I marvelled at the flowers of this tree, and I stopped to take a shot. I didnt realize that, among clusters and clusters of its flowers, a flock of Olive-backed sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis), Tamsi in the vernacular, swarmed around for the nectar in chaotic synchrony. I wanted to take a shot of the flock but, alas, the birds were in confusing flights around. But perches every here and there were fine. It had been a long while since I last took shots of the species. This time, it was a sweet and vibrant harmony of bird and flower, a feast to the eye. And what an accessible place to spot this spectacle--in front of Quezon Hall.
The Olive-backed Sunbird ranges in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, the male with the blue on the breast. Its known diet includes insects, small spiders and butterflies, small fruits, and nectar from flowers. The bird forages alone or in pairs or groups, and hover-gleans for insects and in front of spider webs. Finding them on the grounds of Quezon Hall was a sweet encounter with the beauty of ecological harmony, which the University has maintained through its more than a hundred years of co-existing with nature. With the Nikon D850, Nikkor 200-500 mm. Handheld. Quezon City, November 19, 2021.
