The flame-templed babbler (''Dasycrotapha speciosa'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

of the family Zosteropidae, in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

''Dasycrotapha''. It is one of the most remarkable and distinctive birds with its complex head markings with orange crown tufts, black ears and yellow beak and face. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, where it is found on the islands of

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...

and Negros. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is tropical moist lowland forest. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. Along with the Negros striped babbler, it is one of the two babbler species extremely sought after by birdwatchers on Negros.

Description

EBird describes the bird as "A small bird. Has a gray back with fine pale streaks, golden flight feathers, a yellowish belly, a brighter yellow chest extending around the collar, a black head with black spots on the upper chest, and a yellow bill, forehead, chin, and short moustache stripe. Note the white-streaked cheek and the orange tufts on the back of the head. Often joins mixed-species flocks, where it methodically forages in the understory and at middle heights in the forest. Unmistakable. Song is a descending whistled warble." The flame-templed babbler is an omnivore feeding on small insects and berries, flowers and figs. These babblers feed and breed in understory bushes, trees, vines and ferns.

Habitat and Conservation Status

The flame-templed babbler inhabits lowland forest, forest edge and secondary growth below 1,000 m, occasionally occurring up to 1,180 m. Highest densities have been recorded in the thick undergrowth of degraded secondary forest and observations come from the lower strata (up to 8 m) in the understory, where birds stay in deep cover and are consequently unobtrusive unless singing. IUCN has assessed this bird as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

estimating the population to be just 2,500 - 9,999 mature individuals. In areas where habitat is still good, they occur in high densities of more than 20 birds per square kilometer; however, overall remaining habitat is greatly reduced. It was only fairly recently discovered in Panay in 1987 and is only found in five localities. This species' main threat is

with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of logging, agricultural conversion and mining activities occurring within the range. Negros Island is one of the most deforested areas in the country due to its sugar industry and logging with most of its forests being totally lost before the 21st century. Forest cover on Negros and

is just 3% and 6% respectively and these figures are still declining. It occurs in a few protected areas within Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park and Northern Negros Natural Park; however, protection and enforcement against deforestation is lax. It also occurs in the proposed Central Panay Mountain Range Park which contains the largest block of remaining forest in the Western Visayas, and the tourist destination of Twin Lakes (Mount Talinis). Both sites benefit from conservation funding but are still under threat by deforestation.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2226255 flame-templed babbler Birds of Negros Island Birds of Panay flame-templed babbler flame-templed babbler Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

Description

Habitat and Conservation Status

References

Further reading

External links