The dwarf Kingfisher on Sangihe?

[Papuan birder]

Hello,

A few days ago I borrowed a book from a friend, called A guide to the birds of Wallacea I found it very intresting as it includes pictures on way over 100 birds I have never seen on picture before. Start to get out of date, but still a nice book.

As I read about the Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher I saw that they list the birds occuring in Sangihe as a own subspecies called sangirensis, and that it might be extinct because of habitat lost. But when I look in the HBW book (includes a picture) and on www.birdlife.net they list this subspecies as occuring on the Talaud Islands as well.

So I got a bit confused, I dont have a idea on which source is right so I thought I would see if there is anyone else which knows a bit more about this and maybe will be able to sort it out?

Thanks

[Tim Allwood]

Hi there Papuan

sangirensis is indeed treated as a race of Sulawesi Kingfisher Ceyx fallax by BirdLife International. It occurs also on Sangihe and Talaud but is 'probably' extinct on Sangihe due to extensive recent deforestation.

Sulawesi Kingfisher itself is classified as Lower Risk / Near Threatened

Tim

[Papuan birder]

Thanks Tim,

That makes it more clear.


So thats good to hear, that it occur on the Talaud Islands as well.

Hopefully they will be protected there and not vanish just like on Sangihe.

[Chris D]

Just got the book a few weeks ago. Won't get that far north this summer but hopefully N Sulawesi and Halmahera.

[James Eaton]

HI Papuan,

Wasn't aware of it occuring on Talaud, thanks for that. Obviously it must occur on Talaud if HBW stated it. I spent 10 days on Talaud a couple of years back without observing this species, though extensive lowland forest still occurs on the island so no reason for it to have become extinct there. All Ceyx are difficult unless vocalising, though we observed Sulawesi Dwarf on several ocassions in lowland forest along the Minahassa peninsula (Dumoga-Bone NP) despite them remaining silent.

If you look back at a previous thread about Sangihe from 'Sebbe' he apparently observed the species on Sangihe at the back end of last year. This species would struggle to survive on Sangihe now as all lowland forest has diasappeared from the island with the forest restricted to just a single volcanic mountain ridge where the other endemic taxon are easily observed (except surprisingly difficult White-eye).

[cuckooroller]

Ever the Doubting Thomas, I would like to see the substantiated records placing it surely in Talaud Is. Everything else I have places it only in Sangihe Is. (which brings to mind another question - has it been recorded and if so, is it still extant on Siau I.). I know the HBW (this volume published prior to some of my other sources) lists it in the Sangihe and Talaud EBA, and I ask myself if they just made a transposition from the EBA or actually have good records in Talaud.

[Papuan birder]

Good to hear that some sutiable habitat still exist on the Talaud Islands James, ohhhh thats good that someone has recorded it recently on Sangihe, but Sangihe has thrown up some rediscoveries and many birds new to this Island has been recorded the last few years so who knows, the dwarf kingfisher might be able to struggle on in some tiny forest pocket/pockets. I get a bit jelous about your visit to the Talaud Islands, a place I would love to visit some day.

But as Steve said, it would be great to find a soure or something which mention a bit about the occurence here. So far I have only found soruce which tells about its status on Sangihe and Sulawesi, that do afterall makes me doubting a bit about the occurence in the Talaud Islands. The Sulawesi dwarf kingfisher probably lived on Siau once (altough I dont have any info on any records, neiter unconfirmed or confirmed), as Siau and Sangihe share many birds and it might once have occoured on all those chain Islands located a bit north of Sulawesi, who knows, they arent well explored by bird watchers, but as most birds seems to be extinct on Siau because of even worst habitat destruction then on Sangihe, I hardly doubt that any individuals of this subspecies would survive here, I assume they, if they occoured here, it probably became extinct long ago.




http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/zma3d/detail.php?id=299&sort=taxon&type=family

By the way, here is another website which list this subspecies as occuring on both Sangihe (they apparently use the old name of the island, Sangir) and Talaud Islands.

It mention that the Talaud population have undergone a marked decline.

[Tim Allwood]

HBW
BirdLife
and Coates and Bishop have it on Talaud so the records must come from somewhere

JonRiley had a paper in Kukila but i think that refers to the species but i canna remember at moment - this is ref Riley, J., 1997c.
The birds of Sangihe and Talaud, North Sulawesi
Kukila 9: 3-36.

hope it helps

[Hidde Bruinsma]

Hi guys,

This is what I can come up with.
Steve must be right. There has been some kind of mix up
in the EBA name/ real distribution. It probably started with Birdlife's "Threatened Birds of the World", published in 2000. This book puts the race on the Sangihe and Talaud Islands. This was copied by HBW (it is closely associated with Birdlife, as you all know) and even pictured in their distribution map. However, Birdlife corrected itself a year later in the more detailed publication "Threatened Birds of Asia", in which the distribution was described as the Sangihe and Talaud EBA. Meaning not necessarily ocurring on both island groups. HBW could have picked up on this improved info because volume 7, in which the kingfishers are treated, was published a year later still, in 2002.
Anyway, all the other books and magazines firmly place the race on the Sangihe Islands and not anywhere else. Riley mentions it as one of the four taxa not found anywhere on any island. Helm's book on the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers only mentions "Sangihe Island" and even the monumental, two volume work on the kingfishers by Joseph Forshaw gives the Sangihe Islands as the only place of occurence.
Everybody agrees that this subspecies is either very rare or extinct. Let's hope the latter is not the case.