The EBA comprises Timor and its associated islands of Sawu, Roti and Semau (in eastern Nusa Tenggara Timur and Timor Timur provinces of Indonesia), and Wetar (in south-east Maluku province). Wetar is volcanic, and lies off the eastern end of the main chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, whereas the other islands lie to the south of the main chain and are not volcanic. Both the main islands are mountainous, rising to 2,960 m (Timor) and 1,407 m (Wetar).

As it lies directly in the Australian rain-shadow, this is the driest part of Indonesia, with a dry season which lasts from April to November. The natural vegetation of the islands is deciduous monsoon forest, woodland and savanna, with some isolated patches of semi-evergreen rain forest on the south-facing sides of the mountains where the land receives rain from the onshore winds, and montane forest above c.900 m on the higher mountains (Whitmore 1984).

The 23 species which are endemic to this EBA include the monotypic genus Buettikoferella. The habitat requirements, altitudinal ranges and abundance of the region's restricted-range birds are, in general, poorly documented. There has been a survey undertaken recently of some of the remnant forest patches in the west of Timor (see Noske and Saleh 1993, Noske 1995), but there is little information on eastern Timor, and Wetar appears to have been visited only once by ornithologists since 1910-and then only for a few hours (White and Bruce 1986, Robson 1990).

The main habitats of the restricted-range species are deciduous monsoon forest and woodland and semi-evergreen rain forest; the exception to this is Padda fuscata which is mainly a bird of open country areas. Some of the forest birds appear to be restricted to closed-canopy habitat, but many occur additionally in open woodland, savanna, scrub and agricultural land. Most of them occupy a wide altitudinal range, but a few seem to be confined to the lowlands, and Ducula cineracea and Zoothera dohertyi are restricted to montane forest. Most of the restricted-range species have been recorded on Timor, and seven are endemic to that island, but three species are confined to the smaller island of Wetar.

On Timor, most forest in the coastal lowlands and in broad valleys has already been cleared, and denuded grassy areas now extend far into the hills (FAO 1982c, White and Bruce 1986). The monsoon forests are reduced to scattered patches (RePPProT 1990, Collins et al. 1991), with large areas converted to savanna, as a result of clearance for agriculture and fires (either deliberate or accidental) which increase fodder production for livestock (Whitten and Whitten 1992). In western Timor there are about seven significant forest remnants, all relatively small (the largest is c.90 km²), isolated and unmanaged, and most are grazed by cattle and other ungulates (Noske and Saleh 1993). Several areas of montane forest remain, for example on Mt Mutis, although some deforestation has occurred there (N. Bostock in litt. 1993). However, it is possible that forest cover on Timor may now largely have stabilized (D. A. Holmes in litt. 1993), although forest does continue to be degraded. Extensive forests remain in the north-west of Wetar, but the status of habitats elsewhere on the island is unknown (K. D. Bishop in litt. 1990, F. R. Lambert in litt. 1994).

Most of the restricted-range species must have declined as a result of this widespread forest loss, but many of them appear able to maintain healthy populations in the remaining forest fragments in western Timor or are adaptable to man-modified habitats. Five of the restricted-range species are classified as threatened, including those which appear to be particularly rare or to have declined as a result of the forest clearance and fragmentation, and possibly also hunting for food (Noske and Saleh 1993). The three species endemic to Wetar are treated as Data Deficient because of the paucity of information on their conservation status. A more widespread threatened species (found throughout much of Wallacea) which occurs in the EBA is Yellow-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea (classified as Endangered), which is declining throughout its range because of a combination of habitat loss and unsustainable levels of trapping for the bird trade.

There are several gazetted protected areas on Timor, but all are relatively small, and there are no reserves on Wetar or the other islands. Proposed protected areas are Gunung Timo, Dataran Bena, Gunung Mutis, Gunung Tilomor, Gunung Talamailu, Sungai Clere, Lore and Danau Ira Lalora-Pulau Yaco on Timor, Tanjung Pukuatu/Bakauherlu on Roti, and Gunung Arnau on Wetar (FAO 1982c, Sujatnika and Jepson 1995); however, these proposals are based on field surveys carried out 15 years ago, so new surveys are a high priority. Gunung Mutis is currently in the process of being established as a reserve under a PHPA/WWF project (Sujatnika et al. 1995). The forests at Bipolo, Buraen, Camplong and Soe in western Timor are also important for many of the restricted-range bird species (Noske and Saleh 1993).

Stattersfield, A. J., Crosby, M. J., Long, A. J. and Wege, D. C. (1998) Endemic Bird Areas of the World. Priorities for biodiversity conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series 7. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: Timor and Wetar. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/164 on 22/12/2024.