Apo sunbird

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Apo sunbird
Apo Sunbird.jpg
Male ssp. boltoni
Tboli Sunbird Female.jpg
Female ssp. tibolli
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Nectariniidae
Genus: Aethopyga
Species:
A. boltoni
Binomial name
Aethopyga boltoni
Mearns, 1905

The Apo sunbird (Aethopyga boltoni) is a species of bird in the sunbird family Nectariniidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.It is found in tropical moist montane forests above 1,500 meters above sea level.

Contents

Description

Ebird describes it as a "A small, localized bird of mid- to high-elevation montane forest on Mindanao. Has a long, curved bill, a gray head, yellow underparts and rump, an olive back and wings, and a white-tipped tail. Male has a narrow pale yellow throat stripe from the bill to the chest bordered with dark gray, a greenish-blue tail, an orange smudge down from the middle of the chest, and a small red patch in front of the shoulder. Female has a pale gray throat. Similar to Gray-hooded Sunbird, but Apo has a yellow rather than a white belly. Voice includes a rapid pulsing series of “chip!” notes and a high-pitched upslurred “chuuuuuit!” [2]

Taxonomy

A male (left) and female (right), ssp. tibolli, which is sometimes recognized as the separate species T'boli sunbird Tboli Sunbird Pair.jpg
A male (left) and female (right), ssp. tibolli, which is sometimes recognized as the separate species T'boli sunbird

The Apo sunbird was formally described in 1905 by the American ornithologist Edgar Alexander Mearns from specimens collected from Mount Apo on the island of Mindanao, Philippines. He coined the binomial name Aethopyga boltoni. [3]

Three subspecies are recognised: [4]

Aethopyga boltoni tibolii is separated as its own species called the Tboli sunbird under The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. [5]

Ecology and behavior

An Apo Sunbird ssp. boltoni Mount Apo Sunbird 1 (cropped).jpg
An Apo Sunbird ssp. boltoni

The song can be a rapid, rising, and high-pitched trill of 15 notes. An alternative song may be equally rapid, even-pitched, and decelerating trill, or a continuous clip-clip-clip or sip-sip-sip. [6]

Although there is nothing definitive on their diet, we can presume based on other sunbird species that they feed primarily on nectar but will also consume insects and spiders when feeding their young. [7] They have various foraging patterns including singly, in pairs, and in mixed-species flocks. [8]

The Apo sunbird has been recorded breeding in January-July, [8] with generation lengths averaging 2.4 years (ICU Redlist). Of the 2 nests ever found, one in 1904 and one in 1995, the second was found at over 2,400 meters. A female with an enlarged ovary was also found there in March. The nests were suspended high in the air, roughly 24 meters. The dimensions of the nest were 8 x 16 cm, with a side entrance of 3 cm, and were constructed of moss, spider eggs, and insect cases. [9]

Habitat and conservation status

The Apo sunbird is a bird local to the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It can be found in mountainous areas in the western and central parts of the island, specifically, Mount Apo, Mount Kitanglad, and Mount Malindang. [10] Its natural habitat is in montane rainforest above 1,500 meters above sea level for boltoni and malindangensis but much lower with the lowest record at just 800 meters above sea level. [11]

The IUCN has classified the species as Least Concern but was formerly listed as near threatened. Despite its limited range, it is said to be locally common. The Apo sunbird occurs at similar densities to its kin, the lovely sunbird at 49.1 individuals/km2. 10% of the mapped area is occupied, which places the number of individuals at 37,000. This would be equal to about 25,000 mature individuals. However, the Apo sunbird is thought to live at slightly lower densities than its counterparts, so it is believed 25,000 mature individuals live in the mountainous region of Mindanao. [12]

As it occurs in rugged and inaccessible mountains, this has allowed a large portion of its habitat to remain intact. However, there it is still affected by habitat loss through deforestation, mining, land conversion and slash-and-burn - just not to the same extent as lowland forest.

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References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2020). "Aethopyga boltoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22718059A179061446. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22718059A179061446.en . Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "Apo Sunbird - eBird". ebird.org. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  3. ↑ Mearns, Robert (1905). "Descriptions of a new genus and eleven new species of Philippine birds". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 18: 1–8 [4–5].
  4. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Cheke, Robert; Mann, Clive; Kirwan, Guy M. (2020). "Tboli Sunbird (Aethopyga tibolii), version 2.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.tbosun1.02species_shared.bow.project_name. ISSN   2771-3105.
  6. ↑ Cheke, Robert; Mann, Clive; Kirwan, Guy M. (2020). "Apo Sunbird (Aethopyga boltoni), version 2.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.moasun1.02.
  7. ↑ "Our Beautiful World: Sunbirds, Genus Aethopyga". www.vulkaner.no. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  8. 1 2 "Apo Sunbird (Aethopyga boltoni) - BirdLife species factsheet". datazone.birdlife.org. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  9. ↑ Cheke, Robert; Mann, Clive; Kirwan, Guy M. (2020). "Apo Sunbird (Aethopyga boltoni), version 2.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.moasun1.02.
  10. ↑ Cheke, Robert; Mann, Clive; Kirwan, Guy M. (2020). "Apo Sunbird (Aethopyga boltoni), version 2.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.moasun1.02.
  11. ↑ Cheke, Robert; Mann, Clive; Kirwan, Guy M. (2020). "Tboli Sunbird (Aethopyga tibolii), version 2.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.tbosun1.02species_shared.bow.project_name. ISSN   2771-3105.
  12. ↑ "BirdLife International". BirdLife International. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
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