Introducing the Philippines smallest raptor: the cute (but can be mean) Philippine Falconet.
The Philippine Falconet is only 6 1/2 inches in length and is found in most Philippine islands except Palawan. Its serrated beak and enormous claws are its most potent weapons in catching dragonflies, other insects, lizards, small invertebrates and even small birds! The field guide describes it as "feisty" and it has been observed mobbing the Great Philippine Eagle. Definitely, a meanie!
Philippine Falconet, Microhierax erythrogenys
December 2010, Subic Bay Forest, Luzon, Philippines
This is the last installment for our series on mistletoes and birds.
This Fire-breasted Flowerepecker from Mt. Kitanglad demonstrates the same behavior exhibited by this Pygmy Flowerpecker from Mt. Makiling and and this Buzzing Flowerpecker from Mt. Polis. On the first and second segments of the video, the bird poops out the very sticky substance containing mistletoe seeds then wipes it off a branch. This is how mistlestoes are propagated and just shows the importance of birds in regenerating our forests.
This Fire-breasted Flowerpecker is a high-elevation, uncommon, resident bird that ranges from the Himalayas to Southern China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and the Philippines.
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Dicaeum ignipectus
September 2010 & January 2011, Mt. Kitanglad, Bukidnon, Philippines
The Rufous-headed Tailorbird is one of the 10 tailorbirds ranging in the Philippines. The one featured here is a high elevation Mindanao endemic and can be seen singly, in pairs or sometimes in mixed flocks in montane forests above 800 meters. It was previously lumped with Mountain Tailorbird but some naturalists treat this heterolaemus race as a separate species based on the differences in plumage and bird calls from birds from Luzon and Palawan.
This individual was videoed in one of the country's best birding spots: Mt. Kitanglad Range in Bukidnon, Mindanao, Southern Philippines.
Digiscoping note: Here is an example of a bird that is difficult to photograph using a digiscoping set-up. Firstly, this bird is very small, 4 1/2 inches from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail so getting it to fill the frame will be quite a challenge. Secondly, this tailorbird is very active and skittish and will not perch on a spot for very long so you'll have to be quick in order to get usable shots. It is very difficult to get but it can be done with the right equipment, lots of patience and practice (and luck). It also pays to know the habit of the bird so you can somewhat predict where the bird will perch next. Happy digiscoping!
Rufous-headed Tailorbird, Orthotomus heterolaemus
September 2010, Mt. Kitanglad Range, Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines
A mistletoe growing on a host tree. Photo by Marites Cervero
Yes, we have mistletoes here in the Philippines. Mistletoes are botanically interesting plants as they are hemiparasites (or partial parasites). They usually grow on trunks or branches of trees and send out roots that penetrate the host tree's branches. They can generate their own food through photosynthesis but they can also extract some nutrients from their host tree.
Mistletoe comes from two Anglo-Saxon words: "Mistel" meaning dung and "tan" which is a word for twig. So, mistletoe means "dung-on-a-twig." This name came about when early botanists observed mistletoe would often appear on a branch or twig where birds had left droppings.
And this is how mistletoes are spread: A bird (like this immature Buzzing Flowerpecker) eats the very sticky berry fruits of the mistletoe and then poops and wipes it off another branch. This flowerpecker, by the way is a common, widespread Philippine endemic found in most islands except Palawan.
Next week: another bird showing this interesting behavior. Happy birding!
**Update: Check the rest of this series here:
Part 2: Pygmy Flowerpecker
Part 3: Fire-breasted FlowerpeckerBuzzing Flowerpecker (immature), Dicaeum hypoleucum
July 2010, Mt. Polis, the Cordilleras, Northern Luzon, Philippines
Do we have hummingbirds in the Philippines?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions during our guided bird walks for the non-birder public. And to this we enthusiastically reply that what we have are sunbirds, feathered friends that are almost the same size, same diet, same habits and as equally charming as the hummingbirds from the Americas.
In fact, The Philippines has 12 kinds of sunbirds, 7 of which are endemic or found only in our country. They live in a wide array of habitats, among them the most common, garden-bird Olive-backed Sunbird, the mangrove-dwelling Copper-throated Sunbird from Palawan, the localized and high-elevation Apo Sunbird from Mindanao and this lowland forest-dwelling Handsome Sunbird from PICOP, Bislig, Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, among others.
The Handsome Sunbird is one of the smallest sunbirds in the Philippines and ranges in most Philippine islands except Palawan where it is replaced by the similarly-looking Lovely Sunbird. The sunbird featured here belongs to the bella race and can be seen frequenting flowering and fruiting trees in forest and forest edge, feeding on nectar and sometimes small insects.
Handsome Sunbird, Aethopyga bella
January 2011, PICOP Forest, Surigao del Sur, Mindanao Philippines
Here is a video of an adult and an immature Mountain Shrike from Mt. Polis in the Cordilleras of Northern Luzon, Philippines.
The Mountain Shrike (or Grey-capped Shrike) is an uncommon endemic found only in the islands of Luzon, Mindoro and Mindanao. It inhabits montane forests, usually perched conspicuously in clearings and forest edge above 1000 meters. Like most shrikes, it is very aggressive and has been observed impaling its prey on thorny bushes.
The adult bird was videoed November 2010 while the immature bird was videoed July.
Mountain Shrike, Lanius validirostris
July and November 2010
Here is a video of an Ashy Drongo that Nicky videoscoped from Makiling a few months back. This is the subspecies leucogenis, a rare migrant to the Philippines, with just one other report a few years back in the local bird club's records. Incidentally, the previous sighting was also from the lowland forests of Mt. Makiling, Laguna. The other race leucophaeus shown below the video ranges only in Palawan where it is a common bird, often found in exposed perches. What big difference in terms of plumage! Possible split? 🙂
Ashy Drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus leucogenis
Mt. Makiling, Laguna, Luzon, Philippines
Ashy Drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus leucophaeus
Coron, Busuanga Island, Palawan, Philippines
