Exotic Red Breasted Bird Spotted In Cagayan

Image courtesy Girlie Cervantes

UPDATED 5 March 2012

This bird has been positively identified as a sub-specie of Purple-throated sunbird, indigenous to the area around Cagayan and the Babuyan Islands: Leptocoma sperata henkei

original article

This red breasted bird was spotted while walking a forest trail in Santa Ana, Cagayan, Philippines, in early February 2012. It was one of a pair that were heard calling to each other from the treetops of a remote, lowland forest area near the seashore, facing the Pacific Ocean; the other of the pair was not seen before they both flew deeper into the forest cover.

Searching the Internet we can find only the red-breasted blackbird/blackbill (Sturnella militaris) that apparently has a close approximation to the general shape and size of this bird but: the beak of our bird is much longer and thinner than that of the blackbird/blackbill; the red plumage extends to the legs whereas the blackbird's red plumage stops a long way short of the legs; and, this particular specimen is a little smaller.

Image courtesy Rodney Hegerty

Game fishing tournaments in the Philippines are monthly affairs organized by various angling groups around the country. To find out about what is going on and who to talk to about getting involved is a challenging. Characteristic of the sport no doubt, even when you find “the right person” you need to apply constant prodding to finally gaff and disgorge the desired information.

Despite the obstacles, we have finally obtained the schedule of the Philippine Game Fishing Foundation's (PGFF) calendar for this year, albeit a little late. The 2010 game fishing tournament schedule was published a couple of weeks ago on MyCam-Asia.tv's website under the Game Fishing In The Philippines section.