Numbers of endangered bulbuls show slight rebound on Pulau Ubin

Neo Chai Chin


Published: 9:50 PM, February 23, 2017

SINGAPORE — While their counterparts in the region have been hunted relentlessly for the caged-bird trade, at least 202 Straw-headed bulbuls have found a safe home in Singapore and have grown in numbers on Pulau Ubin.

The population of the endangered songbird species on the island grew at nearly 4 per cent per year over the past 15 years to at least 110, while numbers on the mainland have held steady.

These findings by six Singaporean birdwatchers were published recently in the journal Bird Conservation International.

The bird’s conservation status was raised last December from “vulnerable” to “endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, which classifies species at high risk of global extinction.

With the global population of the bird estimated at 600 to 1,700 individuals, the group in Singapore may easily comprise up to one-third of the world’s remaining wild Straw-headed bulbuls.

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Jurong Bird Park releases more hornbills on Pulau Ubin

Three more captive-bred Oriental Pied Hornbills were released into the wild on Wednesday, in a bid by the Jurong Bird Park to diversify the giant bird's genetic pool. "Increasing (the genetic pool)...is important to the conservation of the species because it allows for a healthier population of these birds. With more genetic diversity, the species is less susceptible to diseases," said Dr Minerva Bongco-Nuqui, avian curator at the Bird Park.

The birds had been fed whole fruit weeks prior to their release onto Pulau Ubin, to acclimatise them. They were then given a thorough health check on Monday, and measured for research purposes.

Since 2009, the Bird Park has released nine birds from its collection onto Pulau Ubin and the mainland. There are today about 100 hornbills here, up from an estimated 20 in 2004. The species - once common here - had vanished with urbanisation in the 1920s, but returned in the mid-1990s.

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