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Songbird trade crisis in Southeast Asia leads to the formation of IUCN SSC Asian Songbird Trade Specialist Group (Guest Editorial)
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... With a burgeoning middle class in countries where caged birds are regarded as status symbols and owning birds is a deeply entrenched social practice, consumer demand for these birds is expected to grow even further (Marshall et al. 2020). High levels of trapping to meet increasingly insatiable market demand have already caused extinction or nearextinction in some Sundaic species, leading to the current 'Asian Songbird Crisis' (Baveja et al. 2021;Lee et al. 2016;Nijman 2010;Sadanandan et al. 2020;Shepherd and Cassey 2017). Monitoring trade routes of caged birds is critical for effective management and regulations to be implemented. ...
Wildlife trade is one of the major contributors to biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia, especially in songbirds. Wildlife forensics using genomic data can be instrumental in informing conservation action by identifying trade routes and animals’ provenance to help law enforcement. We obtained ~ 10,000 genome-wide markers spanning a panel of 87 wild, captive, and confiscated individuals of one of the most widely traded songbirds in Southeast Asia, Swinhoe’s white-eye (Zosterops simplex), to examine shifts in trade routes. Our population-genomic analyses reveal that a well-studied population of this white-eye on Singapore Island exhibits a major genomic contribution from the geographically distant subspecies simplex, reflecting historic trade into Singapore from China. In contrast, modern confiscated samples as well as a minority of wild Singapore samples carry the genomic signature of the Southeast Asian subspecies erwini, suggesting that modern trade sources in Singapore have shifted from China towards adjacent Malaysia. Our study highlights how accurate identification of trade routes can help conservationists’ efforts in tackling the growing songbird crisis in the region.
... Some species in the region have become threatened with extinction by trade , Rheindt et al. 2019, and indeed one heavily traded species, Javan Pied Starling Gracupica jalla, may now be extinct in the wild (Nijman et al. 2021, van Balen & Collar 2021. The exceptional concern this trade has generated led to the formation of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Asian Songbird Trade Specialist Group (ASTSG) (Shepherd & Cassey 2017). A heavy trade in songbirds for the cage-bird industry has also been reported in parts of South America (Alves et al. 2010, Alves et al. 2012, Regueira & Bernard 2012, do Nascimento et al. 2015, Souto et al. 2017, Charity & Ferreira 2020. ...
Trade represents a significant threat to many wild species and is often clandestine and poorly monitored. Information on which species are most prevalent in trade, and potentially threatened by it, therefore remains fragmentary. We mobilised seven global datasets on birds in trade to identify the species or groups of species that might be at particular risk. These datasets sample different parts of the broad trade spectrum but we nevertheless find a statistically strong congruence between them in which species are recorded in trade. Furthermore, the frequency with which species are recorded within datasets is positively correlated with their occurrence across datasets. This allows us to propose a trade prevalence score that can be applied to all bird species globally. This score discriminates well between species known from semi-independent assessments to be heavily or unsustainably traded and all other species. Globally, 45.1% of all bird species, and 36.7% of globally threatened bird species, were recorded in at least one of the seven datasets. Species listed in Appendices I or II of CITES, species with large geographical distributions and non-songbirds had higher trade prevalence scores. Speciose orders with high mean trade prevalence scores include the Falconiformes, Psittaciformes, Accipitriformes, Anseriformes, Bucerotiformes and Strigiformes. Despite their low mean prevalence score, Passeriformes accounted for the highest overall number of traded species of any order but had low representation in CITES Appendices. Geographical hotspots where large numbers of traded species co-occur differed between songbirds (South-East Asia and Eurasia) and non-songbirds (central South America, sub-Saharan Africa and India). This first attempt to quantify and map the relative prevalence in trade of all bird species globally can be used to identify species and groups of species which may be at particular risk of harm from trade and can inform conservation and policy interventions to reduce its adverse impacts.
