Indonesian parrot, seen once in a century, reappears in mountain forest

FOR the past century, the blue-fronted lorikeet was one of Indonesia’s most elusive birds, known only from a 2014 photographic record and a handful of museum specimens, with a lingering hope that it had not vanished.

After days of climbing through sharp limestone, biting insects and difficult mountain terrain, a flash of green feathers high on Buru’s highest peak showed that this dazzlingly colourful parrot was still there.

Endemic to the island of Buru – meaning it is found nowhere else on the planet – the small bird was spotted in April during an expedition led by an Indonesian mountaineering group.

The team photographed the bird for the first time in 12 years and captured the first sound recordings of its high-pitched calls: sounds birds often use to keep contact in the forest canopy.

The lorikeet’s bright green body, orange bill, blue hindcrown and pointed tail helped the team identify it.

The team was looking specifically for this species, but the odds felt slim.

“When you are looking for a bird that has only been documented once in the past century, it feels like a long shot,” said John Mittermeier, director of the Search for Lost Birds at the American Bird Conservancy conservation group.

A rare sight

First described from seven specimens collected in the 1920s, the blue-fronted lorikeet has been one of Indonesia’s avian mysteries. The bird went unrecorded for nearly 90 years despite searches in lowland and mid-elevation forests, before being photographed in 2014.

There was a long-held suspicion that the parrot may not have been gone, but rather living higher up in the mountains than searchers had managed to look.

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The highlands landscape where the lorikeet was found had remained largely inaccessible until recently, when local climbers mapped a route into the mountains.

Mittermeier said that steep limestone terrain, cliffs, sharp boulders and no water make the area difficult to access.

“There are no other birds on the island that look like the lorikeets, so when we saw them we knew immediately what they were,” he said. “We saw at least nine during the trip.”

James Eaton, a birder involved in the expedition, said the rain, jagged limestone, river torrents and lack of trails meant anyone trying to reach the peak needed “a strong – or crazy – reason to even attempt it”.

“This bird was our reason for doing so,” he said.

After a gruelling week, he added, getting to actually photograph the “holy grail” made all those hardships disappear. “It’s a feeling adrenaline junkies would know well.”

The sighting capped years of preparation for Eaton.

“It makes all the researching, reading, plotting – some of which are years in the making – totally justified,” he said. “It makes you feel alive, a justification for your dedication.”

The start of a new journey

The blue-fronted lorikeet was listed as “Data Deficient” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

In 2024, it was recognised as a lost species by the Search for Lost Birds, a global partnership between American Bird Conservancy, Re:wild and BirdLife International.

Mittermeier said that further work is needed to learn the bird’s population size and possible threats.

“A finding like this... is the first step to being able to protect it,” he said.

For Eaton, the rediscovery was a reminder of the beauty and surprise still far from public view.

Amid unrelenting negative news, he said, such “moments of joy and discovery are a healthy reminder of what a beautiful world is there”.

“This small green parrot,” he added, “was here long before humans stepped foot on the island, just like birds living in your garden at home; they have more right to be there than you or I.” REUTERS