6 thoughts on “Elegant Sunbird (Aethopyga duyvenbodei)”
Burung Indonesia has been conducting regular monitoring of Sangihe’s endemic bird species, mainly in Gunung Sahendaruman IBA/KBA during 2020 – 2025, with an occasional observation to other location in Sangihe island such as in the Gunung Awu IBA/KBA and Tahuna KBA.
Our monitoring findings shows the Elegant sunbird are to be “locally abundant” in gunung Sahendaruman IBA / KBA, and uncommon to rare outside Gunung Sahendaruman.
The population density of the species in the Gunung Sahendaruman IBA/KBA was estimated 710 – 2253 individual (Burung Indonesia in prep).
We also find the species could also be observed in coastal area of Tahuna city in the western part, Ngalipaeng village in southern part and Palareng village in the eastern part of Sangihe island.
The species is highly dependent to dense secondary forest or old agroforestry in the area, although findings in the coastal area shows the species could also adapt in more “open” area, where there are “woodland connection” with the nearest agroforestry.
Current threat of the species were from the potential gold mining extraction inductry in southern part which occupying some of the habitat. Other potential threat were from songbird poaching. Currently there’s demand for the species posted in the online marketplace, although no further information available on the value and the scale of the demand.
Conservation Action:
Burung Indonesia currently conducting conservation actions targeting the conservation of endemic sangihe bird species and its habitat in Gunung Sahendaruman IBA/KBA with active local community participation through research, habitat restoration, participatory monitoring, community livelihood, awareness, and supporting the local government policy on sustainable development.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 25 April 2025. We will now analyse and interpret the information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’ Red List category on this page on 25 April 2025, when discussions will re-open.
We thank Jihan for the information shared in the above comment. This will be incorporated into the updated species factsheet. Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2025 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classification outlined in the initial forum discussion.
There is now a period for further comments until the final deadline on 4 May 2025, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
The final 2025 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in October 2025, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
In addition to the information provided by my colleague Jihad, our biodiversity team at Burung Indonesia has also conducted a habitat suitability modelling analysis for the Elegant Sunbird using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) method (unpublished data).
Our analysis estimated that the area of suitable habitat for this species ranges from 183.6 to 202.1 km², with a best estimate of approximately 194.5 km². These areas primarily include the forested zones of Mount Sahendaruman, Mount Awu, the intervening hill ranges between these two mountains, and the southern uplands of the island. Elevation and proximity to natural forest were the two most influential environmental variables contributing to the species’ predicted distribution.
Intensive field surveys conducted on Mount Sahendaruman revealed an estimated population density of approximately 0.6 individuals per hectare, or 60 individuals per square kilometre. Based on this density and extrapolated across the predicted suitable habitat range, we estimate a total population size of between 11,015 and 12,126 individuals, with a best estimate of around 11,672 individuals.
This estimate is somewhat lower than the previously reported population range of 9,500–35,000 individuals. However, the new estimate still falls near but does not cross the threshold for listing the species as Vulnerable under criterion C. Continued research and monitoring will be essential to refine population estimates and assess long-term trends.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the information, and a final decision on this species’ Red List category will be posted on this page on 12 May 2025.
Recommended categorisation to be put forward to IUCN
The final categorisation for this species has not changed. Elegant Sunbird is recommended to be listed as Vulnerable under Criterion C2a(ii).
Many thanks for everyone who contributed to the 2025.2 GTB Forum process. The final Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in October 2025, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
Burung Indonesia has been conducting regular monitoring of Sangihe’s endemic bird species, mainly in Gunung Sahendaruman IBA/KBA during 2020 – 2025, with an occasional observation to other location in Sangihe island such as in the Gunung Awu IBA/KBA and Tahuna KBA.
Our monitoring findings shows the Elegant sunbird are to be “locally abundant” in gunung Sahendaruman IBA / KBA, and uncommon to rare outside Gunung Sahendaruman.
The population density of the species in the Gunung Sahendaruman IBA/KBA was estimated 710 – 2253 individual (Burung Indonesia in prep).
We also find the species could also be observed in coastal area of Tahuna city in the western part, Ngalipaeng village in southern part and Palareng village in the eastern part of Sangihe island.
The species is highly dependent to dense secondary forest or old agroforestry in the area, although findings in the coastal area shows the species could also adapt in more “open” area, where there are “woodland connection” with the nearest agroforestry.
Current threat of the species were from the potential gold mining extraction inductry in southern part which occupying some of the habitat. Other potential threat were from songbird poaching. Currently there’s demand for the species posted in the online marketplace, although no further information available on the value and the scale of the demand.
Conservation Action:
Burung Indonesia currently conducting conservation actions targeting the conservation of endemic sangihe bird species and its habitat in Gunung Sahendaruman IBA/KBA with active local community participation through research, habitat restoration, participatory monitoring, community livelihood, awareness, and supporting the local government policy on sustainable development.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 25 April 2025. We will now analyse and interpret the information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’ Red List category on this page on 25 April 2025, when discussions will re-open.
Preliminary proposal
We thank Jihan for the information shared in the above comment. This will be incorporated into the updated species factsheet. Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2025 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classification outlined in the initial forum discussion.
There is now a period for further comments until the final deadline on 4 May 2025, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
The final 2025 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in October 2025, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
In addition to the information provided by my colleague Jihad, our biodiversity team at Burung Indonesia has also conducted a habitat suitability modelling analysis for the Elegant Sunbird using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) method (unpublished data).
Our analysis estimated that the area of suitable habitat for this species ranges from 183.6 to 202.1 km², with a best estimate of approximately 194.5 km². These areas primarily include the forested zones of Mount Sahendaruman, Mount Awu, the intervening hill ranges between these two mountains, and the southern uplands of the island. Elevation and proximity to natural forest were the two most influential environmental variables contributing to the species’ predicted distribution.
Intensive field surveys conducted on Mount Sahendaruman revealed an estimated population density of approximately 0.6 individuals per hectare, or 60 individuals per square kilometre. Based on this density and extrapolated across the predicted suitable habitat range, we estimate a total population size of between 11,015 and 12,126 individuals, with a best estimate of around 11,672 individuals.
This estimate is somewhat lower than the previously reported population range of 9,500–35,000 individuals. However, the new estimate still falls near but does not cross the threshold for listing the species as Vulnerable under criterion C. Continued research and monitoring will be essential to refine population estimates and assess long-term trends.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the information, and a final decision on this species’ Red List category will be posted on this page on 12 May 2025.
Recommended categorisation to be put forward to IUCN
The final categorisation for this species has not changed. Elegant Sunbird is recommended to be listed as Vulnerable under Criterion C2a(ii).
Many thanks for everyone who contributed to the 2025.2 GTB Forum process. The final Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in October 2025, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.