26.04.2023 - Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilus javanicus)

Name: Lesser Adjutant
Scientific Name: Leptoptilus javanicus
Tamil Name: சிறிய போதா நாரை(Siriya Poathaa Naarai)

Malay/Local Name: Burung Botak Kecil

Lesser Adjutant wading at the intertidal mudflats in Jeram, Selangor.

For those who are not familiar to this stork species, its certainly a weird bird with an eerie look. Lesser adjutant is the smallest member of the Adjutant family, which at seen foraging at the intertidal mudflats and rice fields. It is a large bird with bare neck and head and comes with a big dagger like bill. Its genus, "Leptoptilus" means "delicate feather", probably describing the delicate hair like feathers on its bare head and neck. Its species name, "javanicus" indicates the location where the first specimen was described. The Malay name was derived from its obvious characteristics and described for being the smallest among the three species of Leptoptilus storks.

Lesser Adjutant from Sungai Balang Rice Field, Johor.

Description:

Adult adjutant appears with a blue-black upperpart and white underpart, with pinkish bare skin on the head and neck, which are barely covered with scattered hair like feathers. Bill is horn-colored and legs are grey. Eyes are bluish. Despite of its larger size and heavier bill, the male adjutant looks similar to the female in plumage. Juveniles appears as the duller version of the adults, with more feathers on its nape. During its breeding season, the bare part of its head and neck of the breeding adults turns brighter. A full grown Lesser Adjutant stands about 1.1m to 1.2m tall, with a wingspan up to 2.1m. Hybridization do occur in nature due to overlapping breeding range as well as in captivity, with Painted Storks. 

Closer look of Lesser Adjutant

Status and Distribution:

Common to scarce resident of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak. In Peninsular Malaysia, Lesser Adjutants are can be seen at coastal mangroves of Perak (Kuala Gula, Kuala Sepetang, Bagan Datok, Ulu Dedap rice filed), Selangor (North Central Selangor Coast), Johor (South Western Coast, Sungai Balang, Bukit Gambir), Pahang (Pekan) and Penang (Teluk Air Tawar). In East Malaysia, the bird can be seen on North-Eastern and North-Western coasts of Sabah; Pulau Beruit and Maludam National Park of Sarawak.

Some sightings of Lesser Adjutant by our local birders.

Lesser Adjutant just landed at the intertidal mudflats of Jeram, Selangor

Lesser Adjutant prowling at the Jeram mudflats, Selangor

Lesser Adjutants from Kemang Tasik Rice Field, Johor. [Photo Credit: Ahmad Taufik]

Confusion Species:

None

Geographical Variation:

None

Behavior:

Forages alone or in small loose groups at the intertidal flats adjacent to coastal mangroves and rice fields. Lesser Adjutants feeds on fish, frogs, snakes, large invertebrates, and other smaller water birds. Also picks on carcasses. Hunting is done by both visual and non visual methods. As for the visual hunting method, the bird seen to pursue moving preys on the surface of the mudflat while using its wings to balance itself. The prey is grabbed with its beak and tossed before swallowing.  For its non-visual hunting, it captures its prey by repeatedly probing its slightly gapped bill into to the mud. Sometimes it plunges the whole head and partially its neck into the mud and this may indicate its strong neck anatomy. Observed continuously gnawing the mud as well to extract prey items. The captured prey is tossed and swallowed whole. Also observed to wash mud covered prey before consuming. Often seen thermaling above its habitat, sometimes along with other storks or raptors. Mostly silent; bill clattering, hissing and moaning sounds have been noted at the nests. 

Lesser Adjutant with a catch at Sungai Muar, Johor. [Photo Credit: Ahmad Taufik]

Lesser Adjutant with an eel at Jeram mudflats, Selangor

Lesser Adjutant gulping a White Breasted Waterhen, at Wasan Rice Field, Brunei. [Photo Credit: Husini Bakar]

Lesser Adjutant about to land on the Jeram mudflats, Selangor.

Lesser Adjutant thermaling above Parit Jawa coast, Johor

Habitat:
Coastal wetlands, freshwater wetlands, and rice fields.

Breeding:

In Peninsular Malaysia, breeding season are recorded between January to June. It breeds once a year. Lesser Adjutants are tree nesters and prefer tall (even dead) emerging trees in secluded mangroves and freshwater swamps. It also nest at abandoned plantations, forming a small scaled colony. Its nest are large yet rather flimsy looking, made with sticks and lined with smaller twigs and green leaves. Nests are re-used by adding more sticks to it. 

