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Birding Philippines Where do you want to go birding in the Philippines today?Come birdwatch with www.birdingphilippines.

Birding Adventure Philippines is a full service birding tourism company founded in 2006. Owned and operated by an all-Filipino team, Birding Adventure Philippines can provide you with the best birdwatching experience in the Philippines!

Birding Adventure Philippines is headed by Nicky Icarangal, the premier Filipino bird guide with extensive experience in leading tours in the Philippines. With h

im are the more experienced tour guide members of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP). Birding Adventure Philippines takes pride in its extensive knowledge of the local birding sites and bird species which is second to none among its peers. The tours are organized by local birders with a birdwatcher’s interest in mind – seeing the most and the best of the Philippines. Since the guides themselves are the company owners, you are assured of personalized service with the aim of going the extra mile to ensure a great adventure at the least possible cost.

A female Luzon Water Redstart chillin' out on a branch by a mountain stream. The Luzon Water Redstart is a Luzon endemic...
28/12/2025

A female Luzon Water Redstart chillin' out on a branch by a mountain stream.

The Luzon Water Redstart is a Luzon endemic associated with clean, fast-running forest streams. The male is a brighter blue and brown. It hunts for insects such as water striders, small snails by quickly plucking them out of the water and then returning to a small exposed rock or to the river bank.

Luzon Water Redstart, Rhyacornis bicolor
Mountain Province, Cordillera Administrative Region.
November 2024.

Wishing everyone a very birdy Holiday cheer from your friends at Birding Adventure Philippines! May 2026 be a year full ...
24/12/2025

Wishing everyone a very birdy Holiday cheer from your friends at Birding Adventure Philippines!

May 2026 be a year full of lifers and successful birding trips! May we all experience stunning views, the sweetest of light for photos, awesome bird song recordings!

2026, here we come!

Magnificent Sunbird from Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park, Negros

A not-so-distant relative of the 3 Sterrhoptilus babblers posted from the previous days, this one here is a Brown Tit-Ba...
30/10/2025

A not-so-distant relative of the 3 Sterrhoptilus babblers posted from the previous days, this one here is a Brown Tit-Babbler, Macronus striaticeps, a small, active, Southern Philippine endemic bird found only on the islands of Mindanao, Basilan, Bohol, Samar and Leyte.

Trivia: From the early days of ornithology and taxonomy, when scientists were having a hard time placing a bird to a certain family, they classified them as Old World Babblers, making this family one of the most diverse in terms of size, plumage and coloration. A "wastebin taxon" as taxonomists refer to. As the German ornithologist Ernst Hartert said: "Was man nicht unterbringen kann, sieht man als Timalien an." (What one can't place systematically is considered an Old World babbler).

This Brown Tit-Babbler, like the other Philippine babblers are mostly insect-eaters, and are often found in mixed feeding flocks in lowland to montane forests.

Brown Tit-Babbler, Macronus striaticeps
Cinchona Forest Reserve, Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park, Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines

This is the 3rd Sterrhoptilus babbler species for this : the Luzon endemic Calabarzon Babbler, *Sterrhoptilus affinis*....
29/10/2025

This is the 3rd Sterrhoptilus babbler species for this : the Luzon endemic Calabarzon Babbler, *Sterrhoptilus affinis*. Photo from the Southern Sierra Madre Mountains of Infanta, Quezon, and Real, Laguna.

The name CALABARZON is an acronym/contraction of the provinces CAvite, LAguna, BAtangas, RiZal, and QuezON, where this endemic babbler can be found. Aside from the CALABARZON area, there are also eBird records further south in Catanduanes and the Bicol region. I prefer the old name: Black-crowned Babbler.

Like its cousins posted in the previous days, the CALABARZON Babbler gleans for insects hiding under the leaves, usually in mixed flocks with Elegant T**s, Blue-headed Fantails, and Lemon-throated Leaf-warblers, among others.

A close relative of yesterday's bird: here is a pair of Rusty-crowned Babblers, Sterrhoptilus capitalis, from the lowlan...
28/10/2025

A close relative of yesterday's bird: here is a pair of Rusty-crowned Babblers, Sterrhoptilus capitalis, from the lowland forests of Bislig, Surigao del Sur in Mindanao.

These birds are endemic to Mindanao, Dinagat and Basilan and are usually found foraging for insects in the canopy together with other mixed flock species like Mindanao Blue Fantail, Philippine Leaf Warbler, Short-tailed Drongo and Rufous Paradise Flycatcher, among others.

A pair of juvenile Golden-crowned Babblers taking a break from pursuing their parents for food. It is my first time to s...
27/10/2025

A pair of juvenile Golden-crowned Babblers taking a break from pursuing their parents for food. It is my first time to see juvenile birds indicated by the not so golden crown and the orangey beak. Adult birds (photo posted in the comments) have a completely black beak and very vibrant golden crown. I am not sure if the juvenile birds have been photo-documented before.

Golden-crowned Babblers, Sterrhoptilus dennistouni, are Luzon endemic birds that prefer good quality forests. They often move in mixed flocks together with other insect eating birds such as Elegant Tit, Blue-headed Fantail, Luzon Striped Babbler, Rufous Paradise Flycatcher, among others.

