You are BIRDING Palawan…

Halfway be­tween two worlds, Palawan is a meet­ing point for Bornean and Philip­pine fau­nas. The is­land was once con­nect­ed by a land bridge with Bor­neo, so that Indo-Malayan species com­prise nowa­days the ma­jor­i­ty of na­tive birds. The cur­rents and winds also brought to shores cast­aways from the north­ern is­lands, as a re­minder that, af­ter all, Palawan is part of the Philip­pine Arch­i­pel­ago. But iso­la­tion end­ed up en­dow­ing the is­land with its own char­ac­ter, yield­ing up to 20 en­demics that are found nowhere else on Earth.

This over­whelm­ing bio­di­ver­si­ty, and the fact that nat­ur­al sites are well pre­served and easy to reach, make Palawan a WORLD CLASS BIRD WATCH­ING DESTINATION.

Our bird watching tours include
  • TRANS­PORTA­TION

    to and from the bird watch­ing sites

  • GUID­ING

    to search birds in a safe and ef­fi­cient way

  • PORTER SER­VICE

    we car­ry your equip­ment wher­ev­er you need to go

You are BIRDING Palawan…

Halfway be­tween two worlds, Palawan is a meet­ing point for Bornean and Philip­pine fau­nas. The is­land was once con­nect­ed by a land bridge with Bor­neo, so that Indo-Malayan species com­prise nowa­days the ma­jor­i­ty of na­tive birds. The cur­rents and winds also brought to shores cast­aways from the north­ern is­lands, as a re­minder that, af­ter all, Palawan is part of the Philip­pine Arch­i­pel­ago. But iso­la­tion end­ed up en­dow­ing the is­land with its own char­ac­ter, yield­ing up to 20 en­demics that are found nowhere else on Earth.

Our bird watching
tours include
  • TRANS­PORTA­TION

    to and from the bird watch­ing sites

  • GUID­ING

    to search birds in a safe and ef­fi­cient way

  • PORTER SER­VICE

    we car­ry your equip­ment wher­ev­er you need to go

This over­whelm­ing bio­di­ver­si­ty, and the fact that nat­ur­al sites are well pre­served and easy to reach, make Palawan a WORLD CLASS BIRD WATCH­ING DES­TI­NA­TION.

You are BIRDING Palawan…

Halfway be­tween two worlds, Palawan is a meet­ing point for Bornean and Philip­pine fau­nas. The is­land was once con­nect­ed by a land bridge with Bor­neo, so that Indo-Malayan species com­prise nowa­days the ma­jor­i­ty of na­tive birds. The cur­rents and winds also brought to shores cast­aways from the north­ern is­lands, as a re­minder that, af­ter all, Palawan is part of the Philip­pine Arch­i­pel­ago. But iso­la­tion end­ed up en­dow­ing the is­land with its own char­ac­ter, yield­ing up to 20 en­demics that are found nowhere else on Earth.

This over­whelm­ing bio­di­ver­si­ty, and the fact that nat­ur­al sites are well pre­served and easy to reach, make Palawan a WORLD CLASS BIRD WATCH­ING DESTINATION.

Our bird watching
tours include
  • TRANS­PORTA­TION

    to and from the bird watch­ing sites

  • GUID­ING

    to search birds in a safe and ef­fi­cient way

  • PORTER SER­VICE

    we car­ry your equip­ment wher­ev­er you need to go

Custom tours

Our ser­vice is adapt­ed to your needs

Native guides

Lo­cal guides will help you to find your bird safely

Expert support

We are avian bi­ol­o­gists ea­ger to share our knowledge

Custom tours

Our ser­vice is adapt­ed to your needs

Native guides

Lo­cal guides will help you to find your bird safely

Expert support

We are avian bi­ol­o­gists ea­ger to share our knowledge

Custom tours

Our ser­vice is adapt­ed to your needs

Native guides

Lo­cal guides will help you to find your bird safely

Expert support

We are avian bi­ol­o­gists ea­ger to share our knowledge

Rainforests

The fact that rain­forests are the rich­est land ecosys­tem is well ex­em­pli­fied by birds. Def­i­nite­ly it is not easy to give a whole pic­ture of rain­for­est bird di­ver­si­ty in just a few lines. At least, when it comes to Palawan, three icon­ic species may serve as guidance.

Palawan Horn­bills (An­thra­co­ceros marchei) are, in­dis­putably, the lords of the canopies of Palawan. They are, like oth­er fru­gi­vores, for­est en­gi­neers play­ing a ma­jor role on seed dis­per­sal and for­est re­gen­er­a­tion. Horn­bills share the heights of trees with three more Palawan en­demics, the Yel­low-throat­ed Leaf­bird (Chlorop­sis palawa­nen­sis), Palawan Tit (Parus am­a­bilis), and Palawan Flow­er­peck­er (Pri­onochilus plateni), and with a num­ber of Indo-Malayan species, such as the Asian Fairy-Blue­bird (Ire­na puel­la), Fiery Minivet (Peri­cro­co­tus igneus), Com­mon Iora (Ae­git­hi­na tiphia), Chest­nut-breast­ed Malko­ha (Phaeni­cophaeus curvi­rostris), and Great Slaty Wood­peck­er (Mul­leripi­cus pul­veru­len­tus), which will par­tic­u­lar­ly de­light Philip­pine bird­ers from out­side Palawan, as they can only be seen here with­in the archipelago.

