The Visayas, or the Visayan Islands, are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, it consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are also considered the northeast extremity of the entire Sulu Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan peoples.
The Visayan Sea is a sea in the Philippines surrounded by the islands of the Visayas. It is bounded by the islands Masbate to the north, Panay to the west, Leyte to the east, and Cebu and Negros to the south.
The Visayan hornbill is a hornbill found in rainforests of Western Visayas region which includes the islands of Panay, Negros,Cebu and Guimaras, as well as the island of Masbate, and formerly Ticao, in the Philippines. It formerly included all other Philippine tarictic hornbills as subspecies, in which case the common name of the 'combined species' was shortened to tarictic hornbill.
Walden's hornbill locally called dulungan, also known as the Visayan wrinkled hornbill, rufous-headed hornbill or writhe-billed hornbill, is a critically endangered species of hornbill living in the rainforests on the islands of Negros and Panay in the Philippines. It is closely related to the writhed hornbill, but can be recognized by the yellow throat and ocular skin in the male, and the blue throat and ocular skin in the female. Its binomial name commemorates the Scottish ornithologist Viscount Walden.
The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Most Bisayan languages are spoken in the whole Visayas section of the country, but they are also spoken in the southern part of the Bicol Region, islands south of Luzon, such as those that make up Romblon, most of the areas of Mindanao and the province of Sulu located southwest of Mindanao. Some residents of Metro Manila also speak one of the Bisayan languages.
The Negros bleeding-heart pigeon is endemic to the Philippines where it is found on the islands of Negros and Panay. It is critically endangered; continuing rates of forest loss on the two islands where it occurs suggest that it will continue to decline. The population is estimated to be just 50 - 249 mature individuals. The species has an extremely small, severely fragmented population. The bird is listed as an EDGE species under the analysis of the Zoological Society of London.
The Hiligaynon people, often referred to as Ilonggo people or Panayan people, are the second largest subgroup of the larger Visayan ethnic group, whose primary language is Hiligaynon, an Austronesian language of the Visayan branch native to Panay, Guimaras, and Negros. They originated in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay, in the region of Western Visayas. Over the years, inter-migrations and intra-migrations have contributed to the diaspora of the Hiligaynon to different parts of the Philippines. Today, the Hiligaynon, apart from the province of Iloilo, also form the majority in the provinces of Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Capiz, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and North Cotabato.
The Cebuano people are the largest subgroup of the larger ethnolinguistic group Visayans, who constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group in the country. They originated in the province of Cebu in the region of Central Visayas, but then later spread out to other places in the Philippines, such as Siquijor, Bohol, Negros Oriental, southwestern Leyte, western Samar, Masbate, and large parts of Mindanao. It may also refer to the ethnic group who speak the same language as their native tongue in different parts of the archipelago. The term Cebuano also refers to the demonym of permanent residents in Cebu island regardless of ethnicity.
The Visayan spotted deer, also known as the Visayan deer, the Philippine spotted deer or Prince Alfred's deer, is a small, endangered, primarily nocturnal species of deer found in the rainforests of the Visayan Islands of Panay and Negros. It once was found across other islands, such as Cebu, Guimaras, Leyte, Masbate, and Samar. It is one of three endemic deer species found in the Philippines, although it was not recognized as a separate species until 1983. An estimated 2,500 mature individuals survived worldwide in 1996, according to the IUCN; today’s surviving wild number is uncertain. The diet of the deer, which consists of a variety of different types of grasses, leaves, and buds within the forest, is the primary indicator of its habitat. Since 1991, the range of the species has severely decreased and is now almost co-extensive with that of the Visayan warty pig.
The Philippine warty pig is one of four known species in the pig genus (Sus) endemic to the Philippines. They have tufts of hair on the top of their head and on the lower sides of their jaws, as well as four warts on their faces. Their skulls are elongated; males have tusks and bigger skulls than females, an example of sexual dimorphism. They are considered Vulnerable by the IUCN, and their population is currently declining due to multiple threats. The pigs are probably nocturnal.
The Cebu warty pig previously lived in Cebu, Philippines, before becoming extinct in modern times, primarily due to habitat destruction. This pig was assessed to be extinct in 2000.
The giant Visayan frog is a species of frog in the family Dicroglossidae. It is endemic to the Philippines, and is known from Masbate, Cebu, Negros, Guimaras, Panay, and Siquijor islands.
The black-belted flowerpecker or Visayan flowerpecker, is a species of bird in the family Dicaeidae. It is endemic to the Philippines where it is restricted to Panay, Negros and Guimaras islands. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the more widespread red-keeled flowerpecker. Sometimes the name red-keeled flowerpecker is used for D. haematostictum and D. australe is then known as the red-sided flowerpecker.
The Javan warty pig, also called Javan wild pig, is an even-toed ungulate in the family Suidae. It is endemic to the Indonesian islands Java and Bawean, and is considered extinct on Madura. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1996.
The Philippines has four endemic types of species of wild pigs. This makes the Philippines unique in having arguably the largest number of endemic wild pigs. Two separate populations of unstudied wild pig species have been reported on the islands of Tawi-Tawi, and Tablas.
The Visayan leopard cat, known locally as maral, is a Sunda leopard cat population in the Philippine Islands of Negros, Cebu and Panay. It has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List in 2008 under its former scientific name P. bengalensis rabori as its range is estimated to be less than 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi), and the population was thought to be decreasing.
The yellow-faced flameback is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found on the Philippine islands of Negros and Panay. It is extinct on Guimaras, Masbate, and Ticao (extinct). It is one of the most spectacular woodpeckers with its bright yellow head and crimson red back. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the greater flameback. It is found in moist lowland forests including primary, secondary and even plantations and clearings provided there are still standing trees. It is the rarest woodpecker in the country and it is threatened by habitat loss.
The Visayan fantail is a fantail endemic to the Philippines on islands of Negros, Panay, Guimaras, Masbate and Ticao. Until recently, it was considered conspecific with the blue-headed fantail and Tablas fantail.
The Greater Negros–Panay rain forests ecoregion covers the central Visayan Islands in the Philippines, including the islands of Panay, Negros, Cebu, Masbate, Sibuyan, Ticao, Guimaras, Romblon, Tablas, Siquijor, and Bohol, but excludes Leyte and Samar. During the last ice age, these were all on the same island. The lack of a land bridge to Asia during the ice age kept most Asian megafauna, including elephants and tigers, from reaching the Philippines and the Visayan Islands, which hosts many unique and endemic species with some exclusive only to an island.
