The Citron- Crested Cockatoo - Indonesian Parrot Project

Citron- Crested Cockatoos in the Wild: The Last Stand?
Stewart Metz, MD
Director, The Indonesian Parrot Project and PBW
WHY IS IT IN DANGER?
The Citron-crested or Sumba cockatoo (or, technically, Cacatua sulphurea
citronocristata) is physically the largest subspecies of Cacatua sulphurea,
except possibly for the extraordinarily rare C.s. abbotti .In terms of numbers,
it accounts for about half of the Yellow-crested cockatoos remaining in the
wild , whereas there are less than 10 individuals of the abbotti race left on
Masakembing Island. They are native to only a single island (Sumba) in the Nusa
Tenggara chain (also called the Lesser Sundas) of Indonesia [see MAP; Sumba is
just below Komodo and Rinca].
Who doesn't love these adorable, uppity little Sumba 'toos? They endear
themselves to us with those long recursive (narrow, forward-curving) crests
[ref.#1] which they flip forward in cheeky, characteristically staccato bows,
as if always finishing an audition for "Cockatoo Idol".

everybody loves them as pets.
Unfortunately, that's the problem--
First photo is of my own Citron 'Putri Cantik' which means "Beautiful Princess" in Indonesian
The second photo, taken by Bonnie Zimmermann, is of a Sumba cockatoo confiscated from the
illegal bird trade in government facilities on Ambon Island.
If loss of habitat and the illegal pet bird trade wipes them out on Sumba, they
will be lost from the wild forever. Sadly, both of these factors have existed
side-by-side for many years on Sumba, reducing remaining number of cockatoos
to critically endangered levels. This is despite a national domestic ban in their

trade since 1992 and a local (island) ban since 1996. In 2002, a single collector
exported 52 cockatoos [Ref.#2].
When I visited Sumba in 2002, I had some interesting discussions with
trappers/ex-trappers. One was that the cockatoo appeared frequently in the
mythology of Sumba and with some reverence, and is frequently depicted as
bringing souls of the dead to heaven in the famous Sumba funeral weavings
called ikat. Second, the cockatoo is the only bird which disperses the seeds of
a tree (the name of which I could not get) which produces the wood used solely
for holy/sacred buildings and which even illegal loggers will apparently not
take. Nonetheless, this beautiful bird is still trapped.
WHAT EXACLY IS THE MAGNITUDE OF THE DANGER?
Sumba is a somewhat atypical island in that it is one of the driest in Indonesia,
especially the Eastern part. Not only are large areas relatively arid, but as
other areas were deforested, the damage was done piecemeal, tending to
create forests islands. Since Sumba cockatoos prefer large blocks of
undisturbed forest larger than 10 square kilometer, the concern is that
cockatoos might be reluctant to fly large distances between such 'islands' even
if they had to. Therefore, several years ago, PBW/IPP funded the radiotelemetry
studies of Dr. Margaret Kinnard which were able to demonstrate that
showing that Citrons are very strong fliers (up to 32 km/day) and will cross at
least 7 km. of open land to bridge these forest fragments [ref. #3].
The figures for the rates of deforestation are frightening: In 1927, 55% of
Sumba was covered by forest; in 1996 this figure had fallen to 13% and by 2000,
to only 8%. Thereby was lost trees critical for both nestbox creation and
availability of preferred foods. Concomitantly, the population of cockatoos
declined from more than 100 cockatoos per 1000 hectares in 1970, to about 13
in 1980 to about 3 by 1990 and 2 by 2002, a stunning decline of 98 % in 32
years! In terms of total populations, census studies in the 1990's suggested that
only between 1150-2644 individuals existed on the island; it was reported in
2002 that total island population might be relatively stable since 1992. When I
visited there in 2002, I was only able to see 4 cockatoos, although a 6-month
drought doubtless didn't help that figure. In 2004, the entire species of
C.sulphurea was uplisted to Appendix I of CITES.
The Sumba cockatoo is not the only bird to suffer under conditions of such
marked deforestation. The Sumba Eclectus (Eclectus roratus cornelia) actually
has a density [number of birds in a given area] as low as that of the cockatoo.
The Sumba Great-billed Parrot Tanygnathus Megalorhynchos (see ref. #4 for
details) and the endemic Sumba Hornbill Rhyticeros everetti are also in
trouble. Interestingly these birds often nest together in the same tree, usually
giant(> 35 meters) Tetrameles trees, a single one of which might contain
multiple cockatoo nests, a few Eclectus nests, and a hornbill [Ref. #5]. Avian