Nest is constructed by both male and female adjutants. Courtship is lengthy; starts 3 months before the first egg is laid. Male selects the nesting spot; indicating the spot by carrying a twig. Two to four (mostly three) white eggs are laid in 1 to 3 days intervals and incubated by both male and female for 28 to 30 days. The parent birds had been seen to shade the young by spreading their wings and to bring water to the chicks during hot weather. The young birds fledge in 47 to 52 days, and will be fully independent at 5 months old.

Hybrids:

Recorded in both nature and captivity. with Painted Stork. The hybrid had the look and size of a Painted Stork along with greyish body and dark grey wings, which resembles the Lesser Adjutant.

Conservation Status:

Lesser Adjutants are classified as "Vulnerable" under IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with less than 250 individual birds surviving in Peninsular Malaysia. Although globally its facing population decline due to habitat loss, overhunting and human disturbance, Lesser Adjutants in Malaysia are facing threat due to the degradation of habitat and habitat loss primarily. Large, open trees in the mangroves are chosen by the adjutants for nesting and for high tide roosting. When large trees are logged in the mangroves, it will take time for those smaller trees to grow to that useful size for the adjutants to nest or to roost. The situation goes even worst when logging is done illegally. It will gradually reduce the number of large trees and thus reduce the number successful breeding of this adjutant. 

When this happens, the adjutants may move away from that habitat to find new potential breeding grounds, which is will reduce its number in the original habitat. There are records of nesting had been made much further away from the coastal mangroves in an abandoned rubber estate in the state of Johor. This may had happened due to lack of suitable trees in the mangroves. There is a study done on nesting characteristics of Lesser Adjutants in Nepal, which mentions the species makes choices based on the tree characteristics instead of the tree locations. When the adjutants started to nest near to human settlements, there are chances for it to be exposed to new threats, i.e., nesting trees can be removed by people in response to the nuisance of nesting birds.  The coastal mangroves also face threats from land reclamation for water front developments as well. 

I had found some things lacking about the Lesser Adjutant conservation here in Malaysia:

• Lack of latest data on population and population trend for the past 10 years for Lesser Adjutant.
• No national level programs related public awareness of conservation of Lesser Adjutants, at least to those who are living closer to its habitat. Such programs are not documented and followed up properly, if it has been executed.
• No cost and manpower related data proposed for the conservation measures of Lesser Adjutants, for a much realistic and workable solution. Continuity is lacking.

A much positive approach need to be planned by the authorities and NGOs to save these birds. Most bird enthusiasts emphasized on one point as a plan to save this bird: "Protect the mangroves!". 

   References:

1. Katuwal H. B., Sundar KS. G., Zhang M., Rimal B., Baral H. S., Sharma H. P., Ghimire P., Hughes A. C. and Quan R. C. (2022) Factors Affecting the Breeding Ecology of the Globally Threatened Lesser Adjutant, Avian Conservtion and Ecology.
2. Subaraj R. and Lok F. S. L (2009) Status of Lesser Adjutant in Singapore, Nature In Singapore
3. BirdLife Internation - Data Zone (2023), Lesser Adjutant, http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/lesser-adjutant-leptoptilos-javanicus/text

Special Thanks (for Photos and Data):

1. Ang Teck Hin (Malacca)
2. Ahmad Taufik (Johor)
3. Premala Arulambalam-Gehri & Adrian Gehri (Sabah)
4. Husini Bakar (Brunei)
5. Terence Ang (Selangor)
6. Mohd Sidek Noorwi (Perak)

Green Peafowls of Malaysia

I started this write up on 9th October 2018, due to lack of information I had to halt it for sometime...

Here it goes!

I never know peafowls existed in Malaysia until I read a book titled as "Malayan Animal Life" written by J.L. Harrison and M.W.F Tweedie (1970), in the year 1997. Sadly not much information been shared in their writings. They mentioned that peafowls once found in the coastal flats of Terengganu and Pahang. Then by coincidence I came across a newspaper article on extinct animals of Malaysia, and found that Green Peafowl is one of them. Lets look further about the Green Peafowls.

Green Peafowls (Pavo muticus) are once found from North Eastern India to the Malay Peninsula, as well as in Java. Green peafowl were indicated with "Pavo laponensis" as their scientific name. This is due to some paintings from Japan. The Japanese had imported Green Peafowls from South East Asia for hundred of years, and these birds were frequently depicted in their paintings. This had made, Carl Linneus to classify these birds under the species name of "Laponensis", means "habitat in Japan". Green peafowls are not native birds of Japan. They were kept by the emperors and now they are no longer occur.  

Painting of Green Peafowls in pair by Maruyama Okyo (1781). [Credits: Wiki]

Green peafowls were further classified under three subspecies:

1. Pavo muticus muticus (Classified in 1766), Javan Peafowl - Formerly found throught Malay Peninsular and Java. Now endemic to Java.

