Birds moving up to beat heat

Birds moving up to beat heat
Monday July 13, 2009

KUALA LUMPUR: More lowland birds are flying off to live in the highlands and this is an indicator of deforestation and climate change.

Consultant naturalist on birds, wildlife and bio-diversity Mike Chong said birds such as magpie robins (burung murai) and spotted doves which normally lived in lowlands and valleys were seen in Cameron Highlands recently.

"Such birds have been spotted in the highlands such as Genting Highlands and Fraser’s Hill and this shows a change in climate pattern and a disturbance in the environment," he said during the Zoo Negara Birdathon 2009 here yesterday.

Chong said temperatures in mountain forests had also increased due to global warming, which had allowed lowland birds to adapt easily to their new habitat.

"This coupled with the shrinking forests in the lowlands which have been cleared for development, means the birds lose their habitat and fly off to the highlands," he said.

Chong explained that the lowland birds would then compete with highland species if they shared the same food source, habitat and nesting habits.

"The highland birds may be displaced as a result of the migration and in the next 10 to 20 years, this may pose a big threat to them," Chong said.

He added that the diversity of bird species in a forest indicated its health and there were generally still a lot of birds in Malaysia.

"There are about 674 bird species in the country. I hope more studies will be conducted on the migration of the lowland birds so that we can properly gauge the effects of climate change," he said.

Zoo Negara director Dr Mohamad Ngah said birds lose their food source when trees are cut.

"We cannot totally stop development from taking place but as scientists, we can monitor the situation and try to breed endangered species to ensure they do not become extinct," he said, adding that there were close to 100 bird species observed in the zoo.

Dr Mohamad flagged off the 60 participants of the Birdathon which was aimed at instilling public awareness on birds as part of environment indicators. -- The Star.