Of Antuyamis, Daeawidaw and Tagwatihot

Sunbirds are one of the commonest birds in rural Balete. Every garden serves as their favorite rendezvous and hunting ground for nectars and spiders. In my place, I've counted six pairs jockeying among the twigs and branches within the guava groves. The daring and the bold would even perched on our windowsills spying on cobs and house spiders squatting on our ceiling.

Popularly known as Antuyamis, I lately discovered that those Olive-backed sunbirds have cousins in the mountainous region of Balete. While camping out atop the Agtawagon sometime in late 90's with Roy (the Municipal Treasurer) and Dodo (our friend from that place), a copper-throated blue feathered sunbird introduced itself as it chased something that sought refuge on the perimeter of our camp. Compared to the Antuyamis, that one which the taga-ilaya (the mountain people) called, "Daeawidaw"was more of an acrobat and a little bit more shy. Even then, it lingered for a while in a safe distance displaying its shining magnificence before it disappeared into the thickets.

Then, in my latest visit to Benitinan last year, along the slippery path I was trying to navigate, I heard an almost familiar high pitch tweets (although shriller than that of the olive-back sunbird)among the Maganhop canopy. As I search the source, I saw a yellowish red-chested handsome sunbird diving into an Abaca plant grown underneath the shade of the Maganhop tree. Seeing it for the first time,I was excited to frame it in my camera. But perhaps I was slow or the bird was too agile and shy that I failed to catch it in the office-issued 5.1 mega-pixel Sony cybershot digital camera. Later in my interaction with the Benitinanons, I learned that what I saw was a Tagwatihot.