But by working with bird breeders and sellers—the very group that contributed to the prized birds becoming critically endangered—conservationists are releasing them in Bali province, hoping to boost the wild population.

Experts say more research and monitoring is needed, but the conservation model has shown promise over the past 10 years and could be replicated for other vulnerable birds in Indonesia.

Endemic to Bali, the Bali mynah has been a highly sought collector's item in the international cage bird trade for more than a century due to their striking white plumage and song. Capture of the birds for sale coupled with habitat loss from land conversion to farming and settlements led to the bird being listed as "threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1988 and upgraded to "critically endangered" in 1994. By 2001 experts estimated only about six Bali mynahs were living in the wild, with thousands in captivity across the globe.

Recognizing Indonesia's deeply engrained bird breeder culture and the dire need for Bali mynah conservation, the nongovernmental organization now called BirdLife International paired with the government to launch a captive breeding program in the 1980s.

Breeders are able to apply for licenses to breed the birds. If approved, they're given mynahs by the government and are allowed to keep 90% of the offspring for private sale. The remaining birds are rehabilitated and released at West Bali National Park, where they can be monitored by park authorities.

The conservation method is compatible with Indonesian culture, where it's common to have cage birds and people rely on the bird trade for their income, said Tom Squires, a Ph.D. candidate at Manchester Metropolitan University studying Bali mynah ecology and other threatened birds in Indonesia.