The Philippine dwarf kingfisher, scientific name Ceyx melanurus is a species of chook within the household Alcedinidae that’s endemic to the Philippines.
Its pure habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It’s threatened by habitat loss.
Philippine dwarf kingfisher Habitat
Forest: Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland; Wetlands (inland): Everlasting Rivers/Streams/Creeks (contains waterfalls)
Another source says the South Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher (Ceyx mindanensis) was first described 130 years in the past throughout the Steere Expedition to the Philippines in 1890.
The chook is the tiniest species of forest kingfisher within the Philippines and is characterized by its hanging plumage of metallic lilac, orange, and vivid blue spots.
It’s discovered within the virgin and second-growth forests within the islands of Mindanao and Basilan.
The South Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher has a novel name, described as a “high-pitched, insect-like, and nearly inaudible zeeep.”
It has eluded scientists for over 100 years due to its conduct. It’s tough to see because it perches quietly and darts invisibly from perch to perch.
However, because of Miguel David De Leon, a Filipino subject biologist, and director of the Robert S. Kennedy Fowl Conservancy, we get a glimpse of the attractive chook that’s sadly threatened with extinction.
“The Robert S. Kennedy Fowl Conservancy is a bunch of eight subject employees and chook photographers that paperwork birds and habitats, contributing knowledge beforehand unknown to science, with the last word purpose of conserving species and ecosystems,” says De Leon in an interview with Esquire Philippines.
“We give attention to poorly recognized birds and doc their biology and ecology or how they work together with different organisms of their habitat,” he provides.
The next photographs of the bird’s fledgling taken by De Leon have by no means been revealed, and this would be the first time most Filipinos will get to see the uncommon species.
The photographs are outcomes of De Leon and his crew’s 10 years of laborious monitoring and analysis in an try and doc for the primary time the nesting, feeding, and breeding behaviors of the South Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher.
Philippine dwarf kingfisher Nest sites Found
De Leon and his crew of biologists traveled to forests in Cagayan de Oro and performed analysis from 2007 to 2017.
At Mapawa Nature Park, they discovered two nesting websites of the South Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher.
Sadly, the primary nesting site was destroyed by trespassers earlier than any scientific observations may very well be made.
The second nesting sie=te was untouched. They discovered it three meters above the forest ground, hooked up to a tree trunk.
The Philippine dwarf kingfisher birds are cavity nesters, which means they excavate nest holes in earth banks and termite nests are known as termitaria.
The Philippine dwarf kingfisher species feed on quite a lot of small creatures together with earthworms, small lizards, and different invertebrates.
Threats to the South Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher’s Survival
Habitat destruction, poaching, and local weather change are the best threats to the survival of the South Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher.
In line with De Leon, there’s extra to conservation than simply forest and bushes.
“There’s extra to chook conservation than simply birds. By defending and preserving habitats, we preserve the circles of life inside an ecosystem intact.
The innumerable number of bugs that birds feed on, the unattractive shrubs that bugs feed on, the fungi and micro organism that render the soil appropriate for plant development, and so forth, they’re all indivisibly linked collectively.”
“The most important risk to the decline or lack of our endemic and indigenous species is habitat loss.
Searching and trapping for meals or unlawful pet commerce are contributory components as properly.
Culturally, leisure taking pictures of Philippine dwarf kingfisher birds utilizing airguns or slingshots places additional strain on chook populations,” says De Leon.
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