Down in the for­est floor, the elu­sive Palawan Pea­cock-Pheas­ant (Poly­plec­tron em­phanum) will be on the cen­tre stage, get­ting much of the at­ten­tion of nat­u­ral­ists ven­tur­ing into the woods. For­tu­nate­ly for them, the of­ten fruit­less pea­cock search will also serve to en­counter some oth­er in­ter­est­ing birds, in­clud­ing two more Palawan en­demics, the Ashy-head­ed Bab­bler (Mala­cocin­cla cinere­i­ceps) and the Fal­cat­ed Ground-Bab­bler (Ptiloci­ch­la fal­ca­ta), and a very nice tar­get for pho­tog­ra­phy, the Philip­pine Pit­ta (Ery­thro­pit­ta ery­thro­gaster). From above their heads, but still in the un­der­sto­ry, bird watch­ers will them­selves be watched by a trio of en­dem­ic perch-hunters, com­prised by the Blue Par­adise-Fly­catch­er (Terp­si­phone cyanescens), Palawan Blue Fly­catch­er (Cy­or­nis lem­prieri), and White-vent­ed Shama (Copsy­chus niger). The tan­gle-spe­cial­ist Palawan Fly­catch­er (Ficedu­la plate­nae) will def­i­nite­ly be much more shy and dif­fi­cult to lo­cate than them.

The edge of the for­est, as well as the clear­ings and open ar­eas, are the habi­tat for the third of our icons, the Philip­pine Cock­a­too (Ca­cat­ua haematur­opy­gia). Once wide­ly dis­trib­uted across the Philip­pines, this ma­jes­tic bird is nowa­days re­strict­ed to a few spots in Mas­bate, Min­danao and Tawi-Tawi, be­ing its last strong­hold the tiny Rasa Is­land off the shore of Palawan. Least­ways the for­mer range of Philip­pine Cock­a­toos is still in­hab­it­ed by out­stand­ing psittacines such as the Blue-head­ed Rac­quet-tail (Pri­on­i­tu­rus plate­nae), and the Blue-naped Par­rot (Tanyg­nathus lu­cio­nen­sis), both of which are en­dem­ic to Palawan. The Hill Myna (Grac­u­la re­li­giosa), an­oth­er Indo-Malayan species that oc­curs only in Palawan with­in the Philip­pines, could well com­pete with cock­a­toos to rep­re­sent Palawan birds, at least with re­gard to its strik­ing be­hav­iour and good rep­u­ta­tion among bird keepers.

Rainforests

The fact that rain­forests are the rich­est land ecosys­tem is well ex­em­pli­fied by birds. Def­i­nite­ly it is not easy to give a whole pic­ture of rain­for­est bird di­ver­si­ty in just a few lines. At least, when it comes to Palawan, three icon­ic species may serve as guidance.

Palawan Horn­bills (An­thra­co­ceros marchei) are, in­dis­putably, the lords of the canopies of Palawan. They are, like oth­er fru­gi­vores, for­est en­gi­neers play­ing a ma­jor role on seed dis­per­sal and for­est re­gen­er­a­tion. Horn­bills share the heights of trees with three more Palawan en­demics, the Yel­low-throat­ed Leaf­bird (Chlorop­sis palawa­nen­sis), Palawan Tit (Parus am­a­bilis), and Palawan Flow­er­peck­er (Pri­onochilus plateni), and with a num­ber of Indo-Malayan species, such as the Asian Fairy-Blue­bird (Ire­na puel­la), Fiery Minivet (Peri­cro­co­tus igneus), Com­mon Iora (Ae­git­hi­na tiphia), Chest­nut-breast­ed Malko­ha (Phaeni­cophaeus curvi­rostris), and Great Slaty Wood­peck­er (Mul­leripi­cus pul­veru­len­tus), which will par­tic­u­lar­ly de­light Philip­pine bird­ers from out­side Palawan, as they can only be seen here with­in the archipelago.

Down in the for­est floor, the elu­sive Palawan Pea­cock-Pheas­ant (Poly­plec­tron em­phanum) will be on the cen­tre stage, get­ting much of the at­ten­tion of nat­u­ral­ists ven­tur­ing into the woods. For­tu­nate­ly for them, the of­ten fruit­less pea­cock search will also serve to en­counter some oth­er in­ter­est­ing birds, in­clud­ing two more Palawan en­demics, the Ashy-head­ed Bab­bler (Mala­cocin­cla cinere­i­ceps) and the Fal­cat­ed Ground-Bab­bler (Ptiloci­ch­la fal­ca­ta), and a very nice tar­get for pho­tog­ra­phy, the Philip­pine Pit­ta (Ery­thro­pit­ta ery­thro­gaster). From above their heads, but still in the un­der­sto­ry, bird watch­ers will them­selves be watched by a trio of en­dem­ic perch-hunters, com­prised by the Blue Par­adise-Fly­catch­er (Terp­si­phone cyanescens), Palawan Blue Fly­catch­er (Cy­or­nis lem­prieri), and White-vent­ed Shama (Copsy­chus niger). The tan­gle-spe­cial­ist Palawan Fly­catch­er (Ficedu­la plate­nae) will def­i­nite­ly be much more shy and dif­fi­cult to lo­cate than them.

