Palawan Wild Frontier

Common name: Common Posy  Scientific name: Drupadia ravindra ravindrina Staudinger 1889      This species is the most beautiful occurring member of the genus Drupadia in Palawan. Typically found flying year round, both in wide areas with bushes and lowland shaded forest. It commonly settles on foliage at a height of 1 foot to 3 meters with its wings folded upright or slightly apart. This species is not as skittish as most hairstreaks and often easily photographed. The  Drupadia ravindra ravindrina can be found only in Palawan and its northern islands (Calamian and Dumaran). Eooxylides tharis tharisides Common name: Branded Imperial  Scientific name: Eooxylides tharis tharisides Fruhstorfer, 1904      This butterfly is certainly one of the most attractive hairstreaks flying in Palawan. It has brilliant orange underside coloration, very distinctive markings, and extraordinarily twisted long tails. This species is usually found in early second growths, forest edges

      Cyrtodactylus redimiculus (King, 1962) is a member of the diverse genus of Asian geckos called the bent-toed geckos or bow-fingered geckos. The C. redimiculus is endemic to Palawan where it's commonly known as the Palawan Bent-toed Gecko. Palawan Bent-toed Gecko     This attractive gecko has slender digits that lack expanded pads. The fingers and toes are well adapted for gripping on tree bark and rough surfaces. It has large dark brown eyes that have vertical pupils. Palawan Bent-toed Gecko     Unlike most geckoes in Palawan, this species is kinda hard to find. I have seen only a few individuals in different locations during my long years of mountain hiking around Palawan. Some sightings were above 500 masl close to a rocky stream, and some in a mossy forest above 1100 masl. This bent-toed gecko likes to hide inside rock crevasses, logs, and tree hallows during the day and hunts for food close to the ground or on the forest floor at night. A juvenile Palawan Bent-toed G

     The Blue Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone cyanescens (Sharpe, 1877) is a member of the family Monarchidae endemic to Palawan group of islands. This colorful bird is a lowland species inhabiting Palawan mangroves, second growths and primary forests on the foothills. It is mainly found in the understory of forest and undergrowth around 10 to 20 meters from the ground. It is rarely seen on top of tall trees. This species has shown an ability to endure habitat modification and is often seen in many disturbed habitats and tree plantations. Female Blue Paradise Flycatcher      The males, measuring about 216 millimeters, are more colorful and larger than females. Adult males are mostly grayish blue except for the flight feathers and the underside of the tail, which are black. The females differ from being a bit smaller and having grey-brown back, rump and tail. The wings are rufous brown and the breast is pale blue-gray grading to white belly. The call is a loud r

     The Blunt-headed Slug Snake, Aplopeltura boa (Boie, 1828) is a small, arboreal and nocturnal member of Pareatidae that can be found in the forests of Palawan. Like many pareids, this snake is known to feed on slugs and snails and it can extract the meat of the snail without breaking the shell. They have asymmetrical lower jaws that allow them to pry the soft bodies of snails from their spiral shells. This slow moving snake is not particularly colorful, but it is beautiful with all the markings on its short blunt head and big eyes. Blunt-headed Slug Snake      The Blunt-headed Slug Snake, though uncommon, is widely distributed in the province of Palawan. This species is a non-venomous snake inhabiting both lowland and montane moist forests and is typically found perched on low vegetation. It usually flees when disturbed or threatened, but sometimes it will coil up tight into a cylindrical shape, keeping its head hidden in the coils. This snake also occurs

Black-headed Bulbul       Pycnonotus atriceps atriceps (Temminck, 1822) or the Black-headed Bulbul is one of the most beautiful birds that can be found in Palawan. It is a small member of the bulbul family of passerine birds measuring about 171 mm in length. It has mainly olive-yellow plumage and a black head with a purplish or bluish gloss. The tail is olive-yellow with broad black subterminal band and tipped with yellow. The bill and legs are black, the eyes are cobalt-blue. Black-headed Bulbul     The Black-headed Bulbul distribution is widespread in Palawan mainland. It is occurring from mangrove areas up to the mountain foothills, especially near rivers and places with low trees or clearings. It can be found in open areas with bushes, early second growths, mangrove edges, and pockets of trees around agricultural areas where it flies and feeds singly, in flocks or mixed groups. It is very active in the morning and usually sits out on exposed tree branches. Black-headed Bulbul    

     The Philippine Long-tailed Macaque ( Macaca fascicularis philippensis ) is endemic to the Philippines where it is found in all major Philippine group of islands. Their distribution in Palawan, both in location and elevation is fairly wide. They occur in mangrove areas, second growth forests in the lowland up to some of the highest mountain peaks in the province. However, it is now listed as Near Threatened because of population decline due to hunting and habitat loss. They are adaptable to some degree in modified habitat and can inhabit disturbed forests near settlements, and this makes them vulnerable to hunting or trapping. The Philippine Long-tailed Macaque in Palawan is still regarded as an agricultural pest and hunted or trapped as bushmeat. Philippine Long-tailed Macaque      Long-tailed macaques are named for their extraordinary long tail that is usually longer than their body. These macaques have reddish-brown coat, the males are much taller and heavier than t

