Malaysia - This is part three covering the last four of the endangered (so-called) birds of Malaysia. I will tell you about the spectacular black and red broadbill (Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos), KM-97); great egret (Ardea alba [= Casmerodius albus], KM-99); green imperial pigeon (Ducula aenea), KM-98); and brown shrike (Lanius cristatus), KM-100.
Black and Red Broadbill
The broadbill family has only 15 species, 11 Asian and four African. Nine occur in Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. The black and red species occurs in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. In Peninsular Malaysia it lives in primarily lowland rainforests and is usually observed around water. It is fairly common and easily observed.
It does have a quite large blue and yellow bill. The upperparts are black with a dark crimson rump and wide white stripe on the wing. The underparts are dark crimson with a prominent black bar across the breast.
I was unable to find much natural history information on this species. Broadbills primarily eat insects they catch on the wing, and some species eat fruits too. Broadbills construct hanging nests.
Great Egret
I suspect the reason for including the great egret in this 12-coin series is related to the growing concern for the welfare of the mangrove forests in Peninsular Malaysia (west coast), Sarawak and Sabah. The mangroves of Malaysia are world-famous for their diversity of animal life. There are 421 square miles of mangrove forests in Peninsular Malaysia, 644 sq. mi. in Sarawak and 1,411 sq. mi. in Sabah. Conservationists, e.g., the Malaysian Nature Society, are becoming concerned about the increased destruction of mangroves for urban, industrial and agricultural development and aquacultural ponds. For egrets this involves loss of roosting sites and places for foraging for food on mud flats. To a lesser extent there are pollution problems andhunting.
The Malaysian Nature Society in 2005 appealed to the authorities of the State of Melaka on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, especially around coastal Melaka City, to set aside mangrove areas for the white egrets and do everything possible to protect these birds. This is because of the rapid growth of MelakaCity.
The great egret is almost cosmopolitan (worldwide) in distribution, but is a migratory species in Malaysia, visiting there but leaving in non-breeding seasons except perhaps for a few that remain to breed. There are three white egrets migratory in Malaysia: great, little (Egretta garzetta) and intermediate egret (E. intermedia). The great egret is the largest of the white egrets.
Great egrets arrive in Malaysia from their breeding grounds in October and remain until next March/April when they depart for their breeding grounds in the Northern Hemisphere. In Malaysia thousands of egrets roost in the mangrove forests. Some of these mangrove habitats that have been used by the white egrets for generations are close to urban sites and have become part of the character and culture of the Malaysian people. Many Malaysians are concerned that children will lack the opportunity to observe these birds in their natural habitats.
As far as I can determine the great egret is still common in Malaysia but may be declining somewhat in certain local areas, but they are not endangered throughout the nation.
Green Imperial Pigeon
The genus Ducula contains 36 species of large pigeons, all residing from India to Polynesia with most species in New Guinea and only one in Australia, the Torresian imperial pigeon (D. spilorrhoa) and one geographic variety of the mountain imperial pigeon (D. badia) is in mainland China and Hainan.
The green imperial pigeon has an enormous geographic distribution in southeast Asia and has been divided into 13 geographic varieties (subspecies). The species occurs from India to south China to the Philippines. It occurs on dozens of islands throughout this range. Only one subspecies occurs in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, but this subspecies also occurs in Sumatra, Bali and Philippines. The color of the green pigeon varies a little among the subspecies. In general the upperparts including wings and tail are shiny green and the underparts, head and neck are pale gray. There may some pinkish wash on the breast and nape depending on the variety.
Their habitat is mangroves, wet evergreen forests, drier monsoon forests and agricultural areas where there are trees. They are arboreal (upper canopy) forest pigeons eating mainly fruits (figs and nutmegs, etc.), some quite large (1.5 inch in diameter) that they swallow whole digesting only the soft parts. They do come to the ground to drink and eat soil containing salt. They exist singly, in pairs, small flocks or flocks up to about 50 birds. Some island flocks fly among islands searching for food. The nest is constructed of loose sticks, a single white egg is laid and both female and male incubate.
This pigeon species is not endangered. In Malaysia the grey imperial pigeon (Ducula pickringii) is listed as vulnerable.
Much of the above came from Pigeons and Doves, A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World, D. Gibbs, E. Barnes and J. Cox, Yale Univ. Press, 2001.
Brown Shrike
I simply do not understand why this species was selected for this 12-coin series of "endangered birds" of Malaysia. First, it is not a breeding resident as far as I can determine. It is a winter migrant in all of Malaysia. It breeds in a huge area of central and northeast Asia including Siberia and an even greater range for non-breeding birds. This includes even two vagrant records for California, one bird staying for the winter. It may be considered declining due to habitat destruction in Malaysia, but I was not able to confirm this speculation. The only place the species is of concern is Japan (Hikkaido), and the cause there is unknown. (see Shrikes & Bush-Shrikes, T. Harris and K. Franklin, Christopher Helm publisher, 2000.)
There are 26 species in the genus Lanius with only two native to the Americas: the northern shrike (L. excubitor) and loggerhead shrike (L. ludovicianus). The latter is an uncommon resident here in southern California. I have seen more in desert habitats, especially Joshua Tree Woodlands, than around urban areas. Shrikes are classified with the songbirds, but they are birds of prey, sometimes known as "butcher birds" in the United States from their habitat of impaling their prey on thorns or barbed wire for later consumption. All Lanius feed on similar prey taking mostly large insects but also small rodents, birds and even small frogs, lizards, snakes and small fish.
The brown shrike is a rather plain colored shrike as most Lanius are. The head is gray with a prominent black face mask; the back and tail are brown. The underparts are whitish washed with a buff color. The sexes are similar. It is a very common migrant visitor to Malaysia from September to May. It can be observed in all kinds of open habitat but avoids dense forests.
I cannot get excited over this 12-coin series as not a single species is endangered and some are quite common in Malaysia. There are five critically endangered and five endangered species in Malaysia and 35 vulnerable species that the 12 could have been chosen from. (see BirdLife International Red Data Book of Threatened Birds of Asia, 2003).
Source: www.numismaster.com (16 Agustus 2007)
