Blue-capped Kingfisher
Actenoides hombroni
A spectacular medium-sized kingfisher of foothill and montane forest on Mindanao with a thick red bill, a white throat, a blue rump, and faintly scaled rufous on the underparts and cheek, extending around the back of the neck. The male has a blue crown, blue tail, and blue wings with buff spots. The blue is replaced by green in the female. The male also has an additional blue moustache stripe. Unmistakable. More often seen than heard. Song, given at dawn, consists of a single downslurred whistle with a slightly metallic quality, “wee-ooo,” repeated every few seconds.
Identification
EBird describes the bird as "A spectacular medium-sized kingfisher of foothill and montane forest on Mindanao with a thick red bill, a white throat, a blue rump, and faintly scaled rufous on the underparts and cheek, extending around the back of the neck. The male has a blue crown, blue tail, and blue wings with buff spots. The blue is replaced by green in the female. The male also has an additional blue moustache stripe. Unmistakable. More often seen than heard. Song, given at dawn, consists of a single downslurred whistle with a slightly metallic quality, “wee-ooo,” repeated every few seconds."<p>These kingfishers exhibit sexual dimorphism in which the males have the eponymous dark blue-cap and dark blue wings. The females on the other hand have aqua-green cap and wings.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Actenoides hombroni
- Authority
- Bonaparte, 1850
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
- Genus
- Actenoides
Range and habitat
Its natural habitats are on the upper ranges of tropical moist lowland forest and tropical moist montane forests having a wide altitude range of 100 -2,400 meters above sea level but with majority of records are above 1,000 masl. They are often found close to streams.<p>IUCN has assessed this bird as vulnerable with its population estimated at 2,500 to 9,999 mature individuals and thought to still be decreasing. This species' main threat is habitat loss with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of logging, agricultural conversion and mining activities occurring within the range. This species appears to show a preference for montane habitats which are most at risk from mining activities especially for chromite and nickel.<p>It occurs in a few protected areas like Pasonanca Natural Park, Mount Kitanglad National Park, Mount Apo National Park and Mt. Hilong-hilong Watershed but as with most areas in the Philippines protection and enforcement are lax.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Letter-winged Kite
Elanus scriptus
Small, striking gray and white raptor with black shoulder patches. Underparts white with two black patches on underwing extending from "armpit" to "wrist". Legs and feet are almost white. Eyes bright red with dark markings around the eye giving a very round owl-like appearance. Nocturnal, and unlikely to be seen hovering over grasslands searching for prey in the middle of the day like Black-shouldered Kite. Very rare; typically occurs inland Australia, although occasionally disperses more widely.
Lemon-breasted Seedeater
Crithagra citrinipectus
A small gray-brown seedeater with a lemon-yellow rump, white tail tips, and a boldly marked face with pale patches (white to lemon-yellow) above and below the eye. The throat and upper breast are lemon-yellow in the male and buff in the female. Pairs and small flocks occupy savanna, grassland, and palm savanna, where the species is partial to Ilala Palm. It forages on the ground and in small shrubs and grass. The similar Yellow-fronted Canary is yellower, has a broader eyebrow, and lacks wingbars and the vertical dark stripe below the eye.
Rio Orinoco Spinetail
Synallaxis beverlyae
A grayish riverine spinetail with rufous crown and shoulders. Known from only a few sites but locally common, alone or in pairs, mostly in young riverine successional vegetation (especially dense scrub) on sedimentary islands in the Orinoco River. Sexes similar. Easy to find by voice, a rattling series “quip, pip-pip-pip-pip” ending in a trill “prrr”. Very similar to Pale-breasted Spinetail, but differs in grayish body, less contrasting rufous patches, different voice, and river island specialization. Endemic to the Orinoco River of Venezuela.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.