The scarlet-collared flowerpecker (''Dicaeum retrocinctum'') 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 lightweig ...

in the family

Dicaeidae The flowerpeckers are a family, Dicaeidae, of passerine birds. The family comprises two genera, '' Prionochilus'' and '' Dicaeum'', with 50 species in total. The family has sometimes been included in an enlarged sunbird family Nectariniidae. The ...

, about 10 cm long and 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 els ...

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 ...

. It is found only in

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

, usually occurring below 1000m in the canopy and edge of the forest and in open country with scattered trees. The call is a series of notes similar to striking two stones together plus a high-pitched `zeet zeet zeet`. It is closely related to the

red-keeled flowerpecker The red-keeled flowerpecker or red-striped flowerpecker (''Dicaeum australe'') is a species of bird in the family Dicaeidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. The black- ...

(''Dicaeum australe'') but has a longer, more slender curved beak.

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 proje ...

describes the bird as "A small bird of lowland and foothill forest and more open wooded areas on Mindoro, slightly glossy black with a white belly and sides of the chest and with red patches on the throat, upper back, and in a stripe from the center of the chest down the belly. Note the fairly long, thin, slightly curved bill. Similar to Pygmy Flowerpecker, but has a black chest and red patches. Gives a high-pitched, staccato, rather jumbled song.” It is seen feeding on flowering and fruiting trees.

Habitat and Conservation Status

It inhabits tropical moist lowland forest up to 1,000 meters above sea level. It prefers

primary forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

and

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. ...

but has been known to visit cultivations and coconut plantations IUCN has assessed this bird as

vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

with its population being estimated as 6,000 to 15,000 mature individuals. Forest loss is a threat especially in its lower altitude limits which are more prone to legal and

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

, mining and conversion into farmland. It occurs on a few protected areas Mt Siburan (Important Bird Area) and Mt. Iglit-baco National Park (which is the stronghold of the

Tamaraw The tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo (''Bubalus mindorensis'') is a small hoofed mammal belonging to the family Bovidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, and is the only endemic Philippine bovine. It is believed, how ...

).. Conservation actions proposed include to establish formal, managed protected areas to conserve remnant forest at Malpalon and

Puerto Galera Puerto Galera, officially the Municipality of Puerto Galera ( tgl, Bayan ng Puerto Galera), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,961 people. It is ...

. Extend Mt Iglit-Baco National Park to encompass remaining lowland forest tracts. Devise and implement a management plan for the forest at Mt. Siburan with a focus on biodiversity conservation

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.
scarlet-collared flowerpecker Birds of Mindoro scarlet-collared flowerpecker Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Dicaeidae-stub