Palawan Birdwing

     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 fly along rivers and forest edges and can sometimes be seen sipping fluids from the moist sand to get nutrients on the riverbeds, mangrove edges or areas with brackish waters. Photographing this butterfly in the wild is usually not easy and most photographers prefer to photograph them at puddling sites. There are several good birdwing puddling sites in Simpokan, Sabang and Napsan, but the most known sites are in Olangoan and Langogan. These are two of the most favorite birdwing spotting site in Palawan main land.