Leaves, twigs, and barks that have fallen to the ground make up leaf litter, and it's home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Most of the tiny animals found in the leaf litter are invertebrates. They are important food source for toads, skinks, and other small amphibians and reptiles that rely on the shelter and moisture provided by the leaf litter. One of the many creatures living in the leaf litter habitats of Palawan is the Palawan Sun Skink ( Eutropis sahulinghangganan ), a newly described species of skink endemic to Palawan. The name Eutropis sahulinghangganan derives from the Tagalog "sa huling" or "sa huli ng" (meaning in the last), and "hangganan" (meaning frontier). Palawan Sun Skink The Palawan Sun Skink inhabits thick coastal forests, mangroves, as well as secondary forests and primary forests up in the mountains. I have seen this skink near the peak of Mount Beaufort at elevations of around 1000 masl, but the population of thi
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.
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 rattling staccato, the trill
usually last for about 4 seconds and repeated several times for minute.
Female Blue Paradise Flycatcher |