Colorful river residents: from the Collared Kingfisher to the White-shouldered Ibis
Burung Indonesia has published a piece for World Rivers Day, and as someone who enjoys watching birds, I think rivers are often forgotten. World Rivers Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of September, starting in 2005 when the UN launched the Water for Life Decade. The idea came from river activist Mark Angelo.
The article introduces several birds that live along rivers. The Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) is Least Concern on the IUCN 2026 list, and it hunts fish and small animals by diving from branches. The Javan Pond Heron (Ardeola speciosa), about 46 cm tall, waits for prey on the riverbanks. The other two are much more worrying. The White-shouldered Ibis (Pseudibis davisoni) is Critically Endangered, and globally it now survives only in Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia, where it has been recorded on the Mahakam River in East Kalimantan. The Blue-eared Kingfisher (Alcedo euryzona), endemic to Java, is also Critically Endangered and depends on rivers in forested areas.
The saddest is the Javan Lapwing (Vanellus macropterus), a Java endemic listed as Critically Endangered and probably extinct. There has been no verified record since 1930-1940, and surveys from 2001 to 2012 did not find it.
The water quality figures in the article left me speechless. Monitoring in the first half of 2025 covered 4,482 locations on 1,482 rivers, and 70.7% were polluted, with only 29.3% meeting the quality standards. In DKI Jakarta, the Riau Islands and South Papua, every monitored point was polluted.
The suggestions are simple: don't throw rubbish into rivers, reduce single-use plastic, keep riverbank vegetation, and don't damage the surrounding habitat. I also think the closing quote fits well: a healthy river is not just about water that flows.
Source: Burung Indonesia
The article introduces several birds that live along rivers. The Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) is Least Concern on the IUCN 2026 list, and it hunts fish and small animals by diving from branches. The Javan Pond Heron (Ardeola speciosa), about 46 cm tall, waits for prey on the riverbanks. The other two are much more worrying. The White-shouldered Ibis (Pseudibis davisoni) is Critically Endangered, and globally it now survives only in Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia, where it has been recorded on the Mahakam River in East Kalimantan. The Blue-eared Kingfisher (Alcedo euryzona), endemic to Java, is also Critically Endangered and depends on rivers in forested areas.
The saddest is the Javan Lapwing (Vanellus macropterus), a Java endemic listed as Critically Endangered and probably extinct. There has been no verified record since 1930-1940, and surveys from 2001 to 2012 did not find it.
The water quality figures in the article left me speechless. Monitoring in the first half of 2025 covered 4,482 locations on 1,482 rivers, and 70.7% were polluted, with only 29.3% meeting the quality standards. In DKI Jakarta, the Riau Islands and South Papua, every monitored point was polluted.
The suggestions are simple: don't throw rubbish into rivers, reduce single-use plastic, keep riverbank vegetation, and don't damage the surrounding habitat. I also think the closing quote fits well: a healthy river is not just about water that flows.
Source: Burung Indonesia
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