Golden-crowned Babblers, Sterrhoptilus dennistouni
June 2025.
Villa Aurora Ecotourism Area, Maria Aurora, Aurora Province.

Maraming salamat muli Birder Kap sa masayang araw na yan. I-teleport mo kami pabalik please!

World Migratory Bird Day 2025. Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus calidusNorthern Manila Bay, February 2025. This , an...
10/10/2025

World Migratory Bird Day 2025.

Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus calidus
Northern Manila Bay, February 2025.

This , and in celebration of tomorrow's World Migratory Bird Day 2025, we have a Peregrine Falcon in flight. The Peregrine Falcon is said to be the fastest animal on earth, reaching speeds of over 300 kilometers per hour when diving to hunt other birds. I got lucky with this bird that flew quite close, almost at eye level from my observation point.

The Peregrine Falcon is a cosmopolitan species, found in almost all parts of the world. There are two subspecies in the Philippines: the migrant subspecies *calidus*, featured today, and the resident subspecies *ernestii*. The migrant population in the Philippines comes from north Asia and breeds in the Arctic regions of Eurasia. During migration, they fly south to tropical countries like the Philippines. They are very adaptable, and have been recorded in wetlands, forests, even on the ledges of buildings and telecommunication towers in urban areas. Their adaptability highlights this year's WMBD theme of Shared Spaces: Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities, reminding us that we humans share our world with many feathered (and non-feathered) creatures.


World Migratory Bird Day 2025. Back to our migrant passerines: a Narcissus Flycatcher, *Ficedula narcissina*, spotted in...
09/10/2025

World Migratory Bird Day 2025.

Back to our migrant passerines: a Narcissus Flycatcher, *Ficedula narcissina*, spotted in the Ateneo de Manila Campus, one of the remaining urban green spaces in Quezon City, northern Metro Manila, in October 2021. We have also spotted this species in previous years, but only female birds. We look forward to the return of the male soon!

This beautiful songbird is from northeast Asia, with breeding records in Sakhalin Islands, Russia, and Japan, and migrates to southeast Asia to warmer countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Despite being common in its breeding grounds in the north, this species is one of the most sought-after uncommon migrants in the Philippines due to its striking plumage. Male birds have bright yellow, black, and white, while female birds are more drab, just plain olive green overall. It usually stays in a spot for a couple of days before moving onwards to its destination further south.

This migrant species is just one of the many reasons we celebrate World Migratory Bird Day 2025. If we just look around, we will be able to experience these wonderful winged creatures that share this world we live in.

When we think of migratory birds, we often picture egrets, herons, ducks, or other waterbirds flying in a V-formation. H...
07/10/2025

When we think of migratory birds, we often picture egrets, herons, ducks, or other waterbirds flying in a V-formation. However, a significant portion of the migratory birds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway are passerines, or land birds, birds that spend most of their lives on land. An example of this is the Chestnut-cheeked Starling, *Agropsar philippensis* one of the many migrant starling species that visit the Philippines during the colder months.

Chestnut-cheeked Starlings typically arrive in large flocks, sometimes alongside other starling species like the White-shouldered Starling, and occasionally, the rarer Red-billed Starling. They are primarily fruit eaters, but they will also occasionally consume insects. This particular bird is seen here feeding on a Salisi, *Ficus benjamina*, a native fig tree to the Philippines.

A pair of Great Knots, Calidris tenuirostris, flying over other migrant shorebirds. October 2024, Northern Manila Bay, M...
07/10/2025

A pair of Great Knots, Calidris tenuirostris, flying over other migrant shorebirds. October 2024, Northern Manila Bay, Malolos, Bulacan.

This October 11 is World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) 2025 with the theme Shared Spaces: Creating Bird-friendly Cities and Communities. We join birders around the world in celebrating this event by posting migratory birds in the Philippines this whole week. This , we start with a pair of Great Knots, one of the many shorebird species that call our wetlands home for a couple of months. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies this species as ENDANGERED due to habitat loss.

WMBD 2025 emphasizes the importance of good city planning, and adopting bird-friendly practices like creating healthy habitats, reducing pollution, and preventing collisions with glass windows and other built objects can contribute to the well-being of our feathered visitors.

The last resident Philippine cuckooshrike species for this week is the non-endemic Bar-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, *Coracina ...
04/10/2025

The last resident Philippine cuckooshrike species for this week is the non-endemic Bar-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, *Coracina striata* (striata), found in the lowlands of Luzon. Males are dull black, while females are greyish with black-barred rumps and underparts. Yellow eyes are the key identifying characteristic. This species is complex and ranges in Luzon (subspecies *striata*) and Palawan (subspecies *difficulis*). Previously, birds from Mindanao and Mindoro were also considered part of this species, but recent taxonomic studies show they are distinct endemic species, the Mindanao Cuckooshrike and Mindoro Cuckooshrike, respectively.

There is also a rare migrant species, the Black-winged Cuckooshrike, *Lalage melaschistos*, that sometimes visits our islands. A photo of this rare migrant can be found in the comments. Only a few records exist for this species, with sightings in Bataan, Subic, Metro Manila (Luzon), Coron (Palawan), and Itbayat and Batan (Batanes).

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