Observer les oiseaux sur l’île de Cebu (Philippines)

The Philippines is a 7,100 islands archipelago lying between the Malayan-Indonesian complex and Taiwan. Geography and evolution have left one of the highest degrees of endemism of the world with some 172 endemic species of birds. The Visayas consist of the majority of the islands, and In ornithological terms, there are divided in three major areas : the Negros/ Panay complex in the west, Cebu in the center and the Bohol/Samar/Leyte group to the east.
On these islands, the environmental degradation in this region is extreme, especially in the East where several species are located in very small forest patches, and some species may even be already extinct or in non-sustainable situations.
This is particularly the case of the island of Cebu: its relatively low profile and the early development of Cebu City, the country’s second largest conurbation, have contributed to the destruction of most of the natural forests. 99% of the original forest cover have totally gone and even the most degraded secondary habitats are now scarce.
This almost complete deforestation has already caused a mass extinction of birds: half of the forest bird species formerly resident on the island, have gone (39 species, including four restricted-range species and a further five endemic subspecies).
Only two endemic species can be found on Cebu today : the Cebu Flowerpecker (Dicaeum quadricolor), considered extinct since 1906, but rediscovered in 1992 in a remnant patch of largely degraded forest, and the Black Shama (Copsychus cebuensis), which is now known to survive in different localities but in rather small numbers. Since 1993, the local Cebu races of Streak-breasted Bulbul and Orange-breasted Flowerpecker have been also rediscovered.
In this article, we present you different  good birding spots to discover the two endemics and the other typical Cebu bird species.