tree top bird i've heard it in the lowlands and as high as valencia great singer: sings all year. loud calls with many long and varied phrases. usually moves shortly after singing i've seen its silhouette several times but couldn't see any detail or get a good look at its head/beak profile due to poor lighting similar in size to the oriental robin and pied fantail (7"/180mm) i've browsed the ''guide to birds of the filipines'' many times trying to id it but no bell ringers. norm : ))~
I think you will find its a magpie robin, we have them here at the moment, it usually starts singing around 4.30-5am.
no... no.... no.... that's not it. thanks Davy, but no cigar... magpie robin or oriental magpie-pie robin are the same bird. (Copsychus saularis) (plate #54in birds of the philippines) i know that bird very well. according to the book, this is it's breeding season so we'll be hearing lotsa singing from it. the bird i'm looking for is very loud compared to the robin and is more of a tree top bird which is why i haven't been able to get a good look at it. norm : ))~
My place is more or less 250 meters above sea level, and its a home for several tropical birds that sings almost 18 hours! i have 2 kinds of birds that sings at night. I have this Brown big bird about a foot long that comes out during dusk time with a big loud sound,he stays up in mango trees and coconuts. I also have seasonal birds coming. But the regulars that sings form 5am till dusk are; oriental magpie robin, red handsome sunbird,yellow sunbird,fantails and munia. I also have a seasonal, cuckoos, dark headed wagtail,asian brown flycatcher,green-backed whistler,eurasian sparrow,blue kingfisher and asian gloosy red eyed starling that my cat caught last week. I have 2 big mulberry fruit trees,flowers,and mango that this birds enjoyed most. I also have dwarf banyan trees and buddha & chinese bamboo that holds up several nest.
Im no expert, but maybe this website/link will help identify your mystery visitor? a singing Melodious Babbler | | :: Birding Adventure Philippines | Guided birdwatching tours anywhere in the Philippines ::
Andrew a lot of birds here are endemic to certain islands, and it's quite hard to identify them at times. I e not heard of this one being here. There is a guy called jac Señagan who works in the tourist office and does bird watching tours and is the expert here.
could they be owls? we have two species of owls that i haven't been able to positively id. i don't recall the voices now but i'll post again when they start they awesome nightly musical. sounds like a cocoul good list! your birding looks to be a lot more interesting than mine. too many coconut trees here and too few native trees. i'll post my backyard bird list one of these days. it'll be a short list cuz there's not a whole lot of bird species up here in the coconut farms, kinda boring birdwise.... norm : ))~ [DOUBLEPOST=1429600053,1429599988][/DOUBLEPOST] andrew... thanks for the Melodious Babbler site, nice song but that's not the bird i'm wanting to id, it's also a palawan bird. i'm sure yáll have heard the mystery bird, you're just not tuned into it. i'll try to record it and see if i can connect with Jac Señagan at the tourist dept. (good tip there, davy) norm : ))~
Norm he's on fb also and posts some great shots of wildlife. Great guy to know, he spends a lot of time with birders up at twin lakes, forest camp amongst others.
A very comprehensive (Guide) > Click on name of bird to view photo! Country or region: Negros Oriental Number of species: 265 Number of globally threatened species: 21 Number of introduced species: 1 Negros Oriental bird checklist - Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World
