Birds of Samar, Philippines

My Mom is from the island of Samar. Which is a large island in the central portion of the Philippines.  I have been back to her hometown, near Calbayog City, and each time I've gone, I look for birds.  I have to say, the first time I went in 2001 when I was 16 years old, the habitat of the surrounding neighborhood and farmland was different.  There was less trees, it was wetter, and hunting of the wild birds was a common sight (I would often see kids carrying slingshots walking along the road). During 2001 I did see a lot more waterbirds than this time.  More kingfishers, different types of herons and egrets, ducks, and crakes.  The past two times I've gone its been significantly drier, with no water in the rice fields; each time I've gone is in May.  This last trip I noticed a lot more birds than before.  I don't know if its because Im a better bird-watcher or because many of the trees are maturing, areas of abandoned farmland as the younger generation has less interest in farming and spend more time using their phones (which is not a bad thing). Im definitely happier seeing kids on Snapchat than using Slingshots!

This last trip I saw a lot wider variety of birds: whistle ducks, large flocks of great egrets, large-billed crows, various species of doves, glossy starlings, shorebirds, terns, a parrot, 3 species of swifts, pacific swallows, and a lot of other colorful small birds.

I decided to carve three types of birds from this trip.  All seen around my Mom's house.

Olive-backed Sunbird - Cinnyris jugularis
The first I saw everyday. Its a colorful active bird much like the hummingbirds back home. It sings a lot and moves around the fruit trees looking for nectar, I mostly saw it in coconut palms and mangos.

Red-keeled Flowerpecker - Dicaeum australe
I saw this bird a few times, singing from the tops of trees, It had a striking and clean black and white pattern with a bright red spot on its belly.

Pygmy Swiftlet - Collocalia troglodytes
This bird was not as common. I would see it with the much more abundant Glossy Swiftlet. It was easy to spot though, because of the white spot around the rump. I was bird watching from the roof top so it would be at eye level or below as it flew through an open area of trees and over the rice field. I didn't get a picture of this little bird. I have a terrible time photographing swifts.