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Bongsanglay Natural Park
Bongsanglay Natural Park (also spelled ''Bongsalay'' and ''Bujong Sanglay'') is a protected area of mangrove forests and swamps on Ticao Island in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. It is located in the municipality of Batuan in the island province of Masbate covering an area of . The protected area was established on 29 December 1981 when the area "from Panciscan Point in Bitos Bay up to Bano Sanlay" in Batuan was declared a Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve under Proclamation No. 2152 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos. In 2000, when President Joseph Estrada signed Proclamation No. 319, Bongsanglay was reclassified as a natural park pursuant to the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act. Description Bongsanglay Natural Park is the only remaining primary growth mangrove forest in the Bicol Region as all the other regional mangroves have been replanted. It is located in the barangay of Royroy near the southern tip of Ticao Island by the Biton Bay facing the Tica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masbate
Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate City. The province consists of three major islands: Masbate, Ticao and Burias. Masbate is at the crossroads of two island groups: Visayas and Luzon. It is politically part of Bicol Region in the latter. However, from a bio-geographic and socio-ethno-linguistic perspective, Masbate is grouped in the former. History Masbate is one of the oldest settlements in the Philippines. Archaeological records show that Batungan (in Mandaon) and Bagumbayan (in Palanas) were major settlement sites during the Bronze Age (4000-1000 BC). The development of bronze metallurgy in South-East Asia coincided with an increasingly hierarchical society, firmly based on agricultural village settlements. It was these crucial changes, the introduction of new techn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds for ecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Since the 1980s, ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavor by environmentalists, so that future generations may experience destinations relatively untouched by human intervention. Ecotourism may focus on educating travelers on local environments and natural surroundings with an eye to ecological conservation. Some include in the definition of ecotourism the effort to produce economic opportunities that make conservation of natural resources financially possible. Generally, ecotourism deals with interaction with biotic components of the natur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Kingfisher
The river kingfishers or pygmy kingfishers, subfamily Alcedininae, are one of the three subfamilies of kingfishers. The river kingfishers are widespread through Africa and east and south Asia as far as Australia, with one species, the common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis'') also appearing in Europe and northern Asia. This group includes many kingfishers that actually dive for fish. The origin of the subfamily is thought to have been in Asia. These are brightly plumaged, compact birds with short tails, large heads, and long bills. They feed on insects or fish, and lay white eggs in a self-excavated burrow. Both adults incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. Taxonomy A molecular phylogenetic study of the river kingfishers published in 2007 found that the genera as then defined did not form monophyletic groups. The species were subsequently rearranged into four monophyletic genera. A clade containing four species were placed in the resurrected genus ''Corythornis'' and five sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Cuckoo
The common cuckoo (''Cuculus canorus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals. This species is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. It is a brood parasite, which means it lays eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly of dunnocks, meadow pipits, and reed warblers. Although its eggs are larger than those of its hosts, the eggs in each type of host nest resemble the host's eggs. The adult too is a mimic, in its case of the sparrowhawk; since that species is a predator, the mimicry gives the female time to lay her eggs without being attacked. Taxonomy The species' binomial name is derived from the Latin ''cuculus'' (the cuckoo) and ''canorus'' (melodious; from ''canere'', meaning to sing). The cuckoo family gets its common name and genus name by onomatopoeia for the call of the male common cuckoo. The English word "cuckoo" comes from the Old French ''cucu'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amethyst Brown Dove
The amethyst brown dove (''Phapitreron amethystinus'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Philippines, it is found on Luzon, Polilio Islands, Catanduanes, Samar, Bohol and Mindanao. It is generally rather scarce in much of its range. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and tropical moist montane forests. It is found in lowlands but probably prefers middle and high elevations at 500-2000m. It is most often seen singly or in pairs, in and around fruiting trees. The call is a deep, sonorous "hoop" as well as a rather rapid "poo-poo-poo-poop", and birds may sit and call for long periods. Description and taxonomy According to Constantino (2011), the amethyst brown dove is strikingly alike with white-eared brown dove due to the presence of subocular white lines just below the eye. However, it can be distinguished from the rest as they are rare deep-woods birds with colors that are generally darker brown than P. leucotis, with bills ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zebra Dove
