by Ivan Sarenas
Congratulations for this cool find on Baguan Island!
Siberian Blue Robin
Luscinia cyane
female
Baguan Island
30 September 2015
On Baguan Island, the most “protected” of our 6 Turtle Islands came a-hopping on leaf litter this small bird that I could not then yet identify. It was as small as some Pipits but behaved like a Thrush. Having never seen any photo of this bird from anywhere in the Philippines and having just the scanned illustrations on the Kennedy guide to go by, I considerably concluded that I had seen a new bird for the Philippines. It was still around the next day and I had then started to look at the brief description of the Siberian Blue Robin because it could be that bird. The size was right but the terrible and incomplete illustration of the female did not really match, but thus far it was possible. While I wished it was a new bird, I still happily confirmed online after a few days that it was indeed that bird. I am not sure of how many records there are from the Philippines but I do not know of anyone that I know or know of that has seen this bird, so it must be pretty rare.