in case of danger.
The legs of a pair of Maleo birds are strong enough to allow them to move a cubic meter of sand when making a hole to lay the eggs. In the process, both of the "parents" take turns digging the eggs, including other holes as decoys to keep their eggs from being discovered by predators. That's why those digging for Maleo eggs often find only empty holes.
A pair of Maleo birds can only have, on average, about seven to eight eggs a year, although research data showed at least one pair was able to produce 12. The egg-laying periods are usually in April, October and November. The eggs are usually laid about a week apart. After being warmed by the hot sand, the eggs will hatch between 35 and 75 days after being laid. After the egg is hatched, the infant Maleo chicks will have to make its way up through the sand, to find food and deal with potential dangers on its own.
Til this day there is still no conclusive understanding in the scientific community revealing precisely how the infant Maleo gets out of the sand.
Some locals claim that Maleo always places its eggs in an upright position and when the egg hatches, the small Maleo will "cut" around the middle of the egg and use the nearly conical shaped top end of the egg as piercing shield/umbrella to plow its way up through the sand. If the shield/umbrella is broken on the way, the baby Maleo will never reach the surface.
At the Lore Lindu National Park, Maleo prefer laying eggs in sandy riverbanks. The locations are safer there than in other places, but there are still a number of poachers who enter the park. In fact, in Bakiriang, Pantai Toili, Banggai regency; Sausu Piore, Donggala regency; and Tanjung Matop, Buol Regency in Central Sulawesi, threat comes from government officials who visit captive breeding sites and take the eggs as "souvenirs" for their bosses. Worse, we still can find these eggs for Rp. 2,500 to Rp 5,000 (about 3 – 6 dollar) each in Buol or Toili market sold by forestry officers.
No wonder that this distinctive Megapode was recently up listed to Endangered because it has undergone a very rapid decline, which is projected to continue based on levels of exploitation and declines in extent and quality of habitat, combined with the fact that it has a small population, which is continuing to undergo severe fragmentation.
more..
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