The Philippines is home to an incredible diversity of bird species. With over 600 species recorded, it ranks among the most bird-rich countries in the world. However, one iconic group that is conspicuously absent from the Philippine avifauna is the hummingbirds.
Hummingbirds are unique for being the smallest birds in the world and having the ability to hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings. They are restricted to the Americas, where over 300 species occur from Alaska down to southern Chile. So with the Philippines located on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles away from the Americas, it is not surprising that no native hummingbirds are found there.
But could vagrant individuals ever reach Philippine shores and potentially establish populations? Below we examine this question more closely by looking at the biology and distribution of hummingbirds, records of vagrancy in birds, and any evidence of hummingbirds in the Philippines specifically.
Are Hummingbirds Capable of Reaching the Philippines?
With their small size and high metabolism, hummingbirds are adapted for life in the tropics and subtropics. They have limited reserves to power their hovering flight, meaning they need a constant supply of nectar. This reliance on frequent feeding restricts most hummingbird species from embarking on long overseas journeys. The vast majority remain in their resident ranges or migrate relatively short distances seasonally within the Americas.
However, vagrancy is not completely unknown in hummingbirds. There are records of individuals turning up far outside their normal ranges, including:
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird reaching Europe multiple times
- Rufous Hummingbird reaching Europe and Asia
- Costa’s Hummingbird reaching the Bering Sea islands
- Broad-tailed Hummingbird reaching the Midway Atoll in the Pacific
The most astonishing vagrant was a Rufous Hummingbird that made a non-stop transoceanic flight of over 5,000 km from Alaska to the Chukchi Peninsula in Russia in 2021. This demonstrates that on extremely rare occasions, hummingbirds are physically capable of traversing huge ocean distances between continents. Weather patterns like storms and strong winds can accidentally blow them off course.
Could such winds theoretically carry a vagrant hummingbird all the way from the Americas to the Philippines across the Pacific? At over 12,000 km this would be double the distance of the previous longest recorded hummingbird vagrancy. While not impossible, the chances are extremely slim. Direct vagrancy over such huge distances has not been recorded in any small landbird species.
Are there any Historical Records of Hummingbirds in the Philippines?
There are no authenticated historical records of hummingbirds occurring in the Philippines. Neither written accounts from the age of Western exploration beginning in the 16th century nor specimens in museums provide any concrete evidence.
Local folklore mentions a mystical creature called the “alibangbang” that is incredibly small, has a long bill, and can fly backwards. Some have speculated that this might represent an indigenous memory of hummingbirds. But this is controversial since there is no physical proof like fossils or specimens. Most modern ornithologists regard such folklore as myth.
During the era when the Philippines was part of the Spanish Empire, European naturalists resided there and made biological collections. If hummingbirds existed, they likely would have obtained specimens. The absence of any in museums suggests hummingbirds were not present historically.
In more recent times, there are likewise no credible observations that would substantiate hummingbirds in the Philippines. No photographs, videos, sound recordings, or physical evidence like feathers have been presented. Questionable sight reports are more easily explained by misidentification or confusion with the many small native Philippine sunbirds and flowerpeckers.
Could Hummingbirds Be Introduced and Survive in the Philippines?
Hypothetically, it is possible that hummingbirds could be intentionally or accidentally introduced by humans to the Philippines and potentially establish breeding populations there. In fact, hummingbirds have been introduced to some areas far outside their native range, such as Hawaii.
Several factors suggest that the Philippines has suitable habitat for hummingbirds:
- Warm tropical climate
- Year-round availability of flowers for nectar
- Forest habitats similar to those used by hummingbirds in the Americas
- Lack of ecologically similar native competitors like sunbirds that could exclude hummingbirds
However, there are also limitations that cast doubt on whether introduced hummingbirds could thrive in the Philippines, including:
- Geographic isolation from source populations in the Americas would limit genetic diversity
- Diseases like avian malaria that are prevalent in the Philippines but absent from the Americas could hamper hummingbird survival
- Flower shapes in Asian orchids and other plants may not match hummingbird-pollinated flowers in the Americas
- Hummingbird adaptations like hover-feeding are tuned to flowers in their ancestral ranges
Overall the consensus view is that while hummingbirds might persist for a short time if introduced to the Philippines, it is unlikely they could establish widely distributed, self-sustaining populations there. The barriers of geographic isolation, disease risks, lack of coevolution with plants, and competition from native nectar-feeders present major hurdles.
Conclusions
In summary, there is currently no evidence that hummingbirds are present or have ever naturally occurred in the Philippines. A few key points:
- Hummingbirds are restricted to the Americas with only rare vagrancy outside this core range
- No historical records substantiate the existence of Philippine hummingbirds
- Unconfirmed modern sight reports are best explained as misidentification or error
- While introduction is hypothetically possible, multiple factors suggest hummingbirds are unlikely to thrive in the Philippines
So while we cannot completely rule out a vagrant hummingbird one day reaching Philippine shores, the probability is extremely low. For now hummingbirds remain on the non-existent list of Philippine birds rather than the country’s rich avifauna. Those hoping to see these flying jewels will need to venture to the Western Hemisphere. But the Philippines does offer plenty of other unique and spectacular bird species for local and visiting birdwatchers to enjoy.
