LIPI Discovers New Species Of Fruit Birds In West Papua

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) discovered a new type of Burungbuah (Melanocharis) in the mountainous area of Kumawa, West Papua. This bird is called the Satin Fruit Bird.

"The last discovery of a new bird species in Papua was the Melipotes foja (Melipotes carolae) in 2007. So the discovery of a new species of Berrypecker as one of six new bird species discovered in the world in 2021 is very encouraging," said the Center's researcher. Biological Research LIPI Hidayat Azhari quoted by Antara, Friday, June 18.

The new type of berrypecker bird was named Melanocharis citreola, sp. Nov. Milá, Ashari & Thebaud. The bird's English name is Satin Berrypecker and its Indonesian name is Satin Fruit Bird.

The discovery of this new type of Burungbuah is the result of collaboration between Indonesia and France which was carried out twice, namely in 2014 and 2017. The project is included in the broad framework of the Lengguru Project organized by the French Institute de Recherche pour le Développement, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Indonesian Institute of Sciences). LIPI), Papua University, Cendrawasih University, Musamus University and KP Sorong Polytechnic.

The research team consisted of Hidayat Ashari (Indonesia) and Borja Milá, Jade Bruxaux, Guillermo Friis, Katerina Sam, Christophe Thébaud (France).

The first expedition was carried out in November 2014 when the expedition team managed to reach an altitude of 1100-1200 meters above sea level (masl).

During four days at that location, the expedition team managed to capture a male bird, which has not been clearly identified, and was identified only as Melanocharis.

Then October-November 2017, the research team returned to the site with better equipment and logistics, and for 22 days at that 1200 masl, they managed to capture three more individuals.

This new species of bird is included in the Melanocharis genus because it has a distinctive shape with a solid black beak, the upper body is blue-black in contrast to the lighter underside. The satin white underside with a hint of lemon yellow is a distinctive feature that distinguishes it from other species in the same genus.

In general, the fruit bird has the characteristics of a black beak and legs, dark brown irises. The color of the fur on the back and buttocks is blue and black. The throat, chest and belly are satin white with a hint of lemon yellow, and are slightly lighter in color on the sides.

The feathers on the underside of the wings are white. The malar or side of the throat separates the blue-black color of the face from the white of the throat.

Wing feathers black with white on the inner edges of the primary and secondary feathers. The tail feathers are blue and black throughout, except for the edges of the outermost tail feathers which are white.

The Satin fruit bird is small with a wing length of 62 mm, tarsus length 19.4 mm, tail length 49.5 mm, beak length from the base of the skull 11.2 mm, beak length from the tip of the nostrils 7.3 mm, the width of the beak at the tip of the nostrils 4.1 mm and the height of the beak at the tip of the 3.5mm nostril.

In general, Berrypecker or fruit bird is a bird that eats berries and other small fruits, making it a seed dispersal bird. The bird is active under the forest canopy, from the forest floor to a height of two meters. Its presence is important for the dispersal of seeds throughout the forest.

However, the encounter of the Satin Fruit Bird is still very few in the forest, so its behavior is still not known with certainty. This allows for further research of the bird.

"With a unique location such as the Lengguru Karst area, making this bird important to be studied further," said Hidayat.