Philip Jacobson – Teetering on the brink of extinction, Indonesia's Javan green magpie may have a conservation lifeline after national and international conservation NGOs launched an action plan to preserve it in the wild.
Javan green magpies (Cissa thalassina) are endemic to the upland forests of West Java province, but have been assessed as critically endangered, with as few as 50 of the birds remaining in the wild. Habitat loss and poaching for the songbird trade have greatly reduced their numbers and led to local extinctions in some areas.
"Very few have ever been recorded in the wild," says Andrew Owen, head of birds at Chester Zoo in the U.K. "The fact that the Javan green magpie is now so rare is also a reason why some people want to catch them and keep them."
In recent years, the Javan green magpie has barely appeared in markets, experts say, though that's likely due to its increasing rarity in the wild. Surveys carried out between 2018 and 2021 across 12 previously inhabited sites recorded no birds, raising the alarm. "We must assume that excessive trade has pushed this once reasonably widespread but perhaps never common species to the very brink of extinction," the authors wrote in a 2023 study.
These birds, known locally as ekek geling for their unique call, are sought after as so-called master birds in the songbird trade. Master birds rarely compete and instead are used to "train" competition birds. Javan green magpies received official protected status in 2019.
With the new action plan, developed and agreed upon by 48 songbird experts, conservation groups are aiming to protect the bird's montane habitat, engage with local communities to address trapping, and crack down on illegal trade over the next 10 years.
The Indonesian government took part in the consultation, and a process is underway to convert the plan into a "national strategic action plan." It's hoped this will bring about greater enforcement efforts and funnel more resources into habitat protection, adds Corinne Bailey, also at Chester Zoo.
Conservation translocations are planned to bolster the few remaining wild populations. For around a decade, Indonesian facilities such as the Cikananga Wildlife Center, and international centers, mostly in Europe, have bred more than 130 birds in captivity as an "insurance policy," Owen says.
Simon Bruslund, director of global development at Copenhagen Zoo, says working with local communities and trappers will be a core part of the recovery plan.
"If any reintroduction efforts are going to be fruitful in the future, the buy-in of the local communities and their protection of the species will be key," he says.
He adds a major challenge will be navigating the interest this conservation action will bring upon the Javan green magpie. "Giving the Javan green magpie a certain status and attention might actually drive the illegal trade in unpredictable ways," Bruslund says. "It can be very good, but it can also backlash."
Experts also say if the plan is successful it will benefit other species, such as the critically endangered rufous-fronted laughingthrush (Garrulax rufifrons), and threatened montane ecosystems.
"It's such a unique and special species that we really need to preserve it for future generations, and as well as for the environment," Owen said. "It's a wonderful potential flagship species for bird conservation in Indonesia."