


Top 14 Most Common Bird in Tawi-Tawi
Tawi-Tawi, located in the southern Philippines, presents a wide variety of unique avian species due to its diverse ecosystems. The 14 most common birds exhibit exceptional adaptations, including vibrant plumage, distinctive calls, and specialized feeding habits. The ecology of these birds is intricately tied to Tawi-Tawi's natural habitats, providing a captivating study for both ornithologists and nature enthusiasts alike.

Most Common Bird

1. Brahminy Kite
The brahminy kite is distinctive and contrastingly coloured, with chestnut plumage except for the white head and breast and black wing tips. The juveniles are browner, but can be distinguished from both the resident and migratory races of black kites in Asia by the paler appearance, shorter wings, and rounded tail. The pale patch on the underwing carpal region is of a squarish shape and separated from Buteo buzzards. The brahminy kite is about the same size as the black kite (Milvus migrans) and has a typical kite flight, with wings angled, but its tail is rounded unlike the Milvus species, red kite, and black kite, which have forked tails. The two genera are, however, very close. The call is a mewing keeyew.


2. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
The eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) is a widespread sparrow of the European mainland that has been introduced to some parts of North America. Eurasian Tree Sparrow is very similar to the House sparrow (Passer domesticus) but it's smaller and neater. It prefers more natural habitats, at the edges of human activity, and inhabits farmlands, parklands, and open woods.

3. Great Egret
These tall birds are quite distinctive with their bright white feathers, black legs, and orange beaks. Great Egrets live near both fresh and saltwater, nesting high in trees to protect their eggs from predatory mammals. They are colonial nesters, living in large groups (colonies), and they find the majority of their food in the nearest body of water.

4. Olive-backed Sunbird
In most subspecies, the underparts of both male and female are bright yellow, the backs are a dull brown colour. The forehead, throat and upper breast of the adult male is a dark, metallic blue-black. In the Philippines the males of some subspecies have an orange band on the chest, in Wallacea and northern New Guinea some subspecies have most of the underparts blackish, and in southern China and adjacent parts of Vietnam most of the underparts of the male are greyish-white.


5. Philippine Magpie-robin
The Philippine magpie-robin (Copsychus mindanensis) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It used to be considered a subspecies of the Oriental magpie-robin. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.


6. Chinese Egret
The Chinese egret averages 68 cm in height. The plumage is white throughout the bird's life and resembles the little egret (Egretta garzetta). Outside the breeding season the bill is dusky with the basal portion being tannish peach and the lores and legs yellow green, while the iris is yellow. All individuals are similar in this season. In the breeding season the adults develop a luxuriant crest which is sometimes over 11 cm long. It also develops long lanceolate plumes on its breast and dorsal plumes extending beyond the tail, called aigrettes and similar to those of little egret. The bare parts change too, the bill becomes a bright, almost orange, yellow while the lores turn bright blue and the legs black with yellow feet.


7. Black-naped Oriole
The black-naped oriole is medium-sized and overall golden with a strong pinkish bill and a broad black mask and nape. The adult male has the central tail feathers tipped yellow and the lateral ones are more broadly yellow. The female has the mantle colour more greenish or olive. The juvenile has a streaked underside. The nestling has dull greenish with brown streaks. The head and nape are more yellowish and the undertail coverts are yellow. Several variations exist in the populations that have been separated as subspecies. The subspecies in the Andamans, O. c. andamanensis has all black wings while O. c. macrourus of the Nicobars has a very broad nape band so that only the top of the head is yellow. The wings are all black with a yellow primary covert patch. The calls of the Andaman and the Nicobar subspecies are said to be quite different, the latter having a more modulated call note. In the Southeast Asian populations some geographic trends include a reduction of yellow on the forehead and a decreased brightness in the yellow plumage from north to south. Females from southern populations are more greenish on the back and tail and there are no yellow spots on the tips of the secondaries as in northern populations. The usual call is a nasal niee or myaa and the song (diffusus) is a fluty iwee wee wee-leeow. They have a dipping flight.


8. Yellow-vented Bulbul
The eyebrow buzz (Pycnonotus goiavier), is a common songbird from the family of the buulbuuls. The eyebrow bulge is found in large parts of Southeast Asia and the Indian Archipelago.

9. Yellowish Bulbul
The yellowish bulbul (Hypsipetes everetti) is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae.


10. Mangrove Blue Flycatcher
The mangrove blue flycatcher (Cyornis rufigastra) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.


11. Collared Kingfisher
The collared kingfisher is 23 to 25 cm (9.1 to 9.8 in) long and the male weighs 51 to 90 g (1.8 to 3.2 oz), while the female weighs 54–100 g (1.9–3.5 oz). It varies from blue to green above while the underparts can be white or buff. There is a white collar around the neck, giving the bird its name. Some races have a white or buff stripe over the eye while others have a white spot between the eye and bill. There may be a black stripe through the eye. The large bill is black with a pale yellow base to the lower mandible. Females tend to be greener than the males. Immature birds are duller than the adults with dark scaly markings on the neck and breast. It has a variety of calls which vary geographically. The most typical call is a loud, harsh and metallic "kee-kee-kee" repeated several times.


12. Buzzing Flowerpecker
The buzzing flowerpecker (Dicaeum hypoleucum) or white-bellied flowerpecker, is a species of bird in the family Dicaeidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.


13. Common Emerald Dove
The common emerald dove is a stocky, medium-sized pigeon, typically 23–27 cm (9.1–10.6 in) in length. The back and wings are bright emerald green. The flight feathers and tail are blackish, and broad black and white bars show on the lower back in flight. The head and underparts are dark vinous pink, fading to greyish on the lower belly. The eyes are dark brown, the bill bright red and legs and feet rufous. The male has a white patch on the edge of the shoulders and a grey crown, which the female lacks. Females will tend to have a browner complexion with a grey mark on the shoulder. Immature birds resemble females but have brown scallops on their body and wing plumage.


14. Asian Glossy Starling
The Malayan purple starling (Aplonis panayensis) is a starling species from the Indian Subcontinent and the Indian Archipelago. It is a common bird that sometimes occurs en masse in cities. The bird is one of the noisiest bird species.