The small Indonesian island of Enggano lies c.100 km to the south-west of Sumatra, in the province of Bengkulu (see p. 488 for map). It has probably never had a land connection to the mainland (Whitten et al. 1987b), and has an impoverished avifauna typical of an oceanic island. The island has high rainfall which varies very little through the year, and the natural vegetation is tropical lowland evergreen rain forest (Whitmore 1984, van Marle and Voous 1988).

The two species which are endemic to this EBA are both found in a variety of forested habitats. Zosterops salvadorii is described as abundant, and Otus enganensis is also probably common, as several were seen during a short visit to the island in 1983 (van Marle and Voous 1988).

The natural habitats of Enggano have been little disturbed, thanks to the island's sparse population and poor communications (D. A. Holmes in litt. 1993), and deforestation appears to be restricted to narrow strips along the few roads (N. Bostock verbally 1993). However, agricultural investments have been tentatively proposed, so there is a risk of drastic habitat changes in the future, and there is therefore a need to develop a protected-area network on the island (D. A. Holmes in litt. 1993).

At present, the only protected area on Enggano is Nanuua Hunting Park, a status which does not ensure full protection for the forest and its wildlife. It has therefore been recommended that a change in status to Game Reserve or Nature Reserve be considered (Sujatnika et al. 1995).

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: Enggano. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/159 on 22/11/2024.