Archived 2012-2013 topics: Salvadori’s Fig-parrot (Psittaculirostris salvadorii): request for information.

BirdLife species factsheet for Salvadori’s Fig-parrot Salvadori’s Fig-parrot Psittaculirostris salvadorii is restricted to northern Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), Indonesia, where it occurs from the eastern shore of Geelvink Bay to the Cyclops Mountains (Beehler et al. 1985), including lowland forest up the tributaries of the Mamberamo River (K. D. Bishop in litt. 2000). It is currently classified as Vulnerable under criteria A2cd+3cd+4cd, because it was thought to be undergoing a population decline of 30-49% over three generations (c.14 years in this species [BirdLife International, unpubl. data]) owing to heavy trapping, compounded by localised forest clearance. However, data for this species are patchy and rather old; previous evidence strongly suggested a decline (K. D. Bishop in litt. 1987, 1994, R. Burrows in litt. 1994), while other records suggested that it was still locally common, including in the lowlands west of Jayapura and at Nimbokrang (Diamond 1985, Gibbs 1993, K. D. Bishop in litt. 1994, D. Gibbs in litt. 1994, Eastwood 1996). Recent information suggests that this species may be secure in the large areas of inaccessible forest within its range. It was found to be fairly common in the lowland forests along the Idenburg and Ruffaer rivers (D. Bishop in litt. 2012), and there are also unlikely to be any threats to this species in its range at the moment; large-scale oil palm has not yet taken hold in the heart of the Mamberamo and the true scale of trade is unknown, it is probably overlooked by many trappers in preference of more sought-after and abundant species (B. Beehler in litt. 2012). Further information is required on this species’s distribution, population size and trends, and on the severity of threats within its range. If there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the global population of Salvadori’s Fig-parrot is approaching a 30% decline over three generations (c.14 years), it would warrant downlisting to Near Threatened under criteria A2cd+3cd+4cd of the IUCN Red List. If evidence suggests that this species is declining at a rate of less than 25% over this period, it may warrant downlisting to Least Concern. References: Beehler, B. (1985) Conservation of New Guinea rainforest birds. In: Diamond, A. W. and Lovejoy, T. E. (ed.), Conservation of tropical forest birds, pp. 233-247. Cambridge, UK: International Council for Bird Preservation. Diamond, J. M. (1985) New distributional records and taxa from the outlying mountain ranges of New Guinea. Emu 85: 65-91. Eastwood, C. (1996) A trip to Irian Jaya. Muruk 8(1): 12-23. Gibbs, D. (1993) Irian Jaya, Indonesia, 21 January–12 March 1991: a site guide for birdwatchers, with brief notes from 1992.