philippine birds bio117

8/13/2019 Philippine Birds bio117

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Summary of avian diversity

A guide to identifying birds

Philippine Birds


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Characteristics of Class Aves

1. Body usually spindle shaped, with 4 divisions: head, neck, trunk,and tail

2. Limbs paired; forelimbs usually modified for flying, hindlimbsadapted for various locomotory functions such as perching,

walking, swimming, also for grasping prey; foot usually with 4 toes3. Epidermal covering of feathers and leg scales; thin integument of

epidermis and dermis; no sweat glands; oil gland at root of tail;pinna of ear rudimentary


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Characteristics of Class Aves

4. Fully ossified skeleton with air cavities; skull bones fused with one

occipital condyle; each jaw covered with horny sheath, forming abeak; no teeth; ribs with strenghtening processes; tail not elongate;sternum well developed with keel or reduced with no keel; singlebone in middle ear

5. Nervous system well-developed, with brain and 12 pairs of cranialnerves

6. Circulatory system of 4-chambered heart, with the right aortic archpersisting; reduced renal portal system; nucleated red blood cells


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Characteristics of Class Aves7. Endothermic

8. Respiration by slightly expansible lungs, with thin air sacs among

the visceral organs and skeleton; syrinx (voice box) near junctionof trachea and bronchi

9. Excretory system of metanephric kidney; ureters open into cloaca;no bladder; semisolid urine; uric acid main nitrogenous waste

10.Sexes separate; testes paired, with the vas deferens opening intocloaca; females with left ovary and oviduct only; copulatory organsin some


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Avian Topography

External parts of a bird mapping regions ofavian body and notable features (crest)

Distinct characters indicative of its name -blue-naped, white-bellied, blue-rumped,black-necked, red-breasted, red-crowned

Unique avian characters lore, auriculars,scapulars, primaries, secondaries, tertials,alula, culmen, gonys (A ridge along the mid-ventral line ofthe lower mandible of certain birds), rictus /gape,supercilium


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Topography of BIRDS


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Avian body form

Size and shape

Long or short neck, long or short legs

Sparrow-like or Thrush-like or Crow-like

Pigeon-like or Chicken-like or Duck-like

Reference point for comparative size

Distinct avian groups - Swifts, Hawks,Kingfishers, Parrots, Rails, Terns, Plovers


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Plumage patterns

Stiff flight feathers (remiges & retrices)

Contour and Down (natal or definitive)

Filoplumes, Semiplumes and Bristles

Plumage patterns pied, streaked, hooded,barred, silvery, striated, spotted, banded,

masked, bibbed, ringed, browed, winged Juvenile and Adult, Winter and Summer

Plumage colors pigment or structural


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Color of Soft parts

Natural colors buff, rufous, citrine, ashy,

cinnamon, slaty, olive, scarlet, sooty Structural colors glossy and metallic

Soft parts and other unique features

Wattles, comb, eye-ring (circumorbital),gular skin, cere, bare skin on head

Color of soft parts bill, tarsus and iris


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Soft parts in birds


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Types of Feet

Types of bird feet:

PALMATE 3 front toeswebbed, hind toe unwebbed

TOTIPALMATE all 4 toeswebbed

SEMIPALMATE (half-webbed) -anterior toes joined by narrowwebbing

LOBATE toes with lobedwebbing


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Types of bird feet:

RAPTORIAL toesmuscular and heavily clawed(talon)

ANISODACTYLOUS hind toelonger, nail elongated

HETERODACTYLOUS inner(3rd) toe reversed

ZYGODACTYLOUS outer toe(1st) toe reversed

SYNDACTYLOUS front toesjoined at base

PAMPRODACTYLOUS all toesin front or pointing forward


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Wing shape and Flight

Broad and round OR narrow and pointed

Slotted for soaring OR long for gliding

Wings barred, spotted, blotched, banded Soaring thermals, dynamic soaring waves,

Straight flapping flight or undulating pattern

Silent or noisy, short burst or sustained Sweeping flight pattern, sallying/ fly-

catching


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Distinguishing features

Metallic band of speculum on ducks Casque on hornbills

Operculum on pigeons and doves

Tarsal spur on pheasants and junglefowl Elongated toes on jacanas

Gular pouch on pelicans and frigatebirds

Facial disk on owls Tube-nose on shearwaters and petrels


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Beak adapations: netting (fish)


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Beak adaptations: netting (insect)


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Beak adaptations: spearing


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Beak adaptations: spearing


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Beak adaptations: probing


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Beak adaptations: sifting


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Beak adaptations: probing, hammering


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Beak adaptations: husking


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Beak adaptations: nut cracking


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Beak adaptations: seed cracking


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Bill adaptations: meat tearing


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Beak features: casque


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Head features: facial disc


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Head features: frontal shield