condominiums on Sumba!! -- and even here, it's all about "Location, Location,
Location".
WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT IT?
Two groups have systematically approach the plight of the Citron-crested
cockatoo: the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS, based in the Bronx, N.Y.)
and BirdLife-Indonesia (BL-I). PBW-the Indonesian Parrot Project has
contributed to the efforts of both. The work by WCS was led by Dr. Margaret
Kinnaird, and two post-doctoral students, Alexis Cahill and Jon Walker. One
critical contribution was to carry out the radio-telemetry studies cited above,
working with in collaboration with Dr.Nurul Winarni; another was to initiate
work on a rehabilitation and release program for confiscated Sumba cockatoos
(see details below).
Alexis and Jon have also worked with Dr. Stuart Marsden to study the nesting
and breeding ecology of the Citron-crested cockatoo, including the first studies
of the use of artificial nest boxes. These preliminary attempts were limited,
however, both by occupancy of the nest boxes by other animals, and the ill
effects of heavy rainfall.
BirdLife Indonesia (BL-I) has had an extended presence on Sumba. Their
program for the Sumba cockatoo specifically several 'prongs' to it:
--- changing attitudes to make the cockatoo a symbol of their special heritage,
and exploiting it as "anti-Sumba:
Education for children
Education for adults (One BL-I slogan on banners reads "Maukah anda
dikurung seperti burung?" , which means "Do you want to be caged like a
bird?")
Appointing community Parrot Wardens and protection groups
--- working to reduce illegal trade through anti-smuggling approaches
---research
---Rehabilitation and Release of Confiscated Sumba Cockatoos. This program
is funded by PBW/IPP. To date, the following initiatives have been
accomplished:
Trained government officers to improve handing of confiscated birds
(2003)
Paid for Bali vet to come to Sumba to train staff and develop standard
procedures (2003)
Coordinated with local communities, government and media (ongoing).
Arrests of poachers have been made and jail sentences handed out (rare
in Indonesia for bird smuggling), in large part due to information coming
from local informants. As a result, 47% of local trappers and
collectors are no longer active.
Released first cockatoos (3) and Eclectus (4); August 21, 2003. As of
2004, the total number of birds rehabilitated and released reached a

total of 13 (cockatoos, Eclectus and Green-naped lorikeets; breakdown
not yet available). Dr. Kinnaird reported that " released
birds[cockatoos] appeared to pair in the wild" (personal
communication to S.M.; 5/24/2004).
Last year, moved the rehabilitation center from town to a facility inside
the forest of National Park and markedly expanded and upgraded entire
facility.
Photo is of the observation cage for Citron-crested cockatoos at the BirdLife rehabilitation
and release facility on Sumba .It was taken prior to addition of accommodations for birds .©
courtesy of Meivana Andryani, BirdLife Indonesia (reproduction only with permission)
Three cockatoos are currently there being rehabilitated for possible release
THE FUTURE
Other good news is that two new national parks have been created on the
island relatively recently: Manupeu-Tandaru and Laiwanggi-Wanggameti. To
achieve success there, it was necessary to appreciate the practical significance
to the major stakeholders (the local villagers, who are very poor) of removing
from their use, major tracts of cultivatable land. Complicated agreements had
to be worked out that were both ecologically- wise for conservation, but
satisfactory to the community. [In contrast, many past efforts in other
locations in the country were doomed to failure by simply decreeing the

expulsion of the local peoples from the national parks]. Such approaches are
more likely to assure the long-term help of the community.
We have just initiated talks with BirdLife to possibly broaden our collaboration
and set up a joint PCR/DNA laboratory in Bogor to assay for viral and other
diseases-- a step which we consider critical prior to releasing any psittacines
back into the forest. This would involve also working with LIPI, the Indonesian
Institute of Science.
So the good news is that there are a lot of people fighting now to make certain
that this is NOT the last stand for kakatua kecil jambul kuning (the Little
Cockatoo with the Yellow Crest).
[1] In contrast, the recumbent crest of the Umbrella or Salmon-crested
cockatoo is broader, fans out when opened, and lies flat: Carol Highfill, "Those
magnificent cockatoo crests", available online at
http://www.birdsnways.com/cockatoo/crests.htm
(2) cited in Persulessy et al, Population Survey and Distribution of Cacatua
sulphurea citronocristata. Report of Birdlife Indonesia. Bogor. 2003
(3) Kinnaird, M., "Cockatoos in Peril" PsittaScene. Vol 11, #2: May, 1999,
pp. 11-13
(4) Metz, S., Tindige, K. "Great-Billed Parrots in Indonesia " PsittaScene
15, #3: 2003, p.8
(5) Marsden, SJ., "The Ecology and Conservation of the Parrots of Sumba"
PsittaScene. Vol 7, #2: May, 1995, pp. 8-9
Stewart Metz
July 12, 2006/ NFTF