South Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher (Ceyx mindanensis)
This might be my favorite bird of all time. Its plumage is basically a homage to my favorite color palette. However, I’ll likely never see one of these in person and not just because the Philippines is on the other side of the planet. The South Philippine dwarf kingfisher is one of the hardest birds to observe in the world. It’s tiny and can move through the forest quite quickly. The bird is also threatened by deforestation and is undergoing “rapid population decline.”
The photo above, taken in March 2020, is the only known photo of a baby South Philippine dwarf kingfisher. The bird was only about three weeks old when biologist and birder Miguel De Leon snapped this shot.
