Efforts to Bring Back Birdsong to the Menoreh Mountains: Conservation in an Indonesian Village

In Donorejo village, Purworejo Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, the birdsong that once filled the region has been diminishing year by year. Five years ago, it became difficult to find the Cyornis banyumas in the area, prompting resident Parman to quit bird hunting and initiate a bird conservation group. The Cyornis banyumas is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to Parman, the Cyornis banyumas in Donorejo village is popular among bird enthusiasts for its beautiful singing voice, with high demand particularly from neighboring areas like Yogyakarta and Magelang. Parman, who was once involved in poaching by capturing young birds, raising them to adulthood, and selling them at high prices, stated, "It became very difficult to find birds here five years ago, so I stopped and focused on goat farming." However, even after he stopped hunting, the bird population did not recover, and hunters from outside the village actually increased. In response to this situation, Donorejo village implemented a ban on bird capture by any means two years ago. As a result, the Cyornis banyumas, in particular, has begun to reappear, albeit in small numbers, showing the initial success of conservation efforts. To further advance these efforts, Parman and more than a dozen other villagers have formed the "Girimukti Group." They are documenting and mapping the bird populations in the Menoreh Mountains. "This data will be the basis for us to preserve the bird corridors here," Parman explained. Bird corridors are essential habitats for bird breeding and migration, and their maintenance is considered important. According to him, the village landscape has also changed over time, and residents recognize that these birds are connected not only to Donorejo village but also to a wider region.