Lina's sunbird
| Lina's sunbird | |
|---|---|
| |
| Male | |
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| Female | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Nectariniidae |
| Genus: | Aethopyga |
| Species: | A. linaraborae
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| Binomial name | |
| Aethopyga linaraborae | |
Lina's sunbird (Aethopyga linaraborae) is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae It is endemic to mountains in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is one of the most striking sunbirds in the country with the male having an iridescent blue color and an orange spot on its yellow breast. It is named after Dioscoro S. Rabor's wife, Lina who would assist Dioscoro on expeditions.[2] Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forest above 1000m. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Description
[edit]
EBird describes the bird as "A small, localized bird of montane forest in eastern Mindanao. Has a long, curved bill, an olive back, an orange mark in the middle of the chest and a bluish tail with white tips. Male has an iridescent blue crown, cheek, and wing, a green shoulder and rump, yellow underparts, and a small orange patch in front of the shoulder. Female has faint streaking on the underparts, a gray head, and golden-olive wings. Similar to Metallic-winged sunbird, but male has a blue wing and female a gray head. Voice includes a high-pitched jumbled song, a series of sharp 'chik!' notes, and an upslurred high-pitched whistle."[3]
This species was formerly conspecific with the Apo sunbird but was split by Robert Kennedy, Pedro Gonzales and Hector Miranda in 1997. They decided to name this species after Lina Rabor whose husband is Dioscoro Rabor who is known for as the "Father of Philippine Biology and Conservation" and described 69 bird species
Ecology and behavior
[edit]This species has not yet been comprehensively studied. It is pressumed to have a typical sunbird diet of primarily nectar and supplemented with the occasional insect.
Males in breeding condition with enlarged testes have been collected n May but this is not yet fully understood.[4]
Habitat and conservation status
[edit]It occupies montane mossy forest from 970 to 2,000 m and above in the mountains of Eastern Mindanao.
IUCN has assessed this bird as near threatened making it the only Philippine sunbird that is not assesed as least concern as it r. It is restricted toDespite its limited range, it is said to be locally common in its range. 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. Mt. Tagubud in New Bataan, where it is mainly seen by birdwatchers, has faced considerable deforestation.
References
[edit]- ^ BirdLife International (2020). "Aethopyga linaraborae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22724518A177948824. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22724518A177948824.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Robert S. Kennedy; Pedro C. Gonzales; Hector C. Miranda (January 1997). "New Aethopyga Sunbirds (Aves: Nectariniidae) from the Island of Mindanao, Philippines". The Auk. 114 (1): 1–10. doi:10.2307/4089060. ISSN 0004-8038. JSTOR 4089060. Wikidata Q104115278.
Lina N. Florendo Rabor accompanied her husband, the preeminent Philippine ornithologist Dioscoro S. Rabor, on more than 40 scientific expeditions throughout the Philippines from 1936 to 1975 and contributed to some 80 papers and books published by Dr. Rabor and his colleagues. Throughout this extraordinary effort she remained a silent partner. We are pleased to name this new and beautiful sunbird after this remarkable person
- ^ "Lina's Sunbird". Ebird.
- ^ Cheke, Robert; Mann, Clive (2020). "Lina's Sunbird (Aethopyga linaraborae), version 1.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.linsun1.01. ISSN 2771-3105.
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