The Palawan flycatcher (''Ficedula platenae'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Muscicapidae The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, Bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica)'' and Norther ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

found only in the region of

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Description

EBird eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...

describes the bird as "A small bird of lowland and foothill forest on

. Favors undergrowth with palms or bamboo. Dark-brown above with a white belly, an orange chest and tail, and very pale orange on the throat and under the base of the tail. Similar to female Palawan blue flycatcher, but smaller, with a brown rather than gray head. " The Palawan flycatcher has a very unusual and distinct call. Song is a soft whistled "puu-puu piii!" with the third note higher. Also gives a repeated upslurred "puuii".This call gets repeated anywhere from 10 to 15 times in quick repetition. Then it gets followed by a short 5-10 second trill. The bird also will fan out and shake its tail while doing this call. This call very insect-like call often gets mistaken as an insect's call.

Habitat and conservation status

It inhabits primary and secondary

dipterocarp forest Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fru ...

up to 1,000 meters above sea level. It favours areas rich in

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

and

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

s. While they can somewhat tolerate

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

, they appear to be sensitive to habitat modification It is often found on the lower

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...

and close to the

forest floor The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stage ...

. They have been noted to be very faithful to their favoured sites. It has been assessed as vulnerable with a population currently between 6,000 and 15,000, the Palawan flycatcher has attracted help from conservation groups. These groups have created protected areas on these islands where logging can't occur. By doing this, the primary source of their decline is lessened. Conservation groups attempted to cultivate and restore the lands which their species was wiped from. Unlike most species, the Palawan flycatcher did not return to these lands after the restoration back to old growth. The species is present in conservation areas - the entirety of Palawan has been designated a biosphere reserve but actual protection and enforcement against logging and hunting has been difficult. They are present in the protected area of the

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is a protected area in the Philippines. The park is located in the Saint Paul Mountain Range on the western coast of the island of Palawan, about north of the city of Puerto Princesa, and c ...

. Conservation actions proposed include surveys in remaining lowland forests in order to better understand population and distribution, habitat and tolerance for degradation. Support the proposed extension of

and formally protect other key sites in

Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines is one of seven operating units of the Bureau of Corrections under the Department of Justice. History American territorial period The Spanish regime had earlier ...

and Mt. Victoria.

References

Palawan flycatcher Birds of Palawan Palawan flycatcher Palawan flycatcher Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Muscicapidae-stub