The edge of the for­est, as well as the clear­ings and open ar­eas, are the habi­tat for the third of our icons, the Philip­pine Cock­a­too (Ca­cat­ua haematur­opy­gia). Once wide­ly dis­trib­uted across the Philip­pines, this ma­jes­tic bird is nowa­days re­strict­ed to a few spots in Mas­bate, Min­danao and Tawi-Tawi, be­ing its last strong­hold the tiny Rasa Is­land off the shore of Palawan. Least­ways the for­mer range of Philip­pine Cock­a­toos is still in­hab­it­ed by out­stand­ing psittacines such as the Blue-head­ed Rac­quet-tail (Pri­on­i­tu­rus plate­nae), and the Blue-naped Par­rot (Tanyg­nathus lu­cio­nen­sis), both of which are en­dem­ic to Palawan. The Hill Myna (Grac­u­la re­li­giosa), an­oth­er Indo-Malayan species that oc­curs only in Palawan with­in the Philip­pines, could well com­pete with cock­a­toos to rep­re­sent Palawan birds, at least with re­gard to its strik­ing be­hav­iour and good rep­u­ta­tion among bird keepers.

Rainforests

The fact that rain­forests are the rich­est land ecosys­tem is well ex­em­pli­fied by birds. Def­i­nite­ly it is not easy to give a whole pic­ture of rain­for­est bird di­ver­si­ty in just a few lines. At least, when it comes to Palawan, three icon­ic species may serve as guidance.

Palawan Horn­bills (An­thra­co­ceros marchei) are, in­dis­putably, the lords of the canopies of Palawan. They are, like oth­er fru­gi­vores, for­est en­gi­neers play­ing a ma­jor role on seed dis­per­sal and for­est re­gen­er­a­tion. Horn­bills share the heights of trees with three more Palawan en­demics, the Yel­low-throat­ed Leaf­bird (Chlorop­sis palawa­nen­sis), Palawan Tit (Parus am­a­bilis), and Palawan Flow­er­peck­er (Pri­onochilus plateni), and with a num­ber of Indo-Malayan species, such as the Asian Fairy-Blue­bird (Ire­na puel­la), Fiery Minivet (Peri­cro­co­tus igneus), Com­mon Iora (Ae­git­hi­na tiphia), Chest­nut-breast­ed Malko­ha (Phaeni­cophaeus curvi­rostris), and Great Slaty Wood­peck­er (Mul­leripi­cus pul­veru­len­tus), which will par­tic­u­lar­ly de­light Philip­pine bird­ers from out­side Palawan, as they can only be seen here with­in the archipelago.

Down in the for­est floor, the elu­sive Palawan Pea­cock-Pheas­ant (Poly­plec­tron em­phanum) will be on the cen­tre stage, get­ting much of the at­ten­tion of nat­u­ral­ists ven­tur­ing into the woods. For­tu­nate­ly for them, the of­ten fruit­less pea­cock search will also serve to en­counter some oth­er in­ter­est­ing birds, in­clud­ing two more Palawan en­demics, the Ashy-head­ed Bab­bler (Mala­cocin­cla cinere­i­ceps) and the Fal­cat­ed Ground-Bab­bler (Ptiloci­ch­la fal­ca­ta), and a very nice tar­get for pho­tog­ra­phy, the Philip­pine Pit­ta (Ery­thro­pit­ta ery­thro­gaster). From above their heads, but still in the un­der­sto­ry, bird watch­ers will them­selves be watched by a trio of en­dem­ic perch-hunters, com­prised by the Blue Par­adise-Fly­catch­er (Terp­si­phone cyanescens), Palawan Blue Fly­catch­er (Cy­or­nis lem­prieri), and White-vent­ed Shama (Copsy­chus niger). The tan­gle-spe­cial­ist Palawan Fly­catch­er (Ficedu­la plate­nae) will def­i­nite­ly be much more shy and dif­fi­cult to lo­cate than them.

The edge of the for­est, as well as the clear­ings and open ar­eas, are the habi­tat for the third of our icons, the Philip­pine Cock­a­too (Ca­cat­ua haematur­opy­gia). Once wide­ly dis­trib­uted across the Philip­pines, this ma­jes­tic bird is nowa­days re­strict­ed to a few spots in Mas­bate, Min­danao and Tawi-Tawi, be­ing its last strong­hold the tiny Rasa Is­land off the shore of Palawan. Least­ways the for­mer range of Philip­pine Cock­a­toos is still in­hab­it­ed by out­stand­ing psittacines such as the Blue-head­ed Rac­quet-tail (Pri­on­i­tu­rus plate­nae), and the Blue-naped Par­rot (Tanyg­nathus lu­cio­nen­sis), both of which are en­dem­ic to Palawan. The Hill Myna (Grac­u­la re­li­giosa), an­oth­er Indo-Malayan species that oc­curs only in Palawan with­in the Philip­pines, could well com­pete with cock­a­toos to rep­re­sent Palawan birds, at least with re­gard to its strik­ing be­hav­iour and good rep­u­ta­tion among bird keepers.

