Bali starling  (Leucopsar rothschildi)

The Bali starling has been pushed to the brink of extinction by the illegal capture of individuals to satisfy the caged-bird trade. The rarer this beautiful species became, the higher the black market price, and the wild population has consequently been decimated (7). Habitat destruction and competition for nest sites with the black-winged starling (Sturnus melanopterus), which is spreading throughout the island, are further threats to survival (2).

The Bali starling has been protected under Indonesian law since 1970 and the entire recent wild population occurred within the Bali Barat National Park (6). BirdLife International established the Bali Starling Project in 1983, with the cooperation of the Indonesian government and US and British zoos, in an attempt to save this species from extinction (2). Armed guards protected the population within the park and captive-bred individuals were released to bolster the wild population, but numbers nevertheless continued to decline to just 36 to 40 individuals in 1994. (2). The programme was dogged with problems, and in 1999 an armed gang stole almost all the 39 captive individuals in the park that were awaiting release into the wild; in the same year the wild population plummeted once again, this time to just 12 individuals (6). Despite ongoing conservation efforts the Bali starling is now believed to be Extinct in the Wild (4), and the future of Bali's national bird looks increasingly bleak.