Tamsi - Garden Songbird of Philippines - Kahibalo Foundation
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Tamsi. The Songbird of the Philippines

The Philippines is a biodiversity hotspot and a home for over 750 bird species. This number includes 258 endemic species (you remember that ‘endemic’ means that it only occurs in a certain place?). For a comparison, it is toppling China’s (67 endemics) or India’s (75 endemics) records by more than three-fold. In fact… do you know what rank does the Philippines have in terms of bird endemism? FOURTH! It is a result of different climate, forest, soil and food types found across the archipelago. We want to tell you about one of these animals today – here’s the Garden Songbird of Philippines, locally known as Tamsi!

Not a stranger to Asia-Pacific region

One of the bird species continuously flapped their existence in the Philippines. We are talking about the garden sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis) which is locally known as Tamsi. This species is widely distributed around the country, except for Palawan. It is worth noting that it is not endemic to the country though – we can find them across South-East Asia, Australia and Oceania. There are, however, three subspecies that are described for the Philippines. Why is it so widely distributed? Garden sunbirds are flexible and can adapt to different environments. They live in mangroves and other forests, grasslands and even in residential areas. And this is where we were able to admire it. The garden sunbird built its nest and was raising its young on our temporary house during fieldwork!

Extravagant appearance

Garden songbirds are small – they are around 10 cm in size and weigh between 6 to 12 grams! These small birds are also true head-turners. They can easily be distinguished from other species due to their vibrant flashy body colors. Morphologically, males are different than females (very common in birds). Males have a glossy black throat and breast with yellow borders around their pectoral tufts. On the other hand, females have an olive back and yellow pigmentation on their underparts. Both sexes possess a dark brown eye and a long downward-curved bill. The latter is beneficial for their diet and feeding behaviours. 

The garden sunbird gives a fast, jumbled series of whistles and squeaks often heard as a rising “dweet”. This is why they are often mistakenly taken for hummingbirds when in fact they are songbirds. Hummingbirds flap their wings in a quick movement creating the humming sound. Conversely, songbirds produce their sounds through their syrinx. It is a specialized organ where the air-flows passing through it causes a vibration on the membranes and cartilages at the intersection of the tubes generating a sound.

Tamsi – flexibility is the key

The garden sunbird belongs to the family Nectariniidae. As the family name suggests, these birds are nectarivores, primarily feeding on plants’ nectars. They hoover around the branches or suspend from flowers while consuming nectar using its long, downward-curving bill. Even though they are flashy and bright in appearance, don’t get confused. They are very fast and fickle when hunting for food.

Why hunting for food if they are nectarivores? Indeed, these birds are flexible not only in choosing their habitat, but also in their diet. Garden sunbirds utilize a rapid and direct flight to capture animals. Besides nectars, garden sunbirds also feed on insects and spiders. They need this dietary expansion to meet the nutritional demands of their growing chicks.

For now they are safe

The species has its breeding season around May and June. Females start to sew their hanging nests using various materials around the nesting area by then. These can be really diverse: grass, cotton, moss, lichens, leaf fragments as well as spider webs, lined with bark or feathers. The nests are of oval shape with the entrance on the side. They are secure cradle spaces to nurture their offspring. 

As a result of garden sunbirds living closely along residential places, they are prone to various threats. Yet, the IUCN Red List still categorizes the species as Least Concern, suggesting a stable population. This is largely to the fact that they are widely distributed across the region. Proper conservation practices are still encouraged though. It is better to act preventatively when there are many birds, than curatively when we have limited options. 


Author: Wendy Betonio (USC’s Student)

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