     Palawan is known for many interesting butterflies, but when it comes to size and grandeur, one species stands out from the rest. The Trogonoptera trojana (Honrath, 1886) or Palawan Birdwing is one of the largest and most beautiful butterflies in Palawan. It has an impressive wingspan of about 18-19 centimeters, making it among one of the largest butterflies in the world. It is endemic to Palawan and occuring on its few surrounding islands. Although more copious in population around Cleopatra’s Needle area compared to other sites in central Palawan, it can be seen in other mountain ranges like Pulgar Range, Stavely Range, Mt. Beaufort, around Mount Salakot area and south-west of Central Peak where it flies year round. Male Palawan Birdwing      The Palawan Birdwing can be found flying over forested mountain slopes, second growth forests, as well as beach coasts in places where it occurs. Adult females are often seen flying on top of the forests, males often f

     Psammodynastes pulverulentus  pulverulentus  (Boie, 1827) or the Common Mock Viper is another interesting species of snake that can be found in Palawan. A mock viper is a small, terrestrial snake belonging to the Colubridae family and is known all over Southeast Asia. It is found in a wide range of elevations in Palawan from lowland second growth forest to mountain slopes and ridges where it is active during night and day. It prefers the ground rather than trees and can oftentimes be seen near streams and rivers where it hunts for small lizards and frogs. This species is ovoviparous, the embryos develop inside the eggs which remain inside the mother where they hatch. Common Mock Viper     The mock viper got its common name from morphologically similar Malayan pit vipers, a member of the Viperidae renowned for their potent venom. Protective mimicry is common among herps and there are harmless species that have evolved to fool predators by mimicking inedible,

     The Two-lined Coral Snake ( Calliophis bilineatus ) is a small, brightly colored venomous snake of the family Elapidae. It is endemic to Palawan and several of its smaller islands adjacent to mainland. This snake occurs on a wide range of elevation from second growth forest in sea level to mossy forests high up in the mountains where it is largely active during the day. I have been doing night spotting and photography for many years, but I have not seen one during nighttime. This snake spend most of its time burrowed underground, under stacks of woods and leaf piles or cavities under rocks. It has a unique defense behavior compared to other venomous snakes in Palawan. It usually flees when threatened, but when cornered, it will flip on its back and play dead. Other technique to fool attackers is by hiding its head while raising and flicking its red tails. The predator usually finds the colorful moving tail an irresistible target and would go for it, leaving the true

     The genus Conlephasma was born and rose to fame when a unique stick insect discovered at Mount Halcon in the island of Mindoro was distinguished as new to science and allocated a new genus. The genus was named after Oskar Conle, an entomologist who discovered the unique stick insect known today as Conlephasma enigma . It is a species of colorful wingless phasmid believed to be ground dwelling and has the ability to release a potent defensive spray from glands located behind its head to deter predators. This unique phasmid species was officially described by Marco Gottardo and Philipp Heller in 2012.      Many were awed when this unusual finding was released to the public. Many new species of insects from remote locations are described every year, but it’s an unusual case when a genus and a single species was described at the same time. It has drawn massive public attentions, not just in the Philippines, but also from other countries. Some journalists in the coun

      The Cacatua haematuropygia (Müller, 1776) or the Philippine Cockatoo is the only species of cockatoo in the Philippines. It is one of the most extra-ordinary birds in Palawan and probably the one closest to the brink of extinction in the province. It has white plumage, helmet crest and red undertail coverts tipped with yellowish-white undertail. The chest and stomach are all white, but the underwings are pale yellow. It is the largest in all existing Psittacine members in Palawan, measuring 8.6 inches in wingspan and a few centimeters over 12 inches long. Philippine Cockatoo       The Philippine Cockatoo, also called Red-vented Cockatoo is a social species which flies and feeds in large flocks, but the pairs live apart from the flock during the mating season. They lay two or three eggs in nest inside tree cavities, often reusing the same nesting tree year after year. The voice are loud and harsh, this bird can make characteristic bleating calls, as well as

     The Palawan Stream Frog or  Culion Frog, Pulchrana moellendorffi (Boettger, 1893) is an endemic species of amphibian currently listed as Least Concern because of its presumed large population and wide distribution in Palawan. However, like most species that always requires forest cover, this endemic amphibian is being threatened by its slowly declining habitat mostly due to agricultural and urban development. It used to be common where it occurs, but their declining numbers in the lowland area is noticeable especially on the eastern side of the mainland where farming is extensive. Palawan Stream Frog       This species is also known to inhabit disturbed rivers in lowland forests and low intensity agricultural areas. However, the uncontrolled lowland deforestation and the pollution of streams and rivers due to agricultural effluents is slowly pushing this species deeper in the foothills and mountain slopes where the majority is now sharing the same type of habit