Rahmadiyono Widodo
Kevin J. Major
MSF002
12 May 2015
The
Ecology of Javan Cochoa (Cochoa azurea)
The
Javan Cochoa Cochoa azurea is a poorly known thrush endemic to the
mountains of West and Central Java (MacKinnon and Phillipps). Javan Cochoa has
been classified by IUCN as Vulnerable (BirdLife International). The Javan
Cochoa inhabits mountains on Java, Indonesia, between 1,000 and 2,500 m from Mt
Salak to Mt Slamet, apparently only occurring on the higher peaks in its range.
But, in 2011 Imam Taufiqurrahman found the species in Plawangan Hill of Gunung
Merapi National Park 150 km further east from Mt. Slamet.
In this paper, I will describe about
the ecology of Javan Cochoa (Cochoa azurea). I have organized my paper
to three section. First section is about Javan Cochoa (Cochoa azurea) habitat,
second section is about Javan Cochoa (Cochoa azurea) food, and third or
the last is about Javan Cochoa (Cochoa azurea) breeding.
Javan
Cochoa’s (Cochoa azurea) habitat
This
cochoa is found in tropical lower and upper montane rain forest between 900 and
3,000 m (MacKinnon and Phillipps) where it normally frequents the lower and
middle storey within the forest, sometimes moving higher . A singing bird in
November 1984 used a perch only 4 m high; the species is rather tame but moves
quietly or sits motionless for long periods (Birdbase).
Javan
Cochoa’s (Cochoa azurea) foods
The
species takes fruits and berries in the canopy, its serrated bill being used to
tear flesh off fruits (MacKinnon and Phillipps). Such fruit includes Zanthoxylum
ovalifolium and Z. scandens, but insects and snails are also taken,
and indeed a bird in captivity readily took live insect larvae and pupae but
refused a variety of fruits (Birdbase).
Javan
Cochoa’s (Cochoa azurea) breeding
Breeding
appears to take place over a reasonably extended period, from August to April
(the following evidence is arranged to match such a chronological sequence). A
nest with one young about to fledge was found in September at 2,400 m on Gunung
Pangrango, c.7 m above the ground in moss forest; the cup-nest was typically
thrush-like, but the core was almost entirely made of beard moss and the rather
untidy interior was lined with beard moss and fine rootlets. A singing bird was
observed in November. A clutch of two eggs was found in December on Gunung
Pangrango. A family party of four was seen in early October 1994 on Gunung
Halimun. An adult was seen feeding a young bird on Gunung Gede at c.1,700 m in
April. An adult male was in moult on Gunung Pangrango in March; birds were in
good plumage in mid-year. Among 91 museum specimens examined in this study,
showing a reasonably equal distribution of specimens by month, 14 were labelled
as juveniles or immatures, with the following breakdown: August (1), October
(2), November
(2),
December (4), January (2), February (1), March (2) (Birdbase).
Work
Cited
McKinnon, Jhon and Karen Philips. “Buku Panduan
Lapangan Burung-Burung di Sumatera,
Kalimantan,
Jawa, dan Bali.” LIPI (1993).
Taufiqurrahman, Imam. “ Javan Cochoa Cochoa
azurea in Gunung Merapi National Park,
Yogyakarta.”
Kukila ser.16 (2012):1-3.Print.
_________. “Cochoaazurea”. Web. 12 May 2015. (http://birdbase.ies.hro.or.jp/rdb/rdb_en/cochazur.pdf)
Added : Javan Cochoa (Cochoa azurea) image
![]() |
photo by Imam Taufiqurrahman Plawangan Hill, Gunung Merapi National Park |
Comments
Post a Comment