Article impact statement
The first metric to estimate the prevalence in trade of all the world’s bird species is presented.
... Third, behavioral change interventions that target consumers and other actors in the trade supply chain should be conducted, for example by encouraging singing competition categories exclusively for birds from commercial captive breeding or 'ranching', particularly for high-profile species such as the White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus (Burivalova et al., 2017;Veríssimo, 2013). Efforts should be made to better understand and address the underlying drivers of wild bird trapping through a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach, such as that showcased by the Asian Songbird Trade Specialist Group (Burivalova et al., 2017;Marshall et al., 2019;Shepherd and Cassey, 2017). Counterintuitively, investing in active habitat restoration could increase accessibility, which may in turn increase hunting pressure. ...
Tropical forest restoration stands to deliver important conservation gains, particularly in lowland Southeast Asia, which has suffered some of the world's highest rates of recent forest loss and degradation. This promise, however, depends on the extent to which biodiversity at forest restoration sites continues to be exposed to threats. A key knowledge gap concerns the extent to which biodiversity recovery in naturally regenerating tropical forests is impacted by trapping for the multi-million-dollar wildlife trade. Here, we use a repeated survey dataset to quantify rates of avian community recovery under forest regeneration, at a flagship restoration site in the lowland rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia. We show that over a decade, forest regeneration was associated with significant abundance increases for 43.8 % of bird species. However, the apparent negative impacts of trade-driven trapping on avian populations also intensified: the proportion of species dependent on very remote forests increased from 5.4 % to 16.2 %. Moreover, the overall accessibility of the forest increased. We found that 14 % of species did not recover as fast as predicted based on the observed forest regeneration over the study period. We found trapping to disproportionately impact species targeted for trade: compared to opportunistically trapped species, twice more species showed increased abundance only in very remote forests. Our results highlight the potential for rapid avifaunal recovery in regenerating tropical forests, but also emphasize the urgency of tackling the serious threat of wildlife trade to Southeast Asia's biodiversity.
... Throughout the region, the trade in wild-caught songbirds-prized for their vocal ability, plumage, rarity, and cultural significance-is having a massive effect on wild populations (Nijman 2010, Lee et al. 2016, Symes et al. 2018, Indraswari et al. 2020. The resulting "Asian Songbird Crisis" has left many species facing extinction, while for others the damage trade has wrought on their populations is still poorly understood due to insufficient monitoring , Shepherd and Cassey 2017, Bergin et al. 2018, Marshall et al. 2020. Indonesia, particularly its most populous island of Java, is widely regarded as the epicenter of the bird trade in Southeast Asia, with millions of birds sold annually at markets irrespective of their legal status and an estimated 70 million cage-birds kept in one-third of Java's 36 million households , Harris et al. 2017, Marshall et al. 2020. ...
The Black-winged Myna (Acridotheres melanopterus) is an Endangered passerine endemic to the islands of Java and Bali, Indonesia. Illegal trapping to supply the cage-bird trade has led to its near-total extinction, with the global population estimated to number fewer than 100 individuals. We estimated the current range and population size of the species at Baluran National Park, which supports Java’s last known population, and used species distribution modeling to evaluate potential suitability of currently unoccupied areas across the park to identify priorities for management intervention. We estimate that the Black-winged Myna population numbers 179 individuals (95% CI: 111–288; density: 14.3 ± 3.5 individuals km–2) and that its current range is 12.3 km2. Our model indicated that some 72 km2 of the park (30% of total area) has potentially suitable habitat for the species, and we infer that the principal cause for the disparity between its current and potential range is trapping, compounded by savanna loss and degradation due to illegal domestic cattle grazing and the spread of invasive thorny acacia (Vachellia nilotica). The partial clearance of acacia in recent years appears to have assisted a modest population recovery by the myna. Its further population growth and range expansion in Baluran will depend on effective management of illegal poaching, further clearance of acacia, and easing domestic cattle grazing pressure on areas of savanna, particularly through engagement with communities living inside the park. Any actions that increase the size of the Black-winged Myna population are likely to benefit other threatened savanna-dependent wildlife in the park, notably banteng (Bos javanicus) and Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus). While our models and recommendations may be applicable to other protected areas in Java, and indeed other threatened myna species, trapping and habitat change may have site-specific dimensions, especially outside of protected areas, and thus demand local bespoke solutions.
