Two days ago I came across an FB post by Jun Osano, a fellow birder, saying that there is now a Palawan Sunbird, whose scientific name is Cinnyris aurora. My heart skipped a beat upon reading said post. Could it be true? My fingers immediately did a quick google search on my phone but there was nothing there. I messaged Jun and several other fellow birders, namely Desmond Allen, Djop Tabaranza, Maia Tanedo, Rob Hutchinson, as well as the chat groups of WBPP Board and PHG. I learned that the IOC taxonomic birdlist has split the Olive-backed Sunbird, (now called the Garden Sunbird), into eight (8) separate and new species. These are:
1. Ornate Sunbird - Cinnyris ornatus
2. Palawan Sunbird - Cinnyris aurora
3. Sahul Sunbird - Cinnyris frenatus
4. Tukangbesi Sunbird - Cinnyris infrenatus
5. Flores Sea Sunbird - Cinnyris teysmanni
6. Clementia's Sunbird - Cinnyris clementiae
7. Rand's Sunbird - Cinnyris idenburgi
8. Garden Sunbird - Cinnyris jugularis
These are obviously found in different places, hence the different names and splits. But for the birding geek in me, of immediate concern to were:
a) Palawan Sunbird, now a Palawan endemic, which means I gain a new lifer;
b) Garden Sunbird, the Olive-backed Sunbird found in the rest of the Philippines is now Garden SB and is a Philippine endemic, so the OBS in my list gets renamed; and
c) Ornate Sunbird - the one found in Borneo is now Ornate (also the one in Thailand). So another lifer.
Palawan Sunbird and Ornate Sunbird are what is called an Armchair Tick in birding parlance. I covered this term in this post in this post in August 2021 when I was still using another blogging platform. (http://chiwitchronicles.blogspot.com/2021/08/an-armchair-tick-and-hdd-lifer.html)
So yes the Chiwit, my spark bird, one of the first birds I became aware of as a child, a bird that is a resident in our garden at Darayonan, is now a Palawan endemic! Sharing a few photos that I have taken over the years.
Palawan Sunbird male (with blue throat), and female, all photos taken at Darayonan Lodge, Coron, Palawan, Philippines
And here is a photo of the Garden Sunbird, (male), taken at our previous home in St Ignatius, QC.
Garden Sunbird, male, St. Ignatius, Quezon City, Philippines
Lastly, here is a photo of a female Ornate Sunbird taken in Sabah last January
Ornate Sunbird, female, RDC, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia.
To end this rather historic post (at least for me), allow me to share the post why I chose Chiwit Chronicles as the the title of my blog. Kindly log on to: http://chiwitchronicles.blogspot.com/2013/10/why-chiwit.html
Thank you for reading this post. I hope that you will continue to do so in the future. Happy birding and hope to see you in the birding sites of the world.
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