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Head features: gular pouch


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Tail features: streamer


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Tail features: forked


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Tail features: loose webbing


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Head features: bare skin around eyes,neck wattles, crest


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Beak features: tubular nose


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Tail features: Needle tail


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tail features: racquet


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Sexual dimorphism

Most monogamous birds are sexuallymonomorphic sexes look alike

Some birds are sexually dimorphic sexeslook different, often are polygamous

Generally males more colorful and femaleshave drab coloration sunbirds, pheasants

Some females are colorful painted-snipe

For raptors, females are large than males


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Calls and Songs

Unique vocalizations indicative of species

Familiarity be used for field identification Call single notes, short and repetitive

Alarm or threat call, flight call, territorial

Song elaborate notes and melodious For courtship and display, show fitness

Calls vary with island populations

dialect


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Trophic & Feeding guilds

Frugivore or Nectarivore or Graminivore Piscivore or Insectivore or Vermivore

Bark-gleaning or Foliage-gleaning

Sweeper or Sallier, Probing or StabbingArboreal or Terrestrial or Aquatic

Canopy or Understorey or Forest floor

Omnivore as mixed insectivore-frugivoreArboreal insectivore-frugivore (AIF)


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Nests and Nesting

Open cup-nest or Cavity-nester Primary cavity-nester (woodpeckers)

Secondary cavity-nester (parrots, owls)

Elaborate penduline purse nest (sunbirds) Simple pile of twigs (pigeons), heronry

Woven cup-shaped nest (flycatchers)

Folded leaves stitched together (tailorbird) No nest, brood parasitism (cuckoos)


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Residency Status

Resident (sedentary) or Migratory Endemic to Philippines

Endemic to Faunal region or EBA

Island endemic or Mountain endemic Near endemic - Philippines & some islands

Non-endemic resident with endemic race

Non-endemic resident, race occur beyond Restricted-range species (


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Migratory birds

Some birds breed on temperate regions Summer breeding grounds (165 species) Migrate south to tropics to evade scarcity of

food in winter Winter feeding groundsWinter migrant regular visitor Passage visitor (thru Asian flyway)Accidental Vagrant (noted once or twice)

Most shorebirds, waders and waterfowl Some raptors, passerines, owls, cuckoos


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Montane & lowland forms

Tall mountain massifs and volcanic peaksoffer distinct montane and lowland forests

Montane forests occur above 1,000 masl

Birds restricted to lowland rainforests hornbills, bleedinghearts, babblers

Birds restricted to montane forest

bullfinch, lorikeet, shortwing, island thrush Montane and lowland congeneric species

scops-owls, white-eyes, whistlers


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Phases and Races

Color phases black and white forms ofsame species reef egret, hawk-eagle

Geographic variation among island andmountain populations of a single species

Vary in size or color from nominate form

Monotypic Vs. Polytypic Colasisi has 10 races or subspecies

Philippine Cockatoo uniform on all islands


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Avian taxonomy

Non-passerines and Passerines (songbirds) 29 avian families in Order Passeriformes

50 families in 18 orders (Kennedy et al.,

2000) Peters et al., 1985 based on morphology

Sibley & Monroe 1991 on biochemical

Babblers, Warblers, Flycatchers andCreepers combined into Muscicapidae

Hornbills as separate Order Bucerotiformes


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Seabirds1. Order Procellariformes

Wedge-tailedShearwater(Procellariidae)

2. Order Pelecaniformes

Brown Booby (Sulidae)

Spot-billed Pelican(Pelicanidae)

3. Order Charadriiformes Bridled Tern (Sternidae)


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Waterbirds

4. Order

PodicipediformesGrebes (Podicipedidae) Little Grebe

5. Order Anseriformes -Ducks (Anatidae) Tufted Duck Philippine Duck

6. Order Gruiformes Slaty-breasted Rail

(Rallidae)


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Wading birds

7. Order Ciconiiformes

Woolly-necked Storck(Ciconiidae)

Black-faced Spoonbill(Threskiornithidae)

Chinese Egret(Ardeidae)

8. Order

Charadriiformes Pheasant-tailed Jacana

(Jacanidae)


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Shorebirds

9. Order

Charadriiformes Redshank

(Scolopacidae) Red-necked

Phalarope(Phalaropodidae)

Oriental Plover

(Charadriidae) Pied Avocet

(Recurvirostridae)


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Gamefowl

10. Order

Galliformes Tabon Scrubfowl

(Megapodidae)

Palawan Peacock-Pheasant(Phasianidae)

Red Junglefowl


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Raptors

11. Order

Falconiformes Philippine Falconet

(Falconidae)

Philippine Hawk-Eagle (Accipitridae)

