Category: Bird Videos

Digiscoping a common garden bird:
Pied Fantail [HD]

This is a Pied Fantail, a common, garden and urban bird in the Philippines. Locally called maria capra, it is very territorial and has been observed to attack cats, even dogs while protecting its air space. It usually perches on exposed branches and flies out to catch insects on the wing. This was taken from our backyard, where there is an abundance of insects attracted by the poop from Trinket's two dogs. A couple of years back, whenever the migratory season is in its full swing and the backyard Brown Shrike arrives (see related story here), this Pied Fantail gets bullied and is relegated to the periphery of the yard. But this season, there are now two of them, and they do not allow the Brown Shrike to lord over the garden. In fact, the perch you're seeing in the video used to be the favorite perch of the Brown Shrike! This is one of my early attempts in (video) digiscoping with my new rig: a Swarovski ATM 80 HD, 25-50x eyepiece, Swarovski Universal Camera Adapter (UCA) coupled with a Panasonic GF1 and a 20 mm lens. Interested in digiscoping? Make sure to check our website again soon for a Digiscoping 101 blog post from Filipino premiere bird guide and digiscoper Nicky Icarangal. He will be sharing the basics of digiscoping as well as some techniques and secrets to improve your digiscoping skills. Or just "like" us in Facebook here, so you can receive instant notifications when we update our blog or just subscribe to our RSS Feeds at the bottom of this page. Hope you enjoy this video and happy birding! -- Adri Pied Fantail, Rhipidura javanica December 2011, Manila, Philippines For more Bird Videos and Photographs, please check out our galleries here.

Pink-bellied Imperial-Pigeon [HD]

This is one of the uncommon endemic pigeons of the Philippines: a Pink-bellied Imperial Pigeon videoscoped by our lead guide Nicky Icarangal in a birding trip with Singaporean birders (check out a portion of their trip report here) in Mt. Kanlaon, Negros Island, Central Philippines. It is a big pigeon, measuring up to about 17 inches and is the only pigeon in the Philippines with a green breast and a pink belly. The female Black-chinned Fruit-dove also has a green breast but it is much smaller and the belly is dark green as well. It prefers fruits and will feed singly or with other pigeons or hornbills in feeding trees. It can be found in good intact forests from the lowlands up to 1500 meters in most of the Philippine islands except Palawan. Unfortunately, due to its large size is has become an easy target for hunters and has become particularly rare in Luzon. Pink-bellied Imperial Pigeon, Ducula poliocephala April 2011, Mt. Kanlaon National Park, Negros Occidental, Philippines by Nicky Icarangal using a Swarovski 80mm ATM HD, 25-50x eyepiece, Swarovski Universal Camera Adapter, Canon Powershot S95

Colasisi (Philippine Hanging Parrot)

This is a video of a pair of Colasisis, sometimes called Philippine Hanging Parrots. They are the smallest parrots in the Philippines with an average length of only 6 inches. These cute, little green bullets are found in most islands in the Philippines (except Palawan). They live in a variety of habitats; from lowland forests up to 1000 meters, mossy forests up to 2500 meters, even in wooded parks and gardens in the cities. Both male and female have red patches on the forehead but only the males have a red patch on the breast while the female has blue patches near the eyes. These parrots feed on blossoms and juices from flowering and fruiting trees like coconuts, bananas, fig trees, and this rambutan tree in the video. Colasisi (Philippine Hanging Parrot), Loriculus philippensis October 2011, Quezon City, Philippines

a family of Black-chinned Fruit-Doves

This is a video of a family of Black-chinned Fruit-doves seen during one of our sorties in one of our favorite birding destinations in Luzon: Mt. Makiling. The Black-chinned Fruit-dove is one of the 19 endemic doves / pigeons in the country. Their soft and hollow rooooooo can sometimes be heard resonating in the lowland forests of all the major islands in the Philippines. The field guide lists this bird as an uncommon; the best way to look for this endemic is to find fruiting trees in the forest where they feed regularly. The first part of the video shows an immature while the adults can be seen in the later part. The adult male is white on the head and the neck/upper breast (seen on the right side) while the female with the greenish neck is a bit hidden on the branches on the left. You can also hear a Spotted Wood Kingfisher calling in the background. Happy birding! Black-chinned Fruit-doves, Ptilinopus leclancheri May 2011, Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve, Luzon, Philippines

Red-bellied Pitta: Jewel of the Philippine Forest Floor [HD]

Pittas belong to this majestic, very colorful group of birds that live on the moist tropical rainforest floors of Asia, Australia and Africa. They are brightly adorned with different shades of red, green and blue feathers but despite their stunning plumage, they can be incredibly hard to see - hopping away into the dark forest floor with the slightest movement, or staying still looking like a dried leaf or branch. There are 5 species of pittas found in the Philippines, 2 of them are endemic: the Steere's (Azure-breasted) Pitta and the largest of all Philippine pittas, the Whiskered Pitta. One out of the 5 is a rare migrant (Blue-winged Pitta) while the remaining two are resident pittas that can be found also in other countries: the Hooded Pitta and this Red-bellied Pitta, Pitta erythrogaster This calling Red-bellied Pitta was videoscoped in a mountain resort a few hours south of Manila. You can also hear other birds in the background: the loud and pulsing call (like a sewing machine badly needing an oil change) of the Grey-backed Tailorbird, the coooing White-eared Brown-dove and the melodious call of a White-browed Shama. Click on the links to see the other birds or visit our galleries here. Red-bellied Pitta, Pitta erythrogaster May 2011, Mts. Palay palay - Mataas na Gulod National Park, Cavite, Luzon, Philippines

A calling Amethyst Brown-Dove [HD]

