Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/rare-dwarf-kingfisher-bird-photographed-for-first-time/

You’d have to look back quite a few decades to find a time when pioneers were roaming through areas that were vastly unknown. Those individuals would often draw pictures of what they found and amaze people when they got back to civilization.

These days, we may not be pioneers in that sense, but we do have opportunities to make discoveries. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you might just be surprised by what you are able to find or hear about others’ findings.

The South Philippine dwarf kingfisher was discovered in 1890. Most people don’t realize this, but there are more than 255 unique bird species in that country! The tiniest species of kingfisher is the South Philippine dwarf kingfisher. Known as the mindanensis, it is quite small but it is the high-pitched, insectlike unique call that sets it apart.

These birds may be tiny but they move quickly and are colorful. Because of how quickly they move and how small they are, they are not photographed very often.

In fact, they are hard to see with the eye! An eye surgeon and field biologist, Dr. Miguel David De Leon managed to capture the bird for the 1st time in 130 years on film.

It took 10 years of searching for this Filipino field biologist and his team to learn more about the species. They now know that the dwarf Kingfisher’s eat small invertebrate creatures and are cavity nesters.

The world is a funny and beautiful place.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog