With the rampant habitat destruction of wildlife in the Philippines, the avifauna is the most affected as endemism in the archipelago is so high. Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte potentially harbors several Mindanao threatened endemic species in its Siocon Resource Reserve, a patch of secondary mature lowland forest as well as in Mangrove Areas. Opportunistic sampling was employed using the point method to primarily document the avifauna, specifically in the mangrove areas of Barangay Manaol and Barangay A.L Micubo. A total of thirty-four (34) birds (avifauna) were identified and classified, where twenty-five of them were common to the two sites. These are Rhipidura nigritorquis, Cinnyris jugularis, Lalage nigra, Megalurus palustris, Passer montanus, Gerygone sulphurea, Artamus leucorynchus, Pycnonotus goiaver, Oriolus chinensis, Hirundo tahitica, Orthotomus castaneiceps, Aplonis panayensis, Lonchura atracapilla, Coryusv macrohynchos, Butorides striata, Egretta garzetta, Ardeola speciosa, Ardea alba, Ixobrychus sinensis, Pluvialis fulva, Himantopus himantopus, Sterna hirundo, Actilis hypoleucos, Anas luzonica, Dendrocygna arcuata, Geopelia striata, Spolopelia chinensis, Todiramphus chloris, Merops philippinus, Pandion haliaetus, Haliastur indus, Gallinula chloropus, Tachybaptus ruficolis, and Centropus viridis. Out of these, three species were endemic to the Philippines (O. castanneiceps, C. viridis, A. luzonica), the latter is also considered a threatened species. This baseline data on avifauna on mangrove forests is necessary for the framework of conservation policy in the area.

The post Avian species in Selected Mangrove Areas in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines appeared first on International Network for Natural Sciences | Research Journal.