Wetlands

In the past few years the Philip­pine Duck (Anas lu­zon­i­ca) has be­come a sym­bol for the con­ser­va­tion of Philip­pine en­dem­ic wildlife. Long thought to be ab­sent from Palawan, the species has re­cent­ly been dis­cov­ered to in­hab­it the Lake Man­guao, the largest fresh­wa­ter lake in the is­land. It shares now habi­tat with the more com­mon, but no less beau­ti­ful­ly coloured, Wan­der­ing Whistling-Duck (Den­dro­cygna ar­cu­a­ta).

Palawan wa­ter bod­ies are ex­tra­or­di­nar­i­ly rich in Ardei­dae species. About half of world’s Ixo­brychus bit­terns oc­cur in the is­land, which is also vis­it­ed in win­ter by Great Bit­terns (Bo­tau­rus stel­laris). The Ru­fous Night-Heron (Nyc­ti­co­rax cale­donicus), a beau­ti­ful­ly coloured night-heron has, like the Wan­der­ing Whistling-Duck, an Aus­tralasian dis­tri­b­u­tion. Large herons are rep­re­sent­ed by the ma­jes­tic Great-billed Heron (Ardea suma­trana), and by some oth­er species to which Eu­ro­pean bird­ers will be quite fa­mil­iar: the Pur­ple Heron (Ardea pur­purea), the Great Heron (Ardea cinerea), and Great Egret (Egret­ta alba).

The abun­dance of prays at­tracts rap­tors to the shores. Brah­miny Kites (Halias­tur in­dus), White-bel­lied Sea-Ea­gles (Hali­aee­tus leuco­gaster), and Os­preys (Pan­dion hali­ae­tus) are like­ly to be seen perch­ing from dead trees near the wa­ter, of­ten among bask­ing Darters (An­hin­ga melanogaster) and Stork-billed King­fish­ers (Pelargop­sis capen­sis).

Wetlands

In the past few years the Philip­pine Duck (Anas lu­zon­i­ca) has be­come a sym­bol for the con­ser­va­tion of Philip­pine en­dem­ic wildlife. Long thought to be ab­sent from Palawan, the species has re­cent­ly been dis­cov­ered to in­hab­it the Lake Man­guao, the largest fresh­wa­ter lake in the is­land. It shares now habi­tat with the more com­mon, but no less beau­ti­ful­ly coloured, Wan­der­ing Whistling-Duck (Den­dro­cygna ar­cu­a­ta).

Palawan wa­ter bod­ies are ex­tra­or­di­nar­i­ly rich in Ardei­dae species. About half of world’s Ixo­brychus bit­terns oc­cur in the is­land, which is also vis­it­ed in win­ter by Great Bit­terns (Bo­tau­rus stel­laris). The Ru­fous Night-Heron (Nyc­ti­co­rax cale­donicus), a beau­ti­ful­ly coloured night-heron has, like the Wan­der­ing Whistling-Duck, an Aus­tralasian dis­tri­b­u­tion. Large herons are rep­re­sent­ed by the ma­jes­tic Great-billed Heron (Ardea suma­trana), and by some oth­er species to which Eu­ro­pean bird­ers will be quite fa­mil­iar: the Pur­ple Heron (Ardea pur­purea), the Great Heron (Ardea cinerea), and Great Egret (Egret­ta alba).

The abun­dance of prays at­tracts rap­tors to the shores. Brah­miny Kites (Halias­tur in­dus), White-bel­lied Sea-Ea­gles (Hali­aee­tus leuco­gaster), and Os­preys (Pan­dion hali­ae­tus) are like­ly to be seen perch­ing from dead trees near the wa­ter, of­ten among bask­ing Darters (An­hin­ga melanogaster) and Stork-billed King­fish­ers (Pelargop­sis capen­sis).

Wetlands

In the past few years the Philip­pine Duck (Anas lu­zon­i­ca) has be­come a sym­bol for the con­ser­va­tion of Philip­pine en­dem­ic wildlife. Long thought to be ab­sent from Palawan, the species has re­cent­ly been dis­cov­ered to in­hab­it the Lake Man­guao, the largest fresh­wa­ter lake in the is­land. It shares now habi­tat with the more com­mon, but no less beau­ti­ful­ly coloured, Wan­der­ing Whistling-Duck (Den­dro­cygna ar­cu­a­ta).

Palawan wa­ter bod­ies are ex­tra­or­di­nar­i­ly rich in Ardei­dae species. About half of world’s Ixo­brychus bit­terns oc­cur in the is­land, which is also vis­it­ed in win­ter by Great Bit­terns (Bo­tau­rus stel­laris). The Ru­fous Night-Heron (Nyc­ti­co­rax cale­donicus), a beau­ti­ful­ly coloured night-heron has, like the Wan­der­ing Whistling-Duck, an Aus­tralasian dis­tri­b­u­tion. Large herons are rep­re­sent­ed by the ma­jes­tic Great-billed Heron (Ardea suma­trana), and by some oth­er species to which Eu­ro­pean bird­ers will be quite fa­mil­iar: the Pur­ple Heron (Ardea pur­purea), the Great Heron (Ardea cinerea), and Great Egret (Egret­ta alba).