2. Pavo muticus imperator  (Classified in 1949), Indo Chinese Peafowl - Found in IndoChina and Yunnan Province. 

3. Pavo muticus spicifer (Classified in 1804), Burmese Peafowl - Found in Burma and South Western Thailand. Formerly found in Bangladesh and Northern Malay Peninsular. 

So how to distinguish them in the field? Seriously...no idea, since there are few variation of size and plumage within its subspecies, based on the region that it came from. Any sightings in Malaysia? Yes...1! According to EBird, there is a sighting recorded by someone named "Stephen Carter" at Pulau Pangkor Laut on 15th March 2006. Two green peafowls were found, and Stephen doubt it could feral or introduced. Furthermore it is not a validated record. I believe it could be a hybrid Indian peafowl which has a green plumage instead of the usual blue, which do look similar to an actual Green Peafowl. I have seen such peafowl at Kuala Lumpur Bird Parks ago. Those are not the real Green Peafowls that we are looking for.

A hybrid Indian Peafowl with green plumage at KL Bird Park.
(6th Oct 2018)

The Green Peafowl once sighted in 1956 and 1958 by John Corder, the co-vice president of World Pheasant Association (WPA) at the coastal area of Terengganu. The last sighting was recorded before 1965, along the river margin of Besut (Terengganu). According to WPA, the birds faced habitat loss during the 60s due to the extensive clearing of forest to make way for oil palm plantation. Then they move to the river valleys and adjacent flatland, which made them more vulnerable to hunting. Peafowls were hunted for their meat, feathers and eggs.

In order to reintroduce the green peafowl, Malaysia's Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN), initiated a program in 1990 by collaborating with WPA. Four pairs of  green peafowls were given to PERHILITAN by WPA. These birds were distributed to Malacca Zoo and Sungkai Wildlife Breeding Centre (Perak). Second batch of birds came in the year 2004, about a dozen of young birds aslo from WPA. PERHILITAN claimed that the reintroduction will be done in 3 years (means in 2007), when the second batch of birds starts to adapt themselves in a semi wild environment and starts to reproduce. PERHILITAN really want to make sure the reintroduction not to be disrupted by the (previous) extinction factors again.

Another source told that the reintroduction was pending for long just for finding a suitable location for reintroduction. Earlier PERHILITAN mentioned to release the birds at Kuala Tahan (Taman Negara, Pahang) once the birds are able to reproduce. However no information found for such activity so far. If they had reintroduce the birds, some of the birders might had sighted them in Taman Negara. I did checked with many senior birders, yet no sightings recorded so far for green peafowls in the wild.

WPA did carried out a study on the first batch of birds at Malacca Zoo. They have been breeding and flying out of the zoo to feed on the grass at the nearby golf course. A total of 13 birds were claimed to be sighted in this area, which includes 4 chicks and 2 females. This was during 2006. I am unable to get any information on its current status, unless I make a visit.

On 12th April 2023, a friend of mine, Yoganathan, posted in our Whatsapp group chat, that the green peafowls were released at Taman Negara Sungai Relau, based on a Facebook post by Endemicguides. This has got my attention and I quickly contacted Mr. Ismail of PERHILITAN for further info. He did mentioned to me that 4 peafowls (3 males and 1 female) were released at Taman Negara Sungai Relau by PERHILITAN on 4th April 2023, as a trial of reintroducing the peafowls back to the wild. Mr Ismail further updated that second batch of release will be done if the first trial is successful. The second batch will be released in different location if in case the first trial fails. Another bird enthusiast, Apiq Sulaiman, shared me a photo of the green peafowl from Sungai Relau taken by his friend, Sabrie, who is serving as a bird guide in Taman Negara Sungai Relau. 

A male Green Peafowl from Taman Negara Sungai Relau (Merapoh, Pahang).
Photo credit: Sabrie Zoo.

I wish to share some information on the Blue or Indian Peafowls from a temple at Dengkil. At Mayuranathar Temple of Dengkil, they had brought in 10 blue peacocks (Pavo cristatus) and they are reared openly. No cage! They are free to roam around the oil palm plantation surrounding the temple without any harm, even with human presence. They successfully breed as well, since chicks were found with the female birds. 3 years back there were 18 birds in total. Some of these peafowls roam as far as  Paya Indah Wetland of Dengkil as one of the bird photographer, Mr Tim Looi,  had seen it perching on a tree at this location (Feb 2023). Therefore peacocks are breedable in case there is no human interference such as hunting, trapping or egg collecting activities. 

Indian Peafowl (male) at Paya Indah Wetland. Photo by: Tim Looi (19th Feb 2023)

I hope PERHILITAN's effort will be successful and the Green peafowls will roam again in the wild as they used to be many decades ago.. It could be an added jewel to Malaysia's list of natural treasures.