Brown Shrike (pakis-kis, tarat)

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Jonathan

Brown Shrike in the Philippines (© Matt Brady)

The Brown Shrike, known as “pakis-kis” or “tarat” in Tagalog, is a cute little bird with a chattering call, often seen perched on branches or farm buildings. The subspecies of Brown Shrike found in the Philippines, lucionensis, has a grey head, though Brown Shrikes from other parts of Asia have brown heads.

Brown Shrike in Singapore (© Steven Cheong)

Unlike the much larger Red-crested Malkoha or the sharp-billed Spotted Wood Kingfisher, the Brown Shrike is a little, gentle bird and couldn’t possibly be a hunter. Right?

Wait, what’s that?

brown shrike Lanius cristatus eating frog — Brown Shrike eating frog (© Johnny Wee)

It’s eating a frog!!! Surely that’s not normal, right? Wait, what’s that one doing?

Continue reading →

Red-tailed Green Ratsnake

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Jonathan

Gonyosoma oxycephalum, Red-tailed racer - Kaeng Krachan National Park. Photo by Thai National Parks, https://www.thainationalparks.com/kaeng-krachan-national-park — Red-tailed Green Ratsnake in Thailand (Thai National Parks / CC BY-SA)

One day I was hanging out at the Rizal Re-Creation Center when a friend came up to me.

“They killed a snake over by the swimming pool. You should have been there. Maybe you would have been able to stop it.”

It turned out that while some workers were trimming branches from trees, they had come across a large green snake in the tree. Reacting with the fear and aggression that many people show when they see snakes, the worker rushed away to get a machete, and then came back to cut the snake to pieces.

My friend took a photo of what was once a beautiful Red-tailed Green Ratsnake (sometimes called a Red-tailed Racer).

Continue reading →

Marbled Water Monitor

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Jonathan

A couple of years ago the director of Sakahang Lilok asked me to give a talk on snakes and farming. The night before the event I went looking around the farm for a snake to use in the demonstration. Next to the farm’s main building I lifted the cover to a rain collection drain, and instead of seeing a snake, I found a young water monitor!!!

Continue reading →

Common Puddle Frog

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Jonathan

Rainy season comes and the firmament opens. Puddles and pools form in every low spot. From the puddles you might hear soft noises somewhere between a duck quacking and a person sawing wood. And if you track down the source of the sounds, you will see Common Puddle Frogs merrily floating.

Common Puddle Frog Occidozyga laevis Rizal Laguna Philippines Manila — Common Puddle Frog at the Rizal ReCreation Center

Continue reading →

Brown-breasted Kingfisher

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Jonathan

“pe-pe-pe-pe-pe-pe-pe!”

You might hear the Brown-breasted Kingfisher’s loud stuttering whistle before you see it. This is one of the largest kingfishers around Lilok Farm and it isn’t a bird that cares too much about hiding – it likes to announce its presence!

The Brown-breasted Kingfisher, like the Spotted Wood Kingfisher we talked about before, is a member of the tree kingfisher group. That means that it likes to sit in trees and other high places, whether they are near water or not. However, unlike the Spotted Wood Kingfisher it is still most often associated with water, so the river down below Sakahong Lilok is the best place to find it.

Brown-breasted Kingfisher near the river at Lilok Farm

But they might show up along the road, on top of a building, looking out over a field, or any other spot where they have a nice perch to sit on and space to hunt for food.

Continue reading →

Animals of Tanay

Wildlife of Lilok Farm and surrounding areas

Brown Shrike (pakis-kis, tarat)

Red-tailed Green Ratsnake

Marbled Water Monitor

Common Puddle Frog

Brown-breasted Kingfisher

“pe-pe-pe-pe-pe-pe-pe!”