The abun­dance of prays at­tracts rap­tors to the shores. Brah­miny Kites (Halias­tur in­dus), White-bel­lied Sea-Ea­gles (Hali­aee­tus leuco­gaster), and Os­preys (Pan­dion hali­ae­tus) are like­ly to be seen perch­ing from dead trees near the wa­ter, of­ten among bask­ing Darters (An­hin­ga melanogaster) and Stork-billed King­fish­ers (Pelargop­sis capen­sis).

Mangroves

Dispite in Palawan there is no bird ex­clu­sive to the man­groves, the habi­tat is home to a fas­ci­nat­ing blend of fresh­wa­ter, salt­wa­ter, and open for­est species which makes worth the visit.

Many birds in­hab­it man­groves forests sim­ply be­cause of their affin­i­ty for open veg­e­ta­tion. The Cop­per-throat­ed Sun­bird (Lep­to­co­ma cal­costetha) is, with­in this group, the species more tight­ly linked to man­groves. Less de­mand­ing in terms of habi­tat, the Man­grove Blue-Fly­catch­ers (Cy­or­nis ru­fi­gas­tra) and Man­grove Whistlers (Pachy­cepha­la cinerea), de­spite their names, are as well abun­dant in sec­ond-growth forests. This is also the case of oth­er passer­ine species, such as the Pur­ple-throat­ed Sun­bird (Lep­to­co­ma sper­a­ta), Ru­fous-tailed Tai­lor­bird (Or­tho­to­mus sericeus), Gold­en-bel­lied Fly­eater (Gery­gone sul­phurea), Philip­pi­nee Pied Fan­tail (Rhipidu­ra nigri­torquis), and Nar­cis­sus Fly­catch­er (Ficedu­la nar­cissi­na). The or­der Columb­i­formes con­tributes in this way with two in­ter­est­ing mem­bers: the Pied Im­pe­r­i­al-Pi­geon (Ducu­la bi­col­orand the Is­land Col­lared-Dove (Strep­topelia bitorqua­ta).

King­fish­ers are com­mon el­e­ments of the man­grove avian fau­na, as it couldn´t be oth­er­wise. Three species in par­tic­u­lar, among the many found in Palawan, com­mon­ly show up in man­grove forests: the Rud­dy King­fish­er (Hal­cy­on coro­man­da), Black-capped King­fish­er (Hal­cy­on pilea­ta), and Blue-eared King­fish­er (Al­cedo menint­ing).

The list is fi­nal­ly com­plet­ed by some waders and wa­ter birds, such as the Beach Thick-knee (Esacus mag­nirostris), White-breast­ed Wa­ter­hen (Amau­ror­nis phoeni­cu­rus), Wa­ter­cock (Gal­li­crex cinerea), Lit­tle Heron (Bu­torides stria­tus), and Cin­na­mon Bit­tern (Ixo­brychus cin­namo­meus).

Los mar­tines pescadores son un el­e­men­to fun­da­men­tal de los manglares, como no podía ser de otro modo. De en­tre las muchas que habi­tan Palawan, tres es­pecies en par­tic­u­lar son ha­bit­uales en­tre los man­gles: el Al­ción Ro­ji­zo (Hal­cy­on coro­man­da), el Al­ción Capiro­ta­do (Hal­cy­on pilea­ta) y el Martín Pescador Menint­ing (Al­cedo menint­ing).

Com­ple­tan esta var­i­opin­ta lista var­ios limí­co­las y aves acuáti­cas, como el Al­car­aván Picogrue­so Aus­traliano (Esacus mag­nirostris), la Galline­ta Cresta­da (Gal­li­crex cinerea), la Galline­ta Pechi­blan­ca (Amau­ror­nis phoeni­cu­rus), la Garci­ta Ver­dosa (Bu­torides stria­tus) y el Ave­to­ril­lo Cane­lo (Ixo­brychus cin­namo­meus).

Mangroves

Dispite in Palawan there is no bird ex­clu­sive to the man­groves, the habi­tat is home to a fas­ci­nat­ing blend of fresh­wa­ter, salt­wa­ter, and open for­est species which makes worth the visit.

Many birds in­hab­it man­groves forests sim­ply be­cause of their affin­i­ty for open veg­e­ta­tion. The Cop­per-throat­ed Sun­bird (Lep­to­co­ma cal­costetha) is, with­in this group, the species more tight­ly linked to man­groves. Less de­mand­ing in terms of habi­tat, the Man­grove Blue-Fly­catch­ers (Cy­or­nis ru­fi­gas­tra) and Man­grove Whistlers (Pachy­cepha­la cinerea), de­spite their names, are as well abun­dant in sec­ond-growth forests. This is also the case of oth­er passer­ine species, such as the Pur­ple-throat­ed Sun­bird (Lep­to­co­ma sper­a­ta), Ru­fous-tailed Tai­lor­bird (Or­tho­to­mus sericeus), Gold­en-bel­lied Fly­eater (Gery­gone sul­phurea), Philip­pi­nee Pied Fan­tail (Rhipidu­ra nigri­torquis), and Nar­cis­sus Fly­catch­er (Ficedu­la nar­cissi­na). The or­der Columb­i­formes con­tributes in this way with two in­ter­est­ing mem­bers: the Pied Im­pe­r­i­al-Pi­geon (Ducu­la bi­col­orand the Is­land Col­lared-Dove (Strep­topelia bitorqua­ta).