Philippine Eagle


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Pigeons & Doves

12. Order

Columbiformes(Columbidae)

Pink-bellied

Imperial-Pigeon Nicobar Pigeon

Yellow-breasted

Fruit-dove Luzon

Bleedingheart


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Parrots

13. Order

Psittaciformes Colasisi or Hanging

Parrot (Psittacidae)

Philippine Cockatoo(Cacatuidae)

Mindanao Lorikeet

(Loriidae)


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Cuckoos & Coucals

14. Order Cuculiformes

(Cuculidae)

Red-crested Malkoha

Scale-feathered Malkoha Rufous Coucal


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Nocturnal Birds15. Order Caprimulgiformes

Long-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgidae)

Philippine Frogmouth (Podargidae)

Philippine Scops-Owl (Strigidae)Grass Owl (Tytonidae)


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16. Order Apodiformes

Island Swiftlet (Apodidae)

17. Order Coraciiformes

Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Meropidae) Hoopoe (Upupidae)

Spotted Wood Kingfisher (Alcedinidae)

Kingfishers & Swifts


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Hornbills

18. Order Coraciiformes

Family Bucerotidae

Palawan Hornbill

Rufous Hornbill Mindanao Tarictic

Hornbill

Visayan WrinkledHornbill


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Trogons & Woodpeckers

19. Order

Trogoniformes Philippine Trogon

(Trogonidae)

20. Order Piciformes Coppersmith Barbet

(Capitonidae)

Greater Flameback(Picidae)


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Pittas & Broadbills

21. Order Passeriformes

a. Family Eurylaimidae

Visayan Wattled Broadbill

b. Family PittidaeWhiskered Pitta

Blue-winged Pitta

Azure-breasted Pitta


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Swallows & Wagtails

Order Passeriformes

c. Family MotacillidaeWhite Wagtail

Pechora Pipit

d. Family ArtamidaeWhite-breasted Wood-

swallow

e. Family Hirundinidae Barn Swallow


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Graybirds & OriolesOrder Passeriformes

f. Family Campephagidae

Blackish Graybird

g. Family Oriolidae

Black-naped Oriole

Asian Fairy-Bluebird

h. Family Chloropseidae

Philippine Leafbird


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Bulbuls & BabblersOrder Passeriformesi. Family Dicruridae

Balicassiao Drongoj. Family Pycnonotidae Mottle-breasted Bulbul

k. Family Timaliidae Flame-templed Babbler Chestnut-faced Babbler


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Thrushes & FlycatchersOrder Passeriformes

l. Family Turdidae Island Thrush Cebu Black Shama

m. Family Muscicapidae Mountain Verditer-Flycatcher

Snowy-browed

Flycatcher


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Monarchs & WhistlersOrder Passeriformes

n. Family Monarchidae Black-naped Monarch

Rufous Paradise-

Flycatchero. FamilyPachycephalidae

Yellow-bellied WhistlerWhite-bellied Whistler


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Warblers & Tailorbirds

Order Passeriformes

p. Family SylviidaeYellow-breasted Tailorbird

Grey-backed Tailorbird

Tawny Grassbird Bright-capped Cisticola


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Nuthatches & CreepersOrder Passeriformes

q. Family Paridae Elegant TitWhite-fronted Titr. Family Rhabdornithidae Striped-headed Philippine Creepers. Family SittidaeVelvet-fronted Nuthatch


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Shrikes & Starlings

Order Passeriformes

t. Family Laniidae Brown Shrike

u. Family Sturnidae

Hill Myna Coleto or Bald Starling

Crested Myna


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Sunbirds & FlowerpeckersOrder Passeriformes

v. Family Nectariniidae

Crimson Sunbird Plain-throated Sunbird

w. Family Dicaeidae

Olive-backed Flowerpecker Red-keeled Flowerpecker Pygmy Flowerpecker

Scarlet-collaredFlowerpecker


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White-eyes & Sparrows

Order Passeriformes

x. Family Estrildidae Java Sparrow

y. Family Ploceidae

Tree Sparrowz. Family Zosteropidae

Everetts White-eye

Cinnamon Ibon


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Problems with identification

Similar species search for distinguishing features,

comparable size or unique behavior Cryptic birds always hidden and hard to see

Congeners closely related, in same genus

Island and Mountain variations races may showstriking differences in color and call (dialect)

Winter plumage migratory birds in between molts

Estimation of size difficulty in observing distance Similarities of calls mimics or consistent in group


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Birds as bio-indicators

Bird Species Diversity useful representation foroverall biodiversity and basis for evaluation

Levels of endemism composition of endemics

Keystone species indicators of change Threatened Island Endemics inherent rarity

Intolerant forest dependent present/absent

Restricted-range species limited distribution BSD is inversely proportional to altitude

philippine birds bio117

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