... Subsequently, given that demand for pets in China has increased, Huadiwan may have been on par with other megadiverse urban bird markets in Southeast Asia (e.g., Pramuka market in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Chatuchak market in Bangkok, Thailand [Techachoochert & Round, 2013]). In 2017, due to the decline of several populations of songbird species in Asia, the Asian Songbird Extinction Crisis was declared (Lee, 2016;Shepherd & Cassey, 2017). One of the most well-documented declines due to unsustainable trade in China has been the Yellow-breasted Bunting, Emberiza aureola (Heim et al., 2021;Kamp et al., 2015). ...
The prevailing methodology of noncontinuous wildlife market surveys contributes little to our understanding of the spatiotemporal variations of markets and their supply. Here, we investigate trends in bird trade in a large regional domestic market. Near‐continuous monthly surveys at a pet market in Guangzhou, China discovered over 95,000 individuals of 147 species between 2011 and 2013. We analyzed optimal survey frequency, finding that autumn is the best season to detect maximal species diversity. In a mixed‐effects model, we found that species‐specific purposes for trade controls the occurrence of species across shops in a market. A buffer analysis showed that 13 of the 15 most abundant species are distributed within 200 km of the market. However, hotspots of range overlap for wild‐caught, native species were found at great distances from the market within China and along China's borders. Identifying the location of theoretical trapping bottlenecks (areas where trapping levels are high) from this market data can help identify regions (e.g., southwest China) that are affected by trade, where local bird populations may be experiencing residual impacts from harvesting. Our results provide insights to improve methodologies for monitoring wildlife markets and identify priority regions for population surveys of in‐demand wild bird species.
The wildlife trade is a billion-dollar global business, involving millions of people, thousands of species, and hundreds of millions of individual organisms. Unravelling whether trade targets reproductively distinct species and whether this preference varies between captive and wild-sourced species is a crucial question. We use a comprehensive list of all bird species traded, and trade Listings and records under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in combination with a suite of avian reproductive parameters, to ask whether wildlife trade associates with particular facets of life-history. Across all trade, CITES Listing, and CITES trade, we highlight that large birds are more likely to be traded and listed, but that longevity and age at maturity show no association with CITES Listing or trade. We then used the CITES trade database to examine the association between life-history traits and captive and wild-sourced traded volumes over time. We find species across almost the full range of trait values in both captive and wild trade between 2000 and 2020. Captive trade volumes clearly associated with relatively longer-lived and early-maturing species, with these associations remaining stable and largely unchanged over time. Trait-volume associations in wild-sourced trade were more uncertain; only body mass had a clear association which varied from negative to positive through time. While reproductive traits are important in captive-sourced trade, species-level variation dominates wildlife trade with even congeneric species varying greatly in volume despite similar traits. The collection and incorporation of trait data into sustainability assessments of captive breeding facilities is crucial to ensure accurate quotas and guard against laundering. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Alexander Lees and Pramana Yuda introduce the songbird trade of Southern and Eastern Asia that is a major threat to regional bird populations.
We here describe a new subspecies of the white-rumped shama Copsychus malabaricus from the western islands of the Thai Malay Peninsula. The new subspecies is mitogenomically distinct from other members of the complex. Morphologically, its tail is longer and the black breast in males is much less extensive than in males of all other taxa. The discovery of a new shama in a relatively well-explored part of Southeast Asia brings to light a gap in our taxonomic understanding of tropical Asian birds, which continue to be understudied. The new Langkawi shama is the subject of extensive specialized poaching efforts, and its survival may be at risk, calling for immediate conservation action.
