Chasing the Elusive Siloy

 This was taken last October 29 for a support on our feature story about Alcoy.

We traveled to Alcoy one fine morning just to catch this little black bird called Siloy--a rare endangered specie. It is popularly known as Black Shama. Thanks to Nug-as Forest, these birds are thriving and under the watchful eye of forest rangers that were stationed in it. They have a house along the road where one can ask permission to get inside the forest.

We waited for more than an hour and relocated several times but our efforts were paid off when we finally found one. Thanks to our guide who can mimic the bird's sound,  I was able to take a few shots. But the bird was located in a branch way, way, way above us. The 70-200mm can't reach that far and so I just contend myself with admiring it from afar.

Sa mga ganahan makakitag tinuod nga Siloy, just coordinate with the local government and they will be more than willing to accomodate you and your group. But most of those who visit here are those ornithologists, students and wildlife enthusiasts. One can also set-up a camp in the forest's outskirts.

Interview with one of the forest rangers

First stop...wala gihapon.

After 45 minutes

The Team. Yep, human sa taas nga lakaw ug pungko2x kay we found one. 

We were told that when GMA was there when they featured the bird, they stayed for days to capture the bird in its natural habitat. Our guide said we were lucky, we only stayed for hours and one Siloy took pity on us. Hahahahahaha