How’s that for a catchy title?

Before anyone accuses me of being lewd, this is simply about a couple of birds I had the luck to shoot pictures of earlier this week.

According to Birdwatch.ph (the official website of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines or WBCP), this bird with distinctive black and yellow plumage is an elegant tit (that’s its name, I kid you not).

This little cutie on the other hand is, I believe, a lowland white-eye, which is characterized by the conspicuous ring of white around its eyes, yellowish green upper parts, and whitish lower breast and belly. But, hey, since I’m no ornithologist, it could also be either an Everett’s white-eye or a mountain white-eye, both also from the family Zosteropidae. (That last link has a fantastic pic by WBCP member and noted Philippine wild bird photographer Romy Ocon. You should really check out his wonderful galleries at PBase.)

Right here is probably where I should insert some more facts and data I’ve culled about these birds but since I’m too lazy to do that, the next best thing is to provide a link or two. Here’s what Wikipedia has on Periparus elegans and an interesting NatGeo article reporting that white-eyes evolve at a faster rate than any other known bird.

And my apologies in advance, but I just couldn’t resist the caption for this last picture:

“This is the ass of an elegant tit.”

(If you’re wondering where these pictures were taken, that’s a santol tree in the backyard of my brother’s house, the top of which is right beside the balcony outside our bedroom. Convenient, huh? )

Posted in: Better Earth, Photo Gallery | | February 2009