Keeping wild birds is a deeply engrained and widely prevalent cultural practice, with a history going back thousands of years. One of the more recent trends to emerge from this practice is the singing contest, which pits male birds against each other to impress human judges with their songs, plumage, and movement. A champion bird can garner social prestige and, in some cases, considerable sums of prize money for its human owner. Today these contests drive demand in the global songbird trade, especially in Southeast Asia where more bird species are threatened by trade than in any other region of the world. This literature review aims to describe how we study the songbird trade and identify new research opportunities with a focus on singing contests. We aggregated 219 papers published between 1990 and 2020 and categorized them according to geographic origin, publication date, and academic focus. We found that singing contests currently take place in 19 countries across five of the world’s biogeographic regions, using at least 36 species of birds. Our analysis revealed that research on the songbird trade is most prevalent in the Indo-Malay, Neotropic, and Palearctic regions, tends to prioritize birds over humans, and corresponds with the prevalence of singing contests. Education and Outreach had the fewest publications of any discipline in our review, and we conclude this kind of research may provide a valuable basis for future conservation strategies targeting the songbird trade at a global scale.
Tropical forest restoration stands to deliver important conservation gains, particularly in lowland Southeast Asia, which has suffered some of the world’s highest rates of forest loss and degradation. This promise, however, depends on the extent to which biodiversity at forest restoration sites continues to be exposed to threats. A key knowledge gap concerns the extent to which biodiversity recovery in naturally regenerating tropical forests is impacted by trapping for the multi-million-dollar wildlife trade. Here, we use a repeated survey dataset to quantify rates of avian community recovery under forest regeneration, at a flagship restoration site in the lowland rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia. We show that over a decade, forest regeneration was associated with significant abundance increases for 43.8% of bird species.
However, the apparent negative impacts of trade-driven trapping on avian populations also intensified: the proportion of species that show increased abundance only in very remote forests increased from 5.4% to 16.2%, while the overall accessibility of the forest increased. We found that 14% of species did not recover as fast as predicted based on the observed improvement in forest conditions over the study period. Our results highlight the potential for rapid avifaunal recovery in regenerating tropical forests, but also emphasize the urgency of tackling the serious threat of wildlife trade to Southeast Asia’s biodiversity.
Currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Straw-headed
Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus is being driven towards extinction throughout most of its range by
unregulated illegal trade supplying the demand for songbirds. We conducted surveys of bird markets
in North and West Kalimantan, and Central, West and East Java between July 2014 and June 2015,
and observed a total of 71 Straw-headed Bulbuls in 11 markets in eight cities. Comparing our data
with the literature, we found that as numbers in markets are decreasing, prices are increasing to over
20 times the prices recorded in 1987, indicating that numbers in the wild are diminishing. This is
corroborated by widespread extirpations throughout their range and reports from traders that
Straw-headed Bulbuls are increasingly difficult to locate, while demand from consumers remains
high. Concerted efforts from a variety of stakeholders are urgently needed to prevent the extinction
of this species in the wild. We recommend that the Straw-headed Bulbul be included in Indonesia’s
list of protected species, considered for uplisting to Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and
listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES). We also urge the Indonesian Government to effectively enforce existing laws,
targeting the open bird markets to shut down the trade in this and other threatened species.
