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The grey-hooded sunbird (''Aethopyga primigenia'') is a species of
eBird describes the bird as "A small bird of lower-elevation montane forest on Mindanao. Has a gray hood and chest, an olive-green back and wings, a white upper belly, a yellow lower belly and sides, and a white-tipped tail. Male has a green forehead and cheek patches. Males from northeast Mindanao have an additional yellow stripe down the upper chest. Similar to Apo and Tboli Sunbirds, but Gray-hooded has a white upper belly. Voice includes a fast series of high-pitched 'whip!' notes."
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 Nectariniidae. 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 ...
. 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
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
moist montane forest
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...
s.
Description
eBird describes the bird as "A small bird of lower-elevation montane forest on Mindanao. Has a gray hood and chest, an olive-green back and wings, a white upper belly, a yellow lower belly and sides, and a white-tipped tail. Male has a green forehead and cheek patches. Males from northeast Mindanao have an additional yellow stripe down the upper chest. Similar to Apo and Tboli Sunbirds, but Gray-hooded has a white upper belly. Voice includes a fast series of high-pitched 'whip!' notes."
Subspecies
Twosubspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are recognized:
* ''Aethopyga primigenia primigenia'': Found in West, Central and Southern Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
; plainer breast
* ''Aethopyga primigenia diuatae'': Found in Northeast Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
; grayer overall appearance, white streak with yellow spot on breast
Distribution and habitat
It occurs in tropical moist montane forest and forest edges above altitudes of 1,000 m, but may reach limits of 1,700 m. It is often seen aroundbanana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
flowers.
Status
IUCN has assessed this bird as a least-concern species in 2020, with it formerly beingnear threatened
A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...
. Despite its limited range it is said to be locally common, possibly occurring in densities of close to 50 birds per km2. The population is estimated at around 20,000 - 49,999 mature individuals. 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
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 ...
through deforestation, mining, land conversion
Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways such as:
* Changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing
* Subdividing real estate into lots, typically for the purpose ...
and slash-and-burn - though not to the same extent as in lowland forests.
Several proposals have been made to strengthen conservation action, including granting protection to areas of suitable habitat and regularly monitoring important areas such as Mt. Hamiguitan.
References
grey-hooded sunbird Birds of Mindanao grey-hooded sunbird grey-hooded sunbird Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Nectariniidae-stub