Philippine Drongo Cuckoo in BK

[Ramon Quisumbing]

It was cold and the rain and wind were strong all night and this morning in BK Valley until about 9 a.m. -- when I spotted about 50-60 meters away what I assumed was one of the several resident Balicassiaos that frequent the partly cultivated hillside to the left of my house. But this "Balicassiao" was doing something unusual -- it was sitting still and spreading its wings to expose them to the rainshower. I took this documentary photo thru the fog and rain.


For comparison is this documentary photo of a regular Balicassiao taken at about the same time and in the same area.


A few minutes later, the unusual "Balicassiao" perched about 30 meters away and - unlike regular Balicassiaos that are quite active and very jumpy - it sat there posing for a full 2 minutes. As I was happily shooting away and reviewing the results, I noticed that it was smaller and its beak was thinner and curved downwards, like a cuckoo's beak. I later checked the Kennedy Guide and discovered that this was a Philippine Drongo Cuckoo (Surniculus velutinus velutinus, according to Steve Pryor), a Philippine endemic -- a lifer for me!
Canon 1D Mark IV, 800 mm lens, 1.4x converter, tripod with half-gimbal head, F/8, ISO-1600, 1/400 sec.




I notice that the nostrils of the Drongo Cuckoo are quite flared and pronounced.

[des]

The nostrils are a bit like nightjars - rather weird

[Neon Rosell II]

Wow! another great find in BK, Ramon! I should really find time to go birding there instead of bee-ing. ;D

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Thanks, Des.

Thanks, Neon. Hopefully, your new bee hives in BK will attract and support more Bee Eaters and other big insect-eating birds - as well as produce lots of your yummy honey!

[paulbourdin]

Also notice the tiny white tips to the tails feathers, another feature of the Drongo Cuckoo.

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Thanks, Paul, for the confirmation of the ID.

By the way, the new BK Lodge should be ready for occupancy by Xmas.

[Juan Manuel C. Del Prado]

The Drongo Cuckoo is another addition to our list of birds at BK Valley.

[Ramon Quisumbing]

According to Wikipedia (assuming that is a reliable source), Surniculus lugubris has been split up into the Asian Drongo Cuckoo and the Philippine Drongo Cuckoo (Surniculus velutinus).

[Ely Teehankee]

I missed this thread. It is interesting to know that the Drongo Cuckoo can be seen in BK. I hope I get to see some of these nice birds when I go there.

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Come on down, Ely! The new BK Lodge is expected to open by Xmas - 4 new big luxury rooms.

[Nilo Arribas Jr.]

Nov 27, 2011 8:14:48 GMT Ramon Quisumbing said:

This reminds me of Romy's drongo in a "Sunsilk" pose

Congrats on the lifer Ramon.

[Lawrence Lo]

BK never runs out of exciting birds, this is one on my wish list places to go, and BK lodge opens great!

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Thanks, Nilo.

Lawrence, BK is only 2 hours drive from Makati. You are welcome to check it out.

[steve pryor]

Dec 2, 2011 19:58:43 GMT Ramon Quisumbing said:

According to Wikipedia (assuming that is a reliable source), Surniculus lugubris has been split up into the Asian Drongo Cuckoo and the Philippine Drongo Cuckoo (Surniculus velutinus).

The authoritativeness of the wiki depends on the thoroughness of the individual contributors and on their knowledge of all sources germane to a particular question.

Personally, I follow the taxonomy of Payne (2005) for this species, and the IOC also follows this interpretation. According to this viewpoint we have:

Surniculus velutinus (Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo) - Phils endemic
S. v. velutinus - Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Mindanao, Basilan
S. v. chalybaeus - Luzon, Mindoro, Negros
S. v. suluensis - Sulu Is.

and we have: (an additional split from Asian Drongo-Cuckoo)

Surniculus lugubris (Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo)
S. l. brachyurus - Balabac, Palawan, Calauit (in the Calamian group)

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Thanks for the very detailed info, Steve. I will modify my post accordingly.

[alainpascua]

I miss BK!

[Ramon Quisumbing]

Thanks, Alain.