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This group of islands contains more endemic bird species for its area than any other place on Earth. This Global 200 ecoregion is made up of these terrestrial ecoregions: Seram rain forests; Halmahera rain forests If you could take a boat ride from Sulawesi to New Guinea, you would pass by hundreds of islands. Some would be tiny--less than a square mile--with no people on them. Others would be as large as 7,000 square miles (18,000 square kilometers). All would be part of the Moluccan archipelago. About 80 percent of the islands' land area is covered with rain forest, making it prime habitat for tropical plants and animals.
The Moluccan archipelago, also known as the Spice Islands, is a fascinating place from a biological perspective. Located about midway between the southeastern edge of Asia and the northern tip of Australia, it contains a curious mix of Asian and Australian wildlife. For example, you'll find many kinds of cuscuses, which are tree-dwelling, possum-like marsupials related to kangaroos, and tarsiers, which are small nocturnal primates typically found in Southeast Asia.
Look in and around the local damar, batai, and paperbark trees, and you're bound to find abundant bird life. King birds of paradise perch in the treetops, their plumage a stunning combination of crimson, emerald green, purple, and yellow. Southern cassowaries, enormous black birds with blue and red necks, walk slowly and secretively under the trees. If you're very, very lucky, you might even spot a salmon-crested cockatoo, a beautiful pale-pink bird with a dark salmon crest on its head. Keep your eyes out for other kinds of wildlife, too. Several kinds of flying foxes (also called fruit bats) and the Ceram bandicoot--a small marsupial--are also natives of these tree-filled islands.
Although much of this region is intact, logging and tapping of damar trees for resin present threats to the forests. In addition, some people illegally collect plants and animals from the forest.
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