Mysteries of the ‘Abbott’s Cockatoo’

Abstract

Historical Background: The Mysterious Origin of 'Abbott's Cockatoo'

There are four well-accepted subspecies of Cacatua sulphurea: Lesser Sulphur-crested or Lesser Yellow-crested Cockatoos [LSC]. These are the nominate race [sulphurea], parvula, citronocrista and abbotti. Although there is a reasonable amount of information concerning the ecology of the first three, little is known about Abbott's Cockatoos. In fact, their origin(s) and past history present something of a conundrum [S. Metz; unpublished]. The Masalembu Archipelago-the only remaining home of this cockatoo in the wild-is located deep in the Java Sea [5°02-5°37' S and 114°23'-114°38' E]. It is so tiny as to be unidentified on almost all maps. This presents a bit of a geographic quandary. Virtually all the cockatoos and an overwhelming number of the parrots of Indonesia are found, in the wild, in an area generally called "Wallacea," after Alfred Russel Wallace who defined the bio-geography of this region [see map]. However, the Masalembu Archipelago is far to the west of Wallace's line, which defines the westward boundary ofWallacea. The reason for and significance of this fact, remain one of several mysteries about this cockatoo.

In 1685, Father Guy Tachard, writing in A Relation ojtheVoyage to Siam, 1685 [orig. publ. 1688], described the efforts of five other Jesuit priests and himself to reach Siam (modern-day Thailand) by boat through what they called the "Streight of the Sound" (today called "the Sunda Straits"). Due to inclement weather, they attempted to land on the "Isle of Cacatoua"-"so-called because of the white parrots that are upon that Isle, which incessantly repeat that name." (A common error of naturalists was to say that the word "cockatoo" originates from the sounds they utter; in fact, the word is derived from the Indonesian, meaning "very old brother.") What was the identity of these mysterious cockatoos?

It is possible that the "Isle de Cacatoua" represents Cracatoa (Krakatoa). In fact, one extant theory is that that Krakatoa was given that name due to onomatopoeia-that is, as indicated above, because the sound was said to imitate "the noise made by cockatoos which used to inhabit the island" (italics mine). If so, these cockatoos might be C.s. abbotti; and would comprise the furthermost westward extent of any known race of cockatoo. Winchester, who wrote the classic book on Krakatoa [Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, 2003], stated that "parrots belong on the island-or. .. they did, at least, until that dire August morning in 1883," referring to the massive volcanic eruption there. Since there are no cockatoos on the islands in the Strait today, one might also postulate that any subspecies of Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo endemic to Krakatoa was totally extirpated by such an eruption. It is also possible that the island described by T achard was one of the Masalembu Archipelago in the Java Sea, and therefore the cockatoos were abbotti.

Another historical mystery concerning the origin of this race of cockatoos concerns the the 10th century Lora Jonggrang temple complex in the town of Prambanan, located east of the modern city ofYogyakarta. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful Hindu temples in the world. The central courtyard of this Hindu temple complex features three tall shrines dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals that serve them [UNESCO World Heritage Sites]. Extremely detailed reliefs of birds-identifiable as C. sulphurea-are also visualized on this temple. Does this mean that the abbotti subspecies of LSC cockatoo once existed on Java near Yogyakarta? Or that these represent the parvula race which, it has been suggested, might once have existed in Bali [Yellow-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea in; Threatened Birds of Asia: The BirdLi:fe International Red Data Book]; they certainly exist on the island of Nusa Penida, just to the east of Bali [ibid.], albeit at imminent risk of extinction. These tantalizing questions remain unanswered.

 

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