The Howbbyist

A playful Hooded Pitta gets too close for comfort. 😅

There were at least 4 of them running around the area. 😍 This one in particular was inside a bush with a small clearance to take good open shots. So I sat down the ground to try and take a photo of it. But it had other plans. Probably seeing its reflection from my lens, it went out of hiding and was inching closer and closer to me thinking its another Pitta on my lens! Before it decides to "play" with my lens, I finally stood up and moved further. 😅

Pittas spends a good amount of their time on the ground where they forage the forest floor for insects. They are usually very shy. Often heard than seen. Their call resembles that of a barking small dog. 😊

The Hooded Pitta can be found all over East and Southeast Asia. They are currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Please do not use this photo for commercial purposes without permission. You may also support the work we do by sharing this post or availing our framed canvas prints. 🥰 Thank you!

🐦: Hooded Pitta (Pitta sordida)
📍: May 2024, Coron, Palawan
📷: Canon R7 + Canon RF 200-800mm
⚙️: Focal length: 600mm., Aperture: F9.0, Exposure: 1/320, ISO: 8000, Approx. Subject Distance: 5.71 meters

A Blue Paradise Flycatcher greets us with its beautiful presence while waiting for our other target birds. 😍

With colorful Pittas and Blue Paradise Flycatchers playing all around us, it was pretty difficult to choose which bird to point the camera to. 😅 These guys also stayed in the area from sunrise to sunset. Such a memorable experience indeed! 😍

The Blue Paradise Flycatcher can only be found in the Palawan islands. They are currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN with population decreasing due to habitat loss.

Please do not use this photo for commercial purposes without permission. You may also support the work we do by sharing this post or availing our framed canvas prints. 🥰 Thank you!

🐦: Blue Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone cyanescens)
📍: May 2024, Coron, Palawan
📷: Canon R7 + Canon RF 200-800mm
⚙️: Focal length: 840mm., Aperture: F9.0, Exposure: 1/500, ISO: 10000, Approx. Subject Distance: 10.7 meters

A Green-faced Parrotfinch scans the area for corkscrew snails. 🤩 The Green-faced Parrotfinch is also known as "Mayang Kawayan" as they are usually observed feeding on bamboo seeds and flowers whenever a bamboo tree blooms its flowers at the end of its life. (Which could take decades) They were also observed to feed on snails and insects possibly in preparation for breeding.

The bird has been featured on one of the postage stamps released by the Philippine Post Office on December 2007.

The Green-faced Parrotfinch can only be found in the Philippines, specifically in the islands of Luzon, Mindoro, Panay, Negros and Cebu. They are currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to deforestation and poaching for the cage-bird trade.

Please do not use this photo for commercial purposes without permission. You may also support the work we do by sharing this post or availing our framed canvas prints. 🥰 Thank you!

🐦: Green-faced Parrotfinch (Erythrura viridifacies)
📍: May 2024, Southern Sierra Madre Corridor, Rizal
📷: Canon R7 + Canon RF 200-800mm
⚙️: Focal length: 800mm., Aperture: F9.0, Exposure: 1/160, ISO: 8000, Approx. Subject Distance: 12.7 meters