I’ve been seeing my friend Peter’s posts about the Colasisi (Philippine Hanging Parrot) that frequent his home which he affectionately coined as “his Colasisi.” His
photos of these Philippine endemic were amazing, their colors highlighted in
each capture.
When we birded with Peter in Prof Tirso’s home in Los Banos,
Djop and I got an invitation to come see his Colasisi in Quezon City when we
had some free time. We were lucky that that particular Monday was a holiday and
we did, in fact, have some free time!
We made an early morning appointment to drop by Peter’s and
check out the flowering tree the Colasisis fed on. It was a very rainy Monday
morning when we drove back to Quezon City from the south. As we had our
breakfast at McDonald’s we messaged Peter and said that we’d cancel if the rain
didn’t let up. But as we were finishing our coffee, the rain stopped and the
skies cleared! Colasisi, here we come!
 |
| This is one of the flowering trees the Colasisi feeds on |
 |
| And these are the flowers they eat! |
Peter met us by the gate and we followed him to the park. He
pointed out the flowering trees to us and soon after we approached them, a
Colasisi flew in! It perched on a high branch but it was backlit so we couldn’t
take decent photos! Peter was calm and told us not to worry as the Colasisi
would come down to lower perches to feed on the flowers, unmindful of people.
True enough, the parrot flew to the smaller tree and started
feeding on the yellow flowers. It gave us great views and stayed quite a while.
 |
| Colasisi |
 |
| It loved the yellow flowers! |
It flew off to a high tree where we could see another
Colasisi with it. There were at least 3 Colasisi that morning we were there,
and they would come to feed on the flowers constantly. Around us, a pair of
Collared Kingfishers called noisily and some Philippine Pied Fantails flew
around in the shade of the trees. Some Golden-bellied Gerygones also made appearances
and a flock of egrets flew overhead.
 |
| True to its name - Philippine Hanging Parrot! |
Here is a video of the Colasisi as it fed on the flowers =) (Watch in HD!)
Soon the rain clouds crept in and we said our goodbyes and
thank yous to Peter before the rain fell. How wonderful to have green
spaces in the middle of the city that serve as the home and feeding ground for
birds. And for my own selfish reasons, how wonderful to have bird-y areas such
as Peter’s that allow for mega dude birding and super easy photo opportunities 😉
 |
| Thank you again for having us, Peter! 😊 |