The Philippines is a treasure-trove for an amazing number of endemic doves and pigeons. There are 33 recorded birds belonging to this family and 19 of them are endemic. The most famous of the doves/pigeons are the Bleeding-hearts, very shy, ground-dwelling birds that have a red patch on their white breast, looking like a bleeding bird stabbed with a dagger to the chest. Then there are the fruit-doves like the stunning Flame-breasted Fruit-dove from high elevation Luzon, and this Yellow-breasted Fruit-dove from Mindanao, Southern Philippines. The more common forest doves are the Brown-doves such as this White-eared Brown-dove and the one featured in this video: the Amethyst Brown-Dove. The Amethyst Brown-Dove is described as a locally-common dove found in the lowlands and up to montane forests. It is very similar to the White-eared Brown-Dove with both having a white "ear" below the eye but the Amethyst Brown-Dove is distinguished from its brown-dove relatives by being the largest, with a larger, more prominent bill, less conspicuous “white ear”, and a violet upper back. It has a nice soft call hooot, hooot hoot  and can be found singly or in pairs often in fruiting trees from Luzon, Mindanao, and other bigger islands. Hear the call at around 0:30 into the video. Amethyst Brown-Dove, Phapitreron amethystina from two clips: June and August 2011, Mt. Makiling and Mt. Bulusan, Luzon, Philippines

The Butcher is Back!

And here is something for all the backyard birders out there, a cross-post from Birding Adventure Philippines' blogger Trinket Canlas. Original post can be seen here.) As the wind and rain of back-to-back typhoons pedring and quiel blow and pour, there is an uneasy truce in the backyard. the migrant brown shrike has arrived in the garden, much to the dismay of the current ruling species, the pied fantail (well, at least i imagine the pied fantail must feel something akin to dismay). yesterday, i saw a pair of fantails still whizzing across the garden to catch insects from their favorite pot perches, while the brown shrike picked at something it had caught and impaled on the kafir lime bush. a noisy skirmish would transpire when they would meet up at the gumamela bush and the swing base, ending with both parties retreating to their secured territory. the bulbuls must be amused at this tug-of-war for dominance over the backyard. unfortunately, if all goes the way of previous years, the resident fantails will be relegated to the next door empty lot and the high canopy of the mango tree while the brown shrike will rule over the yard for the rest of the season until summer.
the pied fantail's days of lording of the backyard sill soon be over... until summer that is
the brown shrike, the new boss of the backyard, back with his old murderous ways
hardly a week since it arrived, adri and i already caught the shrike with a victim. another poor tree frog slaughtered into choice meat sections strung up on the thorns of the kafir lime.  once again the small head was pierced thru its eye socket, and limbs suspended at the joints. flies and the stench of death surround the crime scene.
flies hovering over a poor decapitated tree frog's head, pierced thru its eye socket
spindly legs, still with a lot of muscle, blood vessels and skin...

the brown shrike making the most of its latest victim/meal
(try to ignore the panting dog in the background... it's just maggie, my cute lab. 🙂 )
 
small animals of the backyard beware.  the butcher is back.
 

Philippine Frogmouth [HD]

A sure way to rouse a sleeping birder out of his/her sleep is to yell out a sighting of a special endemic nocturnal like  this stunning Philippine Frogmouth. This uncommon Philippine endemic is a regular in Mt. Kitanglad Range National Park in Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines but can also be found in Luzon and satellite islands, Bohol, Leyte and Samar, and Negros and Panay. Philippine Frogmouth, Batrachostomus septimus July 2011, Mt. Kitanglad Range, Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines

It is a strictly nocturnal bird and has a smallish hooked bill and a wide mouth like a frog (check it out at around 1:05 in the video) used in hunting for insects, flying out from a perch to catch its prey on the wing. The long bristles extending from the face (seen clearly in this photo) as well as the base of the bill are thought to protect the eyes from prey and also to detect subtle movements in its forest environment. Philippine Frogmouth

It is also possible to see it during the day especially if you get lucky and flush one out (like this one from PICOP, Bislig, Surigao also in Mindanao)

Philippine Frogmouth

Sometimes, you get really lucky and find the classic daytime frogmouth pose on a nest! This photo of the frogmouth trying to look like a broken branch was taken in Raja Sikatuna Protected Landscape in the laid-back island of Bohol in South Central Philippines. Philippine Frogmouth

Hope you enjoyed this video. If you are looking for more videos using our Swarovski Digiscoping Setup be sure to visit this page.

Red-keeled Flowerpecker [HD]

This is a Red-keeled Flowerpecker, one of the 12 endemic flowerpeckers found in the Philippines. It prefers the canopy of forests and forest edge and can be seen feeding on flowering and fruiting trees. The call is a metallic seep seep seep and ranges from almost all the major islands in the Philippines except Palawan and Mindoro. Red-keeled Flowerpecker, Dicaeum australe June 2011, Caramoan, Camarines Sur, Luzon, Philippines

Philippine Drongo Cuckoo [HD]

From the very colorful Philippine Trogon video, we now have this all black Philippine Drongo Cuckoo. The Philippine Drongo Cuckoo is a fairly common lowland endemic found in most Philippine islands except Palawan. It is all black in plumage but has a nice, greenish-blue gloss when hit by sunlight at a certain angle. It may often be confused with the Balicassiao, (an endemic drongo) in Luzon or the Hair-crested Drongo in Mindanao as both of these species have a somewhat splayed tail but the diagnostic that separates this bird from the real drongos is its small, thin, slightly decurved bill. It is often heard in the forest with its melodic whistles but it can be shy and difficult to see. Similar to other cuckoos, the Philippine Drongo Cuckoo is believed to be a nest parasite - laying eggs on other nests, and letting the other bird take care of its offspring. Philippine Drongo Cuckoo, Surniculus velutinus May 2011, Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve, Laguna, Luzon, Philippines