Philippines Birding Tours
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The Republic of the Philippines (“the Philippines” hereafter) is an archipelagic country consisting of 7,641 islands spread over 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of western Pacific Ocean, located in Southeast Asia. Other archipelagic countries include Indonesia, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea. The Philippines share complicated maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Palau to the east, Indonesia to the south, Malaysia to the southwest, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest. The Philippines are broadly classified into three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Negritos are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of the archipelago and there then appears to have been several waves of Austronesian people. Spain colonized the islands and in 1543 they were named Las Islas Filipinas (in honor of Philip II of Spain – who would become the King of Spain in 1556). They settled from 1565 and the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. Spain eventually ceded the archipelago to the United States in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. The Philippines was invaded by Japan during World War Two but following liberation was granted independence in 1946.
The Philippines is a megadiverse country and is one of the world’s most biodiverse hotspots. The climate is tropical, characterized by high temperatures, high humidity, and high rainfall. Much of the archipelago is covered by many rugged mountains, including the highest of them all, Mount Apo at 9,692 feet (2,954 meters).