King­fish­ers are com­mon el­e­ments of the man­grove avian fau­na, as it couldn´t be oth­er­wise. Three species in par­tic­u­lar, among the many found in Palawan, com­mon­ly show up in man­grove forests: the Rud­dy King­fish­er (Hal­cy­on coro­man­da), Black-capped King­fish­er (Hal­cy­on pilea­ta), and Blue-eared King­fish­er (Al­cedo menint­ing).

The list is fi­nal­ly com­plet­ed by some waders and wa­ter birds, such as the Beach Thick-knee (Esacus mag­nirostris), White-breast­ed Wa­ter­hen (Amau­ror­nis phoeni­cu­rus), Wa­ter­cock (Gal­li­crex cinerea), Lit­tle Heron (Bu­torides stria­tus), and Cin­na­mon Bit­tern (Ixo­brychus cin­namo­meus).

Los mar­tines pescadores son un el­e­men­to fun­da­men­tal de los manglares, como no podía ser de otro modo. De en­tre las muchas que habi­tan Palawan, tres es­pecies en par­tic­u­lar son ha­bit­uales en­tre los man­gles: el Al­ción Ro­ji­zo (Hal­cy­on coro­man­da), el Al­ción Capiro­ta­do (Hal­cy­on pilea­ta) y el Martín Pescador Menint­ing (Al­cedo menint­ing).

Com­ple­tan esta var­i­opin­ta lista var­ios limí­co­las y aves acuáti­cas, como el Al­car­aván Picogrue­so Aus­traliano (Esacus mag­nirostris), la Galline­ta Cresta­da (Gal­li­crex cinerea), la Galline­ta Pechi­blan­ca (Amau­ror­nis phoeni­cu­rus), la Garci­ta Ver­dosa (Bu­torides stria­tus) y el Ave­to­ril­lo Cane­lo (Ixo­brychus cin­namo­meus).

Mangroves

Dispite in Palawan there is no bird ex­clu­sive to the man­groves, the habi­tat is home to a fas­ci­nat­ing blend of fresh­wa­ter, salt­wa­ter, and open for­est species which makes worth the visit.

Many birds in­hab­it man­groves forests sim­ply be­cause of their affin­i­ty for open veg­e­ta­tion. The Cop­per-throat­ed Sun­bird (Lep­to­co­ma cal­costetha) is, with­in this group, the species more tight­ly linked to man­groves. Less de­mand­ing in terms of habi­tat, the Man­grove Blue-Fly­catch­ers (Cy­or­nis ru­fi­gas­tra) and Man­grove Whistlers (Pachy­cepha­la cinerea), de­spite their names, are as well abun­dant in sec­ond-growth forests. This is also the case of oth­er passer­ine species, such as the Pur­ple-throat­ed Sun­bird (Lep­to­co­ma sper­a­ta), Ru­fous-tailed Tai­lor­bird (Or­tho­to­mus sericeus), Gold­en-bel­lied Fly­eater (Gery­gone sul­phurea), Philip­pi­nee Pied Fan­tail (Rhipidu­ra nigri­torquis), and Nar­cis­sus Fly­catch­er (Ficedu­la nar­cissi­na). The or­der Columb­i­formes con­tributes in this way with two in­ter­est­ing mem­bers: the Pied Im­pe­r­i­al-Pi­geon (Ducu­la bi­col­orand the Is­land Col­lared-Dove (Strep­topelia bitorqua­ta).

King­fish­ers are com­mon el­e­ments of the man­grove avian fau­na, as it couldn´t be oth­er­wise. Three species in par­tic­u­lar, among the many found in Palawan, com­mon­ly show up in man­grove forests: the Rud­dy King­fish­er (Hal­cy­on coro­man­da), Black-capped King­fish­er (Hal­cy­on pilea­ta), and Blue-eared King­fish­er (Al­cedo menint­ing).

The list is fi­nal­ly com­plet­ed by some waders and wa­ter birds, such as the Beach Thick-knee (Esacus mag­nirostris), White-breast­ed Wa­ter­hen (Amau­ror­nis phoeni­cu­rus), Wa­ter­cock (Gal­li­crex cinerea), Lit­tle Heron (Bu­torides stria­tus), and Cin­na­mon Bit­tern (Ixo­brychus cin­namo­meus).

Los mar­tines pescadores son un el­e­men­to fun­da­men­tal de los manglares, como no podía ser de otro modo. De en­tre las muchas que habi­tan Palawan, tres es­pecies en par­tic­u­lar son ha­bit­uales en­tre los man­gles: el Al­ción Ro­ji­zo (Hal­cy­on coro­man­da), el Al­ción Capiro­ta­do (Hal­cy­on pilea­ta) y el Martín Pescador Menint­ing (Al­cedo menint­ing).

