Our Wetar Ground-dove project is a collaborative project between Columbidae Conservation; Charles Darwin University, Australia; and the Wildlife Conservation Society Indonesia Program.

The Wetar Ground-dove Gallicolumba hoedii is an endangered species of dove that has not been recorded on the Indonesian island of Wetar since 1902. It is only known from a handful of sightings on Timor - the only other island on which it occurs and was only photographed for the first time in 2004 with these of a bird confiscated from a bird seller on Timor. Currently it thought to be rare on Timor and is not known to occur in any of the islands protected areas. Wetar, where the type specimen was collected from which the species was described might offer the species best chance of future survival, however, it is completely unknown whether the species still exists on the island. Wetar is a large island (3600 km2) and biologically very important island – it is home to a number of globally threatened and endemic bird species - but there are currently no protected areas on the island. Systematic surveys of the island have never really been undertaken, certainly not within the last 100 years. As such, the status of all the islands’ wildlife is unknown. The establishment of a protected area on the island is a high priority and, based on what little information is available, the highest mountain on the island is ranked as one of 25 outstanding Important Bird Areas in Wallacea.

A small team of International and Indonesian scientists aim to ‘rediscover’ the endangered Wetar Ground-dove on Wetar. During three months fieldwork we will assess importance of Wetar for the species’ future survival and determine the status of the Wetar Ground-dove and the islands’ other threatened and near threatened birds and the status of key forest habitats. We will also identify a potential location for the islands’ first protected area and provide justification, in collaboration with other leading wildlife conservation NGOs in Indonesia, to lobby for governmental support for the establishment of a protected area.