Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions Underway
No targeted measures have been taken, other than the survey to relocate the species in the early 1990s.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Conduct extensive surveys on Boano (and the neighbouring islands of Kelang and Manipa which may prove to support the species) to establish its range, distribution and status, and assess its habitat requirements and threats. Assess the suitability of Gunung Tahun (the site of rediscovery) as a protected area. Devise and implement a conservation strategy for the species involving the establishment of an appropriate protected area if necessary.

Location Information

This species is confined to the island of Boano off north-west Seram, South Maluku, Indonesia, where it appears to occupy a very limited area (probably no more than 20%) of the mountainous part (c.70 km2) of the island (BirdLife International 2001). Known from just one specimen collected at an unspecified locality in 1918, it was rediscovered in 1991, in a foothill gorge of Gunung Tahun. Observations at the same locality in 1994 led to an estimate of 5-10 birds in a 5 ha patch of forest. Based on the extent of suitable habitat this was extrapolated to give a population estimate of 100-200 individuals (Moeliker and Heij 1995). The first record since 1994 came in 2011, when at least 12 individuals were seen and around 20 more were heard in an area of cut-over forest where none had been seen on the 1994 expedition (Eaton 2011), and there have been several reports of the species over recent years (see eBird 2018).

Geographic Range

Extant

Indonesia

Population Information

The population is estimated to number 100-200 individuals, roughly equating to 70-130 mature individuals.

Threats

Forests on the island of Boano have long been exploited for human needs. Although recent cutting is deemed to have irreversibly affected the island's ecosystem, patches of valley-bottom forest remain wherein the monarch persists. However, its extremely low estimated population size, and the apparent ease with which forest at the single known site could be cleared or burnt, renders it highly vulnerable to extinction.

IUCN Red List Account Link

Please click here to see the species' IUCN Red List Account page.