Tag: wild birds of the 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

Philippine Trogon [HD]

(Blogger's note: Sorry, a long overdue post, we have been busy with the upcoming 7th Philippine Bird Festival. Try to come and join us. Visit www.birdwatch.ph or click here for more details ) This is a Philippine Trogon, a strikingly beautiful endemic found only in the islands of Luzon and its satellites, Samar, Leyte, Bohol and Mindanao. It is very colorful bird, probably more than 7 colors in the male - with its bill yellow-tipped with a pea-green base, cobalt blue facial skin surrounding a dark brown eye, a black forecrown while the hind crown and nape purplish maroon; back and rump orange rufous, and a deep red belly. And we did not even include the highly-debated "colors" black and white for the wing coverts and the primaries. 🙂 This endemic inhabits forests up to 2000 meters and is usually seen singly or in pairs with a more drab-looking (but still beautiful) female. It feeds on insects and fruits and nests on holes in dead hollow trees similar to woodpecker nests. The call is described in the field guide as a soft nuu nu nu nu nu nu nu nuuu rising and accelerating with the first few notes m then gradually descending and slowing to the end. For me, it is similar to a neighing horse. 🙂 Philippine Trogon, Harpactes ardens July 2011, Mt. Bulusan, Sorsogon, Luzon, Philippines

Mindanao Tarictic Hornbill [HD]

This is a Mindanao Tarictic Hornbill, one of the 10 endemic hornbills of the Philippines. It favors forest and forest edge up to 1500 meters and is usually found in pairs or small family groups. Hornbills are amazing creatures - Tarictics are known to lay 3 eggs in tree cavities with the female individual completely enclosed in the cavity during incubation. So when a male Tarictic dies during the breeding season, the whole family is in danger since it is the male who will bring food for the female and its chicks. They are also efficient re-foresters of the mountains. They are excellent seed-dispersal agents: they are known to gather several fruits and store them in their crop and can transport them over cleared forest areas or plantations, from one forest patch to another, in the process spreading seeds more efficiently than rodents and primates. You want to save our forests? - Save our hornbills! They are our allies in keeping our rainforests healthy and diverse. Mindanao Tarictic Hornbill, Penelopides affinis September 2010, Mt. Kitanglad Range, Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines

Little Pied Flycatcher [HD]

This Little Pied Flycatcher is a fairly common inhabitant of the forest canopy, understory and edge usually in montane forests. This video is of a male individual taken in Mt. Kitanglad Range National Park in Bukidnon, Mindanao, Southern Philippines. The female is more drab with greyish head and back and lacking the black and white plumage of the male. This bird can also be seen in the high elevation mountains of Negros (belonging to the endemic subspecies rabori), so it is also possible to see this bird in one of the post-birding trips of the 7th Philippine Bird Festival: BIRDS IN THE WILD HELP FORESTS THRIVE! Thanks for viewing and Happy Birding! Little Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula westermanni September 2010, Mt. Kitanglad Range National Park, Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines

Leaving the nest…

Trinket Canlas shares the joys of backyard birding ... (A cross-post from fellow Birding Adventure Philippines' blogger Trinket Canlas) i absolutely love seeing (& watching of course) fledglings with their parents in the garden! it means that the cycle of life is still in motion, and that my neighborhood is still a welcome place for the birds. this year, the pied fantails seem to have only one fledgling... there's only one persistent young bird continuously badgering its parents. it's amusing how they would fly in circles around our house, taking off to the right and appearing a minute later from the left! a couple of years ago, there were 5 fledglings in hot pursuit of their dad/mom! it must be a never ending "feed me! feed me!" for these committed parents. but this young one has learned fast and has become quite an expert in snatching flies and other goodies from just above the grass. its graceful maneuvers are mesmerizing, with loud clicks of the wings (beak? i could never figure it out) with each turn. still, nothing beats begging for free food from mom/dad!
Pied Fantails
Pied Fantails - An immature (on the right) begging the parent for food
right on time for rambutan season, adri & i were delighted to see this pair of Colasisis feasting voraciously on the first fruit to ripen! as with every year, these little parrots were oblivious to our staring eyes. little wonder, since their red and green blend perfectly with the rambutan tree. it's difficult to spot them once they land if not for their noisy chatter which gives them away! adri had a grand (and intense!) photo op last weekend with this pair. the immature bird playfully lives up to its name of Philippine Hanging Parrot.
Colasisis
Colasisis playing - Mother (right) savouring a rambutan while child playfully hangs on a branch
i suppose these fledglings will stay with their parents for a few more weeks after leaving the nest, learning to find food and avoid predators and interact with others of their kind: survival camp for the birds. and the cycle continues... Happy birding everyone! Continue reading "Leaving the nest…"