The zebra dove (''Geopelia striata''), also known as the barred ground dove, or barred dove, is a species of bird of the dove family, Columbidae, native to Southeast Asia. They are small birds with a long tail, predominantly brownish-grey in colour with black-and-white barring. The species is known for its pleasant, soft, staccato cooing calls. Taxonomy In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included a description and a picture of the zebra dove in his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. His drawing was made from a live specimen at the home of admiral Charles Wager in Parsons Green near London. Edwards was told that the dove had been brought from the East Indies. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the twelfth edition, he included the zebra dove and placed it with all the other pigeons in the genus ''Columba''. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Columba striata'' and cited Edwards's work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Emerald Dove
The common emerald dove (''Chalcophaps indica''), also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The dove is also known by the names of green dove and green-winged pigeon. The common emerald dove is the state bird of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pacific emerald dove and Stephan's emerald dove were both considered conspecific. Taxonomy In 1743, the English naturalist George Edwards included a picture and a description of the common emerald dove in his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "Green Wing'd Dove". His drawing was made from a live bird at the home a merchant in Rotherhithe near London. Edwards was told that the dove had come from the East Indies. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the common emerald dove with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Swallow
The Pacific swallow (''Hirundo tahitica'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in tropical southern Asia and the islands of the south Pacific. It is resident apart from some local seasonal movements. This bird is associated with coasts, but is increasingly spreading to forested uplands. The hill swallow and the welcome swallow were formerly considered conspecific. This species is a small swallow at 13 cm. It has a blue-black back and crown with browner wings and tail, a red face and throat, and dusky underparts. It differs from the barn swallow and the closely related welcome swallow in its shorter and less forked tail. The Pacific swallow builds a neat cup-shaped nest, constructed with mud pellets collected in the beak, under a cliff ledge or on man-made structures such as a building, bridge or tunnel. The nest is lined with softer material, and the clutch is two to three eggs. It is similar in behaviour to other aerial insectivores, such as other sw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-collared Kingfisher
The collared kingfisher (''Todiramphus chloris'') is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It is also known as the white-collared kingfisher, black-masked kingfisher or mangrove kingfisher. It has a wide range extending from the Red Sea across southern Asia to Polynesia. A number of subspecies and subspecies groups have been split from this species including the Pacific kingfisher, the islet kingfisher, the Torresian kingfisher, the Mariana kingfisher, and the Melanesian kingfisher. Taxonomy The collared kingfisher was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux'' in 1780. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the ''Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle''. This was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wandering Whistling Duck
The wandering whistling duck (''Dendrocygna arcuata'') is a species of whistling duck. They inhabit tropical and subtropical Australia, the Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. Taxonomy There are three subspecies associated with this bird, ''D. a. arcuata'' (Indonesian wandering whistling duck), ''D. a. australis'' (Australian wandering whistling duck), and ''D. a. pygmaea'' (New Britain wandering whistling duck). Description Formerly named tree ducks, the wandering whistling duck has its new name because of their loud whistling calls and the whistling noise their wings make during flight. They have long necks and legs and look like a cross between a goose and a duck. They have a strong head and neck with a darker crown and hindneck. The breast contains black spotting and the feathers are mostly dark brown. They range in size from 54–60 cm in height and weigh on average 750 grams. They mainly feed on grasses, waterlilies, water plants a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Reef Heron
The Pacific reef heron (''Egretta sacra''), also known as the eastern reef heron or eastern reef egret, is a species of heron found throughout southern Asia and Oceania. It occurs in two colour morphs with either slaty grey or pure white plumage. The sexes are similar in appearance. Taxonomy The Pacific reef heron was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the herons, cranes and egrets in the genus '' Ardea'' and coined the binomial name ''Ardea sacra''. Gmelin based his description on the "Sacred heron" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. The naturalist Joseph Banks had provided Latham with a specimen of a white morph that had been collected on Tahiti. The Pacific reef heron is now placed with 12 other species in the genus ''Egretta'' that was introdu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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