Commercial trade, almost always for pets, represents a major threat to bird species and subspecies in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java and Bali, Indonesia. Thirteen species—Silvery Woodpigeon Columba argentina, Javan Hawk-eagle Nisaetus bartelsi, Helmeted Hornbill Rhinoplax vigil, Yellow-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea, Scarlet-breasted Lorikeet Trichoglossus forsteni, Javan Green Magpie Cissa thalassina, Black-winged Myna Acridotheres melanopterus, Bali Myna Leucopsar rothschildi, Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus, Javan White-eye Zosterops flavus, Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush Garrulax rufifrons, Sumatran Laughingthrush Garrulax bicolor and Java Sparrow Lonchura oryzivora—are identified as at greatly elevated risk of global extinction from trade pressures, plus the nominate Javan race of Crested Jay Platylophus galericulatus, the races tricolor, hypolizus, opisthochrus, melanurus, omissus and barbouri of White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus, race jalla of Asian Pied Starling Gracupica contra, races miotera, robusta and (extralimital) venerata of Hill Myna Gracula religiosa, and races rookmakeri and laurinae of Silver-eared Mesia Leiothrix argentauris. Scarlet-breasted Lorikeet Trichoglossus forsteni race djampeanus, White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus races opisthochrus, omissus and nigricauda and Hill Myna Gracula religiosa race miotera may already be extinct. However, this is a conservative list because (a) some candidates simply lack information to indicate trade as a threat, (b) taxonomic revision will probably increase the number of full species at risk from trade, and (c) taxonomically undifferentiated populations were not included in this review. As certain favoured species disappear, others are targeted as next-best substitutes (e.g. Grey-cheeked Bulbul Alophoixus bres for Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus), and commercial breeders may hybridise taxa for better effects (e.g. non-Indonesian subspecies of Asian Pied Starling Gracupica contra with Indonesian race jalla). Law enforcement, public awareness campaigns, in situ management, conservation breeding, conversion of trappers to wardens and field, market and genetic surveys are all needed, but commercial breeding, while attractive in theory, presents difficulties that are probably insurmountable in practice.
The Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush Garrulax rufifrons, endemic to Java, has been recorded from a total of 15 montane sites, 14 in West Java (nominotypical rufifrons) and one in Central Java (subspecies slamatensis). It occupies montane forest generally in the range 1,000-2,000 m, although this may vary with site, and occurs in monospecific parties of birds but also in bird waves, and has or had an association with Javan Green Magpie Cissa thalassina. Breeding appears to be extended through the year, but lack of records in January-February and July-August may reflect real breaks in the cycle. A lack of recent records from bird markets and a recent hike in prices of captive birds supports other concerns that the Javan bird trade may have affected the species, which in the past 20 years appears only to have been observed at Gunung Gede-Pangrango. Surveys of known sites and of several montane forest reserves are needed before a heavy investment in captive breeding is made.
Cited By (since 1996):63, Export Date: 26 November 2013, Source: Scopus
Southeast Asia has the highest relative rate of deforestation of any major tropical region, and could lose three quarters of its original forests by 2100 and up to 42% of its biodiversity. Here, we report on the current state of its biota and highlight the primary drivers of the threat of extinction now faced by much of the unique and rich fauna and flora of the region. Furthermore, the known impacts on the biodiversity of Southeast Asia are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg, owing to the paucity of research data. The looming Southeast Asian biodiversity disaster demands immediate and definitive actions, yet such measures continue to be constrained by socioeconomic factors, including poverty and lack of infrastructure. Any realistic solution will need to involve a multidisciplinary strategy, including political, socioeconomic and scientific input, in which all major stakeholders (government, non-government, national and international organizations) must participate.
Both authors are members of the IUCN SSC Asian Songbird Trade Specialist Group. Chris R. Sheperd was heading the TRAFFIC office in Southeast Asia for many years, before returning to Canada two years ago to start up
- D S Wilcove
- X Giam
- D P Edwards
- B Fisher
- L P Koh
Wilcove, D.S., Giam, X., Edwards, D.P., Fisher, B.
and Koh, L.P. (2013). Navjot's nightmare revisited:
logging, agriculture, and biodiversity in Southeast
Asia. Trends in ecology & evolution 28: 531-540.
Both authors are members of the IUCN SSC Asian
Songbird Trade Specialist Group. Chris R. Sheperd was
heading the TRAFFIC office in Southeast Asia for many
years, before returning to Canada two years ago to
start up "Monitor".