Prambanan lures rare birds

Text and photo by Bambang M.

PRAMBANAN (JP): Hardly spotted in its natural habitat now, some rare gelatik (Java sparrows) have picked an unusual site, the beautiful Prambanan temple, as their last resort in search of a permanent home.

Situated on the border of Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces, the birds can be spotted flying around and on top of this 1145-year-old Hindu temple. Visitors can also see the birds resting in corners of the temple before flying off to the nearby rice fields.

Identifying the bird is not difficult. Gelatik, or the Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora), is a small 17-cm-long bird. Although it is not known for having a beautiful call, the bird has beautiful colors, one of the many reasons why people love to keep them.

An adult gelatik is usually gray with a pink breast, and a black tail with a touch of white on the tip. The bird's head is usually black with white spot on both cheeks, and it has a red beak.

There is no precise estimate of the number of birds still in existence. However, they are now increasingly difficult to locate in their natural habitat, such as rice fields.

According to Actual Bird Information Vol. 3, No. I of April 1997, based on the reports of bird watchers in Baluran National Park in East Java and West Bali National Park in Bali, the bird was very difficult to encounter.

An observation conducted by the Yogyakarta-based Atmajaya University's biology study club in 1999 only found about 125 gelatik birds in 21 of the 73 locations surveyed. The survey covered Bantul, Sleman, Kulon Progo, Gunung Kidul and Yogyakarta.

All of the birds seen were found in Sleman and Gunung Kidul. In Sleman, gelatik were only encountered at Prambanan temple and Song Sewu in Gunung Kidul.

"Gelatik have become a rare species because they are being poached and sold in the city," said Ign. Pramana Yuda, Atmajaya's lecturer.

The use of pesticides is also blamed for the declining population of birds in the wild. The lecturer said that after eating pesticide-contaminated rice grain, gelatik eggs became easily broken.

However, the gelatik have not yet been declared as an endangered species by the Indonesian government, according to Gebyar, a member of Yogyakarta's Nature Conservation. But the Swiss-based International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has declared the bird a protected species.

A native species of Java, Madura and Bali, this bird has several different names. Javanese people in Central and East Java know it as gelatik, while Sundanese people in West Java call it as galatik. Balinese call it jelantik, while it's known as ghalte in Madura.

For rice farmers, this species was considered a pest because the birds love to "steal" rice grain during harvesting time, forcing some farmers to hunt them.

At the markets, the bird was once priced between Rp 1,000 and Rp 2,000 for a couple, though the current rate is between Rp 17,500 and Rp 60,000. Still, the number of birds on sale are limited. In Ngasem bird market in Yogyakarta, there were two vendors selling about 20 gelatik birds.

Not safe

Despite their obvious affection for the Prambanan temple, the site is not an appropriate home for the birds because their presence endangers the structure's preservation.

At the temple, there were about 20 gelatik spotted nesting on the temple's old stones.

"Their acid feces, in the long run, will destroy the stones," said Hartono, chief of Yogyakarta's Kutilang Bird-Watching group.

Rice grain taken by the birds to their nests might also destroy the stones, he said, adding that the grains could fall and then grow, fracturing the stones in the process.

The temple management has no choice but to clean the birds' nests away in order to protect and preserve the old temple.

"When we clean up the temple once a month, we also have to take their nests," said Rita Margareta who is in charge of the temple's cleanliness.

She added that the officials have no choice, although some eggs are broken on the process.

In search of a win-win solution, Hartono suggested that the Prambanan management build special place for the birds. The place, he added, could be simple, like a traditional bird trap made out of bamboo.

"It's better if the shape is in line with Prambanan's architecture," Hartono said.

Rita said that the temple's management has no problem with the idea. "We would like to cooperate to protect the gelatik birds," she said.

Once the plan becomes reality, it will mean another attraction for the tourist site.