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Some extinct birds in the University of the Philippines (UP) and nearby areas


These birds once identified the sports teams and their ideals. Some still survive like Ateneo's