Com­ple­tan esta var­i­opin­ta lista var­ios limí­co­las y aves acuáti­cas, como el Al­car­aván Picogrue­so Aus­traliano (Esacus mag­nirostris), la Galline­ta Cresta­da (Gal­li­crex cinerea), la Galline­ta Pechi­blan­ca (Amau­ror­nis phoeni­cu­rus), la Garci­ta Ver­dosa (Bu­torides stria­tus) y el Ave­to­ril­lo Cane­lo (Ixo­brychus cin­namo­meus).

Mountains

Al­most half of Palawan con­sists of moun­tains with slopes greater than 30%. A cen­tral range, reach­ing 2,000 m (6,500 ft) at high­est point, stretch­es 500 km (300 miles) its en­tire length. Such is the sig­nif­i­cance of moun­tain habi­tat to the is­land ecol­o­gy.

As al­ti­tude in­creas­es, nights get cold­er, tem­per­a­ture range widens, and mois­ture be­comes per­sis­tent. As a re­sult, the for­est canopy short­ens and moss­es, lichens and epi­phyt­ic plants be­gin to dom­i­nate the land­scape. This is with­out a doubt a ter­ri­to­ry for spe­cial­ists, al­though some adapt­able low­land birds, such as the White-breast­ed Wood-Swal­low (Ar­ta­mus leu­corhynchus) and Red­dish Cuck­oo-Dove (Macropy­gia phasianel­la), may also be able to stand the tough con­di­tions of heights.

About ten species of Palawan bird fau­na can be con­sid­ered to be true moun­tain birds. Most [Moun­tain Tai­lor­bird (Phyl­ler­gates cu­cu­la­tus), Moun­tain Leaf-War­bler (Se­icer­cus trivir­ga­tus), White-browed Short­wing (Brachypteryx mon­tana), and Snowy-browed Fly­catch­er (Ficedu­la hy­per­y­thra)] mi­grat­ed from Bor­neo and main­land Asia to col­o­nize the sum­mits of the arch­i­pel­ago. Oth­ers [Yel­low-breast­ed War­bler (Se­icer­cus mon­tis), and Sun­da Bush-War­bler (Horor­nis vul­ca­nius)] were not able to reach the ocean­ic is­lands and are to­day re­strict­ed to Palawan with­in the Philippines.

In­ter­est­ing­ly two moun­tain species, the Moun­tain White­eye (Zos­terops mon­tanus) and the Cit­rine Ca­nary-Fly­catch­er (Culi­c­i­ca­pa he­lianthea), may have evolved some­where near the Wal­lace line, whether in the Philip­pines or in the Moluc­cas, to lat­er spread across bound­ary is­lands by cross­ing the Ta­laud archipelago.

The last moun­tain bird of Palawan, and the only mem­ber of the group that is ex­clu­sive to the is­land, is the con­spic­u­ous Palawan Striped-Bab­bler (Zos­teror­nis hy­pogram­mi­cus). This species is well known to the moun­taineers, as they fear­less­ly ap­proach hik­ers ven­tur­ing into the mountains.

Mountains

Al­most half of Palawan con­sists of moun­tains with slopes greater than 30%. A cen­tral range, reach­ing 2,000 m (6,500 ft) at high­est point, stretch­es 500 km (300 miles) its en­tire length. Such is the sig­nif­i­cance of moun­tain habi­tat to the is­land ecol­o­gy.

As al­ti­tude in­creas­es, nights get cold­er, tem­per­a­ture range widens, and mois­ture be­comes per­sis­tent. As a re­sult, the for­est canopy short­ens and moss­es, lichens and epi­phyt­ic plants be­gin to dom­i­nate the land­scape. This is with­out a doubt a ter­ri­to­ry for spe­cial­ists, al­though some adapt­able low­land birds, such as the White-breast­ed Wood-Swal­low (Ar­ta­mus leu­corhynchus) and Red­dish Cuck­oo-Dove (Macropy­gia phasianel­la), may also be able to stand the tough con­di­tions of heights.

About ten species of Palawan bird fau­na can be con­sid­ered to be true moun­tain birds. Most [Moun­tain Tai­lor­bird (Phyl­ler­gates cu­cu­la­tus), Moun­tain Leaf-War­bler (Se­icer­cus trivir­ga­tus), White-browed Short­wing (Brachypteryx mon­tana), and Snowy-browed Fly­catch­er (Ficedu­la hy­per­y­thra)] mi­grat­ed from Bor­neo and main­land Asia to col­o­nize the sum­mits of the arch­i­pel­ago. Oth­ers [Yel­low-breast­ed War­bler (Se­icer­cus mon­tis), and Sun­da Bush-War­bler (Horor­nis vul­ca­nius)] were not able to reach the ocean­ic is­lands and are to­day re­strict­ed to Palawan with­in the Philippines.

In­ter­est­ing­ly two moun­tain species, the Moun­tain White­eye (Zos­terops mon­tanus) and the Cit­rine Ca­nary-Fly­catch­er (Culi­c­i­ca­pa he­lianthea), may have evolved some­where near the Wal­lace line, whether in the Philip­pines or in the Moluc­cas, to lat­er spread across bound­ary is­lands by cross­ing the Ta­laud archipelago.

The last moun­tain bird of Palawan, and the only mem­ber of the group that is ex­clu­sive to the is­land, is the con­spic­u­ous Palawan Striped-Bab­bler (Zos­teror­nis hy­pogram­mi­cus). This species is well known to the moun­taineers, as they fear­less­ly ap­proach hik­ers ven­tur­ing into the mountains.

Mountains

Al­most half of Palawan con­sists of moun­tains with slopes greater than 30%. A cen­tral range, reach­ing 2,000 m (6,500 ft) at high­est point, stretch­es 500 km (300 miles) its en­tire length. Such is the sig­nif­i­cance of moun­tain habi­tat to the is­land ecol­o­gy.

As al­ti­tude in­creas­es, nights get cold­er, tem­per­a­ture range widens, and mois­ture be­comes per­sis­tent. As a re­sult, the for­est canopy short­ens and moss­es, lichens and epi­phyt­ic plants be­gin to dom­i­nate the land­scape. This is with­out a doubt a ter­ri­to­ry for spe­cial­ists, al­though some adapt­able low­land birds, such as the White-breast­ed Wood-Swal­low (Ar­ta­mus leu­corhynchus) and Red­dish Cuck­oo-Dove (Macropy­gia phasianel­la), may also be able to stand the tough con­di­tions of heights.

About ten species of Palawan bird fau­na can be con­sid­ered to be true moun­tain birds. Most [Moun­tain Tai­lor­bird (Phyl­ler­gates cu­cu­la­tus), Moun­tain Leaf-War­bler (Se­icer­cus trivir­ga­tus), White-browed Short­wing (Brachypteryx mon­tana), and Snowy-browed Fly­catch­er (Ficedu­la hy­per­y­thra)] mi­grat­ed from Bor­neo and main­land Asia to col­o­nize the sum­mits of the arch­i­pel­ago. Oth­ers [Yel­low-breast­ed War­bler (Se­icer­cus mon­tis), and Sun­da Bush-War­bler (Horor­nis vul­ca­nius)] were not able to reach the ocean­ic is­lands and are to­day re­strict­ed to Palawan with­in the Philippines.

In­ter­est­ing­ly two moun­tain species, the Moun­tain White­eye (Zos­terops mon­tanus) and the Cit­rine Ca­nary-Fly­catch­er (Culi­c­i­ca­pa he­lianthea), may have evolved some­where near the Wal­lace line, whether in the Philip­pines or in the Moluc­cas, to lat­er spread across bound­ary is­lands by cross­ing the Ta­laud archipelago.

The last moun­tain bird of Palawan, and the only mem­ber of the group that is ex­clu­sive to the is­land, is the con­spic­u­ous Palawan Striped-Bab­bler (Zos­teror­nis hy­pogram­mi­cus). This species is well known to the moun­taineers, as they fear­less­ly ap­proach hik­ers ven­tur­ing into the mountains.

]











]











Plan your tour…

  • What is your profile?

    Are you a CA­SU­AL bird watch­er or a SE­RI­OUS bird­er with clear targets?

  • How far can you get?

    Bear in mind your lim­i­ta­tions and se­lect a DIF­FI­CUL­TY LEV­EL ac­cord­ing to your ca­pa­bil­i­ties. Se­niors and kids can also en­joy by choos­ing the ap­pro­pri­ate tour.

  • What would you like to explore?

    Fo­cus on your PREF­ERED HABI­TAT. Avoid wast­ing time in trav­el­ling. Stay longer in one place and get fa­mil­iar with it, you will see much more…

  • How much time do you have?

    The HUR­RY IS THE WORST EN­E­MY of the bird watch­er. Two days al­ways bet­ter than one…

  • Where are you based?

    We will find the BEST ITIN­ER­ARY near­by

  • How many you are?

    We will adapt LO­GIS­TICS accordingly

Get a quote…

Plan your tour…

  • What is your profile?

    Are you a CA­SU­AL bird watch­er or a SE­RI­OUS bird­er with clear targets?

  • How far can you get?

    Bear in mind your lim­i­ta­tions and se­lect a DIF­FI­CUL­TY LEV­EL ac­cord­ing to your ca­pa­bil­i­ties. Se­niors and kids can also en­joy by choos­ing the ap­pro­pri­ate tour.

  • What would you like to explore?

    Fo­cus on your PREF­ERED HABI­TAT. Avoid wast­ing time in trav­el­ling. Stay longer in one place and get fa­mil­iar with it, you will see much more…

  • How much time do you have?

    The HUR­RY IS THE WORST EN­E­MY of the bird watch­er. Two days al­ways bet­ter than one…

  • Where are you based?

    We will find the BEST ITIN­ER­ARY near­by

  • How many you are?

    We will adapt LO­GIS­TICS accordingly

Get a quote…


    Niños3ª edadEm­baraza­daPMR


    Sel­vaHumedalManglarMon­taña