They breed in Japan, but are uncommon there, and winter mainly in the Philippines, particularly in Ilocos Norte where the windmills are. Also called the Japanese Yellow Buntings, they have been classified by IUCN and Birdlife as Vulnerable because they have a small and declining population, probably resulting from a combination of habitat loss, pesticide […]
Author: Alain Pascua
Alain Pascua is one of the founding-administrators of the "Wild Birds of the Philippine" Page, the only multi-photographer gallery of Philippine birds in Facebook. He also co-founded the Philippine BIrd Photography Workshops and Tours, a professional outfit, in 2011, and the Wild Bird Photographers of the Philippines (WBPP) in 2012. Alain Pascua’s photos of wild birds have graced numerous publications, the latest are featured in the newly published book Owls of the World A Photographic Guide by Heimo Mikkola. He won second place in the 1st Bird as Art International Bird Photography Competition organized by Art Morris in the Captive Birds Category.
Great Kalaw Rising
I first saw the Great Rufous Hornbill in Quezon National Forest Park in Pagbilao, Quezon in 2009 in a birding trip sponsored and organized by TeaM Energy Foundation and the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines. It was still dark when I saw them, so I was not able to even get documentary shots. By […]
Lord of the Forest
Under the golden rays of a rising sun in its kingdom at Mt. Apo Natural Park stands the Lord of the Forest, Haring Ibon, the King of Birds, in all its splendour and majesty! Photographing the most majestic eagle in the world at the golden hour is one of the greatest moments a wild bird […]
Mindanao Wrinkled Hornbill
I had always wondered what “Writhed” means whenever the name of this species came up in the past. I thought it was a name of an English discoverer, but lately I have known that the names means “Wrinkled.” I was also surprise to find out that this bird is also called Mindanao Wrinkled Hornbill in […]
Ibong Adarna
I have often wondered what the mythical bird “Ibong Adarna” was in the erstwhile kingdom of Berbania where it was described to be a magical bird that could turn humans into stone, that could change its colours as it sings, and that it could cure an ailing king. I haven’t seen this bird yet and […]
Rufous Hornbill of Mt. Apo, Mindanao, Philippines
We call this species “KALAW.” Birdlife says this forest-dependent species is considered Near Threatened as it is suspected to be declining moderately rapidly throughout its range as a result of habitat loss and persecution by hunters and trappers. This shot was about 200 meters away! This is 450% enlarged! RUFOUS HORNBILL, Philippine endemic, Near Threatened, […]
Hunting in the Philippines: Okay for the Rich and Powerful, Illegal for the Poor and Lowly?
What does government and society do when hunters are caught and/or documented in pictures of their own with their day’s catch – dead Philippine wild ducks which are classified as vulnerable? Of course, they are prosecuted for violation of the law, fined and jailed, just like Bryan Balaon, a 26-year-old farmer in Bukidnon, who has […]
In Search of a Dwarf from Baler to Polillo
My search for the PHILIPPINE DWARF-KINGFISHER started in May 2009 in Baler, Quezon when a group of 400mm wild bird photograhers joined a photography contest sponsored by Senator Edgardo Angara and Quezon Governor Bellaflor Angara. Prof. Agerico De Villa of Wild Bird Club of the Philippines shepherded the group who went to the Diteki Watershed […]