Animals of Maluku: species, threatened and protected

Asian Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica). The Asian emerald dove uses tropical forest floor and edges; its iridescent green wings are easier to judge in good light.

Black Sunbird (Leptocoma sericea). The black sunbird is a nectariniid; current bird lists (BirdLife/IUCN, eBird and IOC) name it Leptocoma aspasia, while GBIF still files it under the synonym Leptocoma sericea.

Black-naped Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus melanospilus). Male black-naped fruit-doves have a pale grey head, dark nape and mostly green body; females may look different.

Blyth's Hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus). Blyth's hornbill is a large canopy hornbill of Wallacea and Melanesia; ground observations may reveal only its silhouette or calls.

Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus). The brahminy kite is an accipitrid raptor often associated with coastal landscapes; its pale head and breast contrast with a reddish-brown body.

The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is the world's largest land arthropod, a giant hermit crab that eats fruit and carrion, threatened by hunting for restaurants.

Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis). The Oriental dollarbird has rounded blue wing patches visible in flight, the field mark behind its English name.

Glossy Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta). The glossy swiftlet is an apodid that searches for food in flight; in its current narrower sense it ranges from Sulawesi and the Moluccas east to Papua and the islands beyond.

Great Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii). The great crested tern forages over coastal sea and nests in colonies on coasts and islands; disturbance at a colony can affect many nests.

The greater bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea apoda) is a yellow-plumed bird-of-paradise of the Aru Islands and the southern lowlands of New Guinea.

Hair-crested Drongo (Dicrurus hottentottus). The hair-crested drongo is a dicrurid formerly grouped with another drongo; record the taxonomy and region used by each source.

Helmeted Friarbird (Philemon buceroides). The helmeted friarbird belongs to the honeyeater family Meliphagidae; its helmet-like head does not make it a hornbill.

The Indonesian coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis) is a rare, deep-water lobe-finned fish known from Sulawesi to Papua, first recognised in 1997.

The leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) is the world's largest turtle, with a leathery shell; in Indonesia it nests mainly in Tambrauw, Southwest Papua.

Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis). The lesser coucal often uses dense low vegetation, including marsh edges; brief distant views can be confused with other coucals.

Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel). The lesser frigatebird is relatively small for a frigatebird and spends much of its time airborne above tropical seas.

The Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga) is a ground-dwelling, black-spotted civet with a black-and-white banded tail, common in the forests of Sumatra and Borneo.

Metallic Starling (Aplonis metallica). The metallic starling ranges from the Moluccas and New Guinea to northern Australia; its apparent iridescence changes with light.

Moluccan Bluespotted Maskray (Neotrygon moluccensis). The Moluccan bluespotted maskray is a narrowly defined Neotrygon; generic blue-spotted ray records cannot automatically be assigned to it.

Moluccan Eclectus (Eclectus roratus). Eclectus parrots show striking male-female colour differences; island origin also matters because species limits in the eclectus complex have changed.

The Moluccan king parrot (Alisterus amboinensis) is a red, blue and green parrot of the forests of Maluku and Papua, and Maluku province's identity animal.

Northern Common Cuscus (Phalanger orientalis). The northern common cuscus is a New Guinean-region marsupial; some island populations may reflect human movement.

Northern Fantail (Rhipidura rufiventris). Under the BirdLife/IUCN and Burung Indonesia taxonomy, Rhipidura rufiventris is the Timor fantail of Timor and nearby islands in Nusa Tenggara; fantails of Maluku and Papua once included in it (such as the northern fantail, R. isura) are now separate species, although the IOC list still lumps them as the northern fantail. A fanned tail identifies the family but not the species by itself.

Pacific Reef Heron (Egretta sacra). The Pacific reef heron uses rocky coasts and reefs; pale and dark colour forms make habitat and shape important in identification.

The palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is a large black cockatoo with red cheek patches from New Guinea and the Aru Islands, known for drumming.

Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata). The pied bush chat uses open country; male and female plumage differs, so black-and-white appearance alone does not describe every bird.

Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus). The rainbow bee-eater catches flying insects and is well known from Australia and nearby regions; Indonesian records need locality and movement context.

Red-cheeked Parrot (Geoffroyus geoffroyi). The red-cheeked parrot is a stout parrot of eastern Indonesia and New Guinea; subspecies labels should not be treated as evidence for every population's range.

Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus). The sacred kingfisher uses mangroves, open woodland and river valleys; movement in some populations makes date and locality useful.

The salmon-crested cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis) is a large cockatoo endemic to Seram and Ambon in Maluku, listed as Endangered because of trapping for trade.

The scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) is a hammer-headed shark with a notched snout, found across Indonesian seas and listed as Critically Endangered.

A large flightless bird that disperses seeds through its feeding. This profile concerns Casuarius casuarius, one of the cassowary species in the New Guinea region.

Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris). Spinner dolphins are known for rotating leaps, but each leap need not have the same function; vessel encounters should maintain distance.

The standardwing (Semioptera wallacii) is a North Maluku bird-of-paradise whose males dance with long white wing plumes; the province's identity animal.

Sultan's Cuckoo-Dove (Macropygia doreya). Sultan's cuckoo-dove ranges from the northern Moluccas and Sulawesi towards New Guinea; its taxonomy reflects a split from a former cuckoo-dove complex.

A plant-eating deer using grasslands and wooded areas. Population origins matter because people have introduced this species to many locations.

Uniform Swiftlet (Aerodramus vanikorensis). The uniform swiftlet has grey-brown plumage, darker upperparts and a shallow forked tail; lookalike swiftlets make clear photos and locality valuable.

Wallace's golden birdwing (Ornithoptera croesus) is a large birdwing butterfly with an orange-gold male, found only in North Maluku, Indonesia.

White-shouldered Triller (Lalage sueurii). The white-shouldered triller is a campephagid of Indonesia and Timor-Leste; its white wing markings should be read alongside body shape.

Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys). The willie wagtail actively flicks its tail while foraging; locality matters across its Australian, New Guinean and eastern Indonesian range.