The Palawan flowerpecker (''Prionochilus plateni'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Dicaeidae The flowerpeckers are a family (biology), family, Dicaeidae, of passerine birds. The family comprises three genera, ''Dicaeum'', ''Prionochilus'' and ''Pachyglossa'', with 56 species in total. The family has sometimes been included in an enlarge ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

found only in the

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

island group. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...

is tropical moist lowland forest.

Description and taxonomy

Ebird describes it as "A tiny bird of forest and gardens on Palawan and neighboring islands. Male has gray upperparts with a red crown patch, a white moustache stripe, a yellow rump, a white chin, a yellow throat and chest with a red smudge, and a white belly. Female is a much duller version of the male, with brown wings and a gray head. Female is similar to Thick-billed Flowerpecker, but has a yellow chest and rump. Voice is a rough “jak,” sometimes given rapidly in a harsh trill". The scientific name commemorates the German zoologist Carl Constantin Platen File:Male Palawan flowerpecker.jpg, Palawan flowerpecker with its red crown patch File:Palawan flowerpecker.jpg, Palawan flowerpecker with its chest with a red smudge

Subspecies

Two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized: * ''Prionochilus plateni plateni'' – Found on

and

Balabac Balabac Island is the southernmost island of Palawan province, and therefore the westernmost undisputed island in the Philippines, some north of Sabah, Malaysia, across the Balabac Strait. Administratively, the island forms the main part of th ...

* ''Prionochilus plateni culionensis'' – Found on Culion Island group; male has orange-yellow rump, throat and breast to belly, female is deep yellow belly, with orange pectoral spot.

Ecology and behavior

It is known to feed on fruit, nectar and pollen of mistletoes but otherwise its diet has not yet been studied. It occurs on all storeys of the forest and is typically found singly or in mixed-species flocks. Specimens collected of birds in breeding condition have enlarged gonads from April to August. No other information is known about its mating, nesting and fledgling habits.

Habitat and conservation status

The species inhabits tropical moist lowland

primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

and secondary forest. It is assessed as

least-concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild ...

under the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

with populations believed to be decreasing due to habitat loss and deforestation. The whole of

was designated as a Biosphere Reserve; however, protection and enforcement of laws has been difficult and these threats still continue. It occurs in the protected area of

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is a protected area in the Philippines. The park is located in the Saint Paul Mountain Range on the western coast of the island of Palawan, about north of the city of Puerto Princesa, and c ...

References

Prionochilus Birds of Palawan Birds described in 1888 Taxa named by August Wilhelm Heinrich Blasius Endemic birds of the Philippines Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Dicaeidae-stub