Peacock may take last flap soon in Java

Bambang M, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Of the various bird species in Java, only the male green peacock has a spectacular dancing skill. When dancing, it spreads its colorful tail feathers like a magnificent fan.

It is this bird's dancing skill that apparently inspired the Javanese to give peacocks a special place in their art: They created Tari Merak, or the peacock dance.

A peacock (Pavo muticus) is a big bird. The male's body can reach up to 210 cm in length and the female 120 cm. Body feathers are usually glossy green; tail feathers black and green, dark blue and yellow. The female has a black crest on its green and blue head, and yellow cheeks.

In Indonesia, the peacock is found in Java. It is also found in Myanmar, India, western China and Indochina.

"Some people say the peacock was brought in from outside of Java but others say Java island is part of its distribution," said Triman Setyardi, a researcher from the Yogyakarta-based Yayasan Kutilang Indonesia for bird conservation.

The male peacock usually dances during the mating season (June to August). While dancing, it waves its fan to attract the female.

Because of his magnificence, the peacock used to be the favorite pet of high ranking government officials or the nobility as a social status symbol. A pair of peacocks in a large cage were usually placed in front of their houses.

Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X of Yogyakarta also has a pair of peacocks in his palace.

Even nowadays, many common people still like to keep peacocks as pets. Registered as one of 50 protected bird species, the peacock is still illicitly sold on the bird market.

"If you want to buy a peacock, just come on Sunday. I will contact my friend first," said a bird seller in the notorious Ngasem pet market in Yogyakarta.

The peacock has been protected by the Indonesia government since 1973 and also is registered by the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

There is no official record of the peacock population left in the wild. Voice of Nature magazine No. 58 of May, 1988 noted there were only about 1,000 peacocks left.

Wagi, a peacock hunter from Pilang village, Randu Blatung, Blora, Central Java, said the bird's rarity had increased its value. In 1987, for instance, a chick cost Rp 7,000 but now it had soared to Rp 150,000, he said.

The main reason for diminishing numbers of peacock is land clearing. Now, forest accounts for only about 10 percent of the land area.

According to John Mackinnon, Karen Phillips and Bas Van Balen in Burung-Burung di Sumatera, Jawa, Bali dan Kalimantan (Birdlife International and Puslitbang Biologi LIPI), peacocks are only found in Ujung Kulon National Park in Banten and Baluran National Park, East Java. But some environmental activists claim they have seen the birds in remaining teak forests in the East Java and Central Java.

A peacock's diet consists of grass, seeds, leafs and insects. They like to walk in open places like meadows or savannas. When night falls, they sleep in high trees.

After the mating season, the female lays between two and five eggs in a nest and sits on her eggs for about 30 days. When hatched, the chicks are cared for one year.

People around teak forest in Blora, Central Java, say that if the eggs are stolen from the nest and put among the domestic hens' eggs, they won't hatch unless a ritual is conducted.

"Before you steal the peacock's eggs, you should perform the traditional tayub dance," said Gatot, a civil servant in Blora.

Poaching is another reason attributed to the diminishing population.

Beside being kept as pets, the peacock is killed, stuffed and sold as souvenirs.

Researcher Tony Whitten wrote that in 1932, the farmers in and around Mount Ringgit in East Java killed by way of poisoning them and stuffed them, or took only the tail feathers and sold them to tourists visiting Pasir Putih, a beautiful beach between Probolinggo and Situbondo.

The tail feathers are also a basic material for making barongan, a big mask used in reog, a traditional mask dance from Ponorogo, East Java. A single mask needs about 1,000 tail feathers while a male peacock has only 100 of them.

From a conservation point of view, barongan causes serious problems because this mask also needs a tiger skin to make.

Many pet markets get peacocks from Randu Blatung, 30 kilometers south of Blora. This region boasts teak forest, a suitable habitat for peacocks.