Arfak Parotia Attracts Visitors to Papuan Highlands
If a female approaches, the male Arfak parotia usually dances, showing off its beautiful feathers and making rhythmic foot movements while shaking its head wires – antenna-like feathers – by rotating its head.
A bird of paradise in the Arfak highlands, Papua.
After it had disappeared from the wild due to frequent hunting, cenderawasih, the bird of paradise, has reappeared in the Arfak ecotourism park of Papua, which sustains forests and protects birds from hunting.
One morning in April 2021 was very calm in the wilderness of the Arfak Highlands, West Papua. The loud calls of a male bird suddenly broke the silence. An Arfak parotia flew down, landing on the ground and clearing away the leaves where it stood.
Like performing a ballet, the Arfak parotia (parotia sefiata), one type of bird of paradise, spread its wings while turning its body from side to side. The white swatch of color on its neck made it even more beautiful. It was performing a mating dance to attract a female.
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If a female approaches, the male Arfak parotia usually dances, showing off its beautiful feathers and making rhythmic foot movements while shaking its head wires – antenna-like feathers – by rotating its head. That morning, however, a female parotia did not come.
As a result, we didn't have the chance to witness the beautiful dance of the Arfak parotia. Understandably, after clearing the leaves on the ground, the bird of paradise suddenly flew off and did not return.
The bird is usually considered to be smart because it builds and decorates its nest from seeds and garbage it collects.
On the other side of the forest lives the Vogelkop bowerbird (Amblyornis inor nata), also known as the plain bowerbird, which also exhibits unique behavior. The bird is usually considered to be smart because it builds and decorates its nest from seeds and garbage it collects.
To decorate the nest, the bowerbird typically gathers seeds, bottle caps and plastic waste. It is the male bowerbird that builds and decorates the nest to attract a female.
Tourism lure
The Arfak parotia and the Vogelkop bowerbird attract bird-watchers as part of the ecotourism activities in Kwau village, Warmare district, Manokwari regency, West Papua. From the center of Manokwari regency, it takes about two hours by a four-wheel-drive car to reach the village.
"The ecotourism program started in Kwau village in 2009," said Hans Mandacan (38), an ecotourism manager in Kwau village.
The traditional forest of Kwau village is located in the Arfak Highlands, the natural habitat of the endemic animals of West Papua, including a variety of exotic birds.
A Western Parotia bird in the traditional forest of Kampung Kwau, Arfak highlands, Papua.
Thane K. Pratt and Bruce M. Beehler explain in Birds of New Guinea that the Arfak parotia and the Vogelkop bowerbird are among the bird species endemic to West Papua, and are spread across the northeastern part of Bird’s Head Peninsula on Papua Island, such as Manokwari, the Arfak Highlands, and Tambrauw.
In addition to these two birds, a number of other birds also form the main attraction of ecotourism in Kwau village, such as cenderawasih belah rotan (Cicinnurus magnificus), cenderawasih paruh sabit kurikuri (Epimachus fastosus), and cenderawasih kerah (Lophorina superba), the superb bird of paradise.
Thanks to these beautiful birds, many tourists, photographers, videographers, and researchers come to Kwau village. Not only domestic tourists, but foreign tourists also visit the village from countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Japan, and China.
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In order to make it easier to watch and photograph the birds, which could take days, Hans built an inn called Papua Lorikeet in Kwau village. From the inn, visitors can reach the observation point on foot.
To see the Arfak parotia and collared cenderawasih, for example, tourists only need to walk around 40 minutes from the inn. When they arrive at the location, they will find a small booth made of zinc sheeting for bird-watching.
Double benefits
The Ekowisata (ecotourism) site in Kwau village provides a double benefit for the local residents, increasing the community’s welfare while conserving the forest so it is sustainable.
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Women from the Arfak Mountains Regency, West Papua, show how to make noken, Saturday (23/2/2019).
Local awareness about protecting the forest has increased because ecotourism has proven to provide an income for the residents in addition to farming, which is their main livelihood.
The residents of Kwau village are usually involved in ecotourism activities as porters, guides, or cooks. “After ecotourism, people considered the forest a 'money-printing machine', so it must be maintained,” said Hans.
Before the ecotourism site opened, many residents of Kwau village, including Hans, often hunted birds of paradise. The residents usually ate the meat and kept the feathers for selling.
Today, said Hans, there were no longer any residents of Kwau vllage who hunted birds. In fact, the residents agreed that if anyone was caught hunting the birds, they would be fined a few million rupiah.
Hami Mandacan (30), a resident of Kwau village, acknowleged that he used to hunt the Arfak parotia, cenderawasih belah rotan, and the plain bowerbird in the forest. “In the past, we used to hunt with rifles. In one day, we could catch 10 birds,” he said.
After the ecotourism site opened in Kwau village, Hami stopped hunting. He then worked as a porter or guide, earning an income of between Rp 5 million and Rp 6 million per month when there were many tourists. "In the past, a month's income [from hunting] was only Rp 1 million or Rp 2 million," said Hami.
Papua Arfak Mountains Nature Reserve which stretches 68,325 hectares.
Kwau Zakeus Mandacan (23), one of the caretakers of the Ekowisata site, said that the residents of Kwau village took turns in the ecotourism work. The reward was that all residents had an opportunity to earn an additional income.
(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)
