Cebu Boobook
Ninox rumseyi
A medium-sized owl of wooded areas on the island of Cebu. Head and upperparts dark brown and indistinctly barred. Underparts orange-brown. Shows some white speckling in the wing, a pale bar behind the shoulder, bright yellow eyes, and white eyebrows forming an arching V-shape. Note the large white throat patch. Unmistakable. No other owls occur in its range. Song is a distinctive “wip! Doo-wip! Doh” with the middle notes falling then rising, and the final note falling. Also gives single “wip” notes and rasps.
Taxonomy
EBird describes the bird as "A medium-sized owl of wooded areas on the island of Cebu. Head and upperparts dark brown and indistinctly barred. Underparts orange-brown. Shows some white speckling in the wing, a pale bar behind the shoulder, bright yellow eyes, and white eyebrows forming an arching V-shape. Note the large white throat patch. Unmistakable. No other owls occur in its range. Song is a distinctive “wip! Doo-wip! Doh” with the middle notes falling then rising, and the final note falling. Also gives single 'wip' notes and rasps."<p>The Cebu boobook is an earless species. Males and females are similar in appearance. It nests in natural cavities of older, larger trees.<p>Along with the Camiguin hawk-owl and Romblon boobook, it is the largest in the Philippine hawk-owl species complex reaching 25 cm tall versus the much smaller Luzon boobook, Mindanao boobook, Mindoro boobook and Sulu boobook, which range in size from 15 to 20 cm tall.
- Scientific name
- Ninox rumseyi
- Authority
- Rasmussen, Allen, D, Collar, Hutchinson, Jakosalem, Kennedy, RS, Lambert & Paguntalan, 2012
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
- Genus
- Ninox
Range and habitat
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland primary forest and secondary forests up to an altitude of 700 metres above sea level. It is also seen in clearings and plantations as long as there is nearby forest<p>The IUCN Red List classifies this bird as vulnerable with population estimates of 250 to 999 mature individuals with the belief that its population is on the lower estimate of that range. This species' main threat is habitat loss with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of legal and illegal logging, mining and conversion into farmlands through slash-and-burn and urbanization. Cebu underwent severe deforestation in the 1890s and now just 0.03% or 15 km2 forest cover remains. The forests of Cebu continue to undergo hunting pressure and deforestation — further reducing what little there is remaining.<p>This has led to many other species sharing its range to also be endangered. It also shares a habitat with the Cebu flowerpecker which is one of the most endangered birds in the world and other endangered species such as the black shama and streak-breasted bulbul. This has led to many extinctions of species such as Cebu warty pig and possibly the Cebu amethyst brown dove and subspecies extinctions of Philippine oriole, blackish cuckooshrike, bar-bellied cuckooshrike, Philippine hanging parrot and more.<p>The Cebu boobook occurs in the Alcoy, Argao, Dalaguete, Tabunan and Boljoon protected forests, but like all places in the Philippines protection is lax.<p>There is no species-specific conservation program at present.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
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Sprightly and vividly-colored little finch with a black head and a fiery orange patch on the forehead. Sexes are similar, though female tends to have a smaller forehead patch than the male. Juvenile is warm brown with black spotting on the back and wings; beware of confusion with rosefinches and greenfinches, the former of which lacks yellow in the tail and the latter of which has streaked underparts. Inhabits open forests, scrubland, and meadows in montane areas. Often ventures into towns and villages. Calls include quiet fluty notes and twitters; song is a jumble of trills interspersed with random call notes.
Indochinese Cuckooshrike
Lalage polioptera
Plain gray cuckooshrike with relatively little contrast overall. Male is gray with darker wingtips and a white vent. Female is paler gray with thinly barred underparts. Can be mistaken for Black-winged Cuckooshrike, of which both resident and migratory subspecies are within the range of Indochinese. Note Black-winged’s darker overall plumage, much fainter barring on the female’s underside, and more evenly spaced white spots on the black undertail (Indochinese’s white spots are all clustered together into a cohesive white blob). Inhabits open forests, particularly dry deciduous forests, as well as forest edges and gardens. Gives squeaky yelps, often heard when flying over in small flocks. Gives a descending series of high-pitched whistles.
Bare-throated Whistler
Pachycephala nudigula
A chunky, thick-billed songbird. Unmistakable male is olive-green above with yellow-tinged underparts, a jet black hood, and a diagnostic patch of loose bare red skin on throat. Dull female has a gray head, an olive back, a yellow underside, and a white throat. Juvenile resembles female, but has a yellow throat. Found singly in hill and montane forest in the Lesser Sundas. Female can be separated from female Rusty-breasted Whistler by the olive upperparts, solid yellow underparts, lack of any pink on the breast, and indistinct pale eye-ring. Loud, powerful song consists of strident whistled notes and includes imitations of crows, orioles, and other bird species. Highly variable sounds also include a car alarm-like “WEE-WOO-WEE-WOO.”
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