Birds

It was in 1702 (nearly 200 years after Magellan landed in Homonhon island in Samar which marked the Spanish colonization of the Philippines), that the first published account on Philippine birds was made by a Czech Jesuit missionary and botanist named Georg Joseph Kamel.  His account entitled Observationes de Avibus Philippensibus published in London which was written in Latin described some 71 kinds of birds which interestingly includes hawks, ducks, egrets, kingfisher, owls and hornbills to name a few (eBON, 2014).  Latter publications include a more detailed descriptions of Philippine birds from specimens and actual collections from expeditions describing not only the species but also their habitats.  Significantly, naming species could have not been more comprehensive, rather, during the time of Linnaeus (1735) where the method of binomial nomenclature was used as a formal system of naming species of living things vis a vis the scientific name in which the very same rule still applies today. 

In the year 2000 and after more than 20 years of research on Philippine birds, Dr. Robert S. Kennedy (and co-authors) finally completed the book entitled “A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines” which was formally launched at the National Museum in 2003.  This guide book which consist of 572 species and 185 endemics provide the most comprehensive account on Philippine birds at that time.  Even today, this book serves as a significant reference for many researchers and bird enthusiasts.