World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

DIVERSITY OF BIRDS IN THE MOIST LOWLAND FOREST OF BUNGUIAO AND DULIAN (UPPER BUNGUIAO), ZAMBOANGA CITY, PHILIPPINES

Richard C. Rojas* and Roldan T. Echem

ABSTRACT

In the Philippines, nine (9) families of birds are extremely threatened and the Philippine Eagle is one of the critically endangered birds having 400 pairs left in the wild. Anthropogenic activities, like deforestation and massive indiscriminate hunting, have contributed much to the decline of bird diversity. Mitigating measures are particularly crucial for the survival of the Philippine bird species. In this study, diversity and abundance of birds were assessed. This study sought to identify, classify and determine the density of birds in the moist lowland forest of Bunguiao and Dulian (Upper Bunguiao), Zamboanga City. The study site measures a total of 3,050 meters in which the Bolong River served as the line transect. Survey method and opportunistic bird sighting technique were employed in the study for the duration of three (3) days, with seven (7) hours of sampling a day. Morphological characteristics (head, bill, plumage and tarsus) were used to identify and classify each species. A total of seven (7) species of birds were found in the study site with a total of 114 individuals. The Palawan flowerpecker (Prionochilus plateni) has the highest density (0.0138/meter) while the Lowland white-eye (Zosterops meyeni) has the lowest density (0.0003/meter). Six (6) of the identified bird species are endemic to the Philippines. The IUCN assessment of conservation status shows that six (6) of the identified birds are Least Concern while the Southern silvery kingfisher (Ceyx argentatus) is a Near Threatened species.

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