The black sand beach in Simau Village in Galela Sub-district, which is located at Halmahera Island in North Maluku Province, has a beautiful view. Besides being surrounded by sea water on three sides, this beach also offers views of the mangrove forest and Mount Dukono in the distance.
However, loyal visitors to Simau Beach are not tourists who want to sunbathe or miss the beauty of the beach, but big-footed birds endemic to Maluku region (the provinces of Maluku and North Maluku). In the Ambon area, the bird is known as momoa, while the people of Simau call it salabia. Scientifically, it is known as Moluccan Scrubfowl (Eulipoa wallacei).
“The Moluccan Scrubfowls are relative to maleos. As megapodes, these big-footed birds produce large-sized eggs but not incubating the eggs,” said Jihad, Bird Conservation Officer of Burung Indonesia. They use their large foot for both foraging and digging sand for nests.
At a glance, the Moluccan Scrubfowl looks like native chicken with a similar brown feather, white under-covert and brownish-yellow foot. This species lives in the forests of several islands on the Maluku Islands. When the night comes, it leaves the forest to lay eggs on a sandy beach. It digs a hole and buries its eggs with sand, aiming for the sun heat during the day time to warm the sand and hatch the eggs.
According to Jihad, there are two large nesting locations: Haruku Island near to Ambon, and Galela in Halmahera Island. Both places support more than half of the population of the Moluccan Scrubfowl. The nests are built on sandy beaches and bushes on sea sides up to the altitude of 1.500 meter above sea level.
Nggode, one of the locals in Simau, said that Moluccan Scrubfowls in his village laid eggs almost every night. However, on moonless nights they lay much less eggs compared to full moon nights. Based on research by Gillian Baker from the University of Sussex, England, there are several possible reasons why Moluccan Scrubfowl prefers to lay eggs during the full moon.
The full moon is thought to play a role in reducing the risk of egg predation by predators. When the sky is clear, Moluccan Scrubfowl can see predators more clearly so they can escape. Another assumption is that the full moon plays a role in synchronizing egg-laying time for the Moluccan Scrubfowl and as a navigational aid for this bird to find nesting locations.
Unfortunately, this strategy has not been able to save my charred shame from the threat of extinction. The Moluccan Scrubfowl is currently in the Vulnerable category. The main predator of the eggs, humans, still often hunts momoa's nests and takes all the eggs. In Simau, residents are becoming aware of this threat so that apart from being active on patrol, they are also limiting the number of eggs that can be taken for the sake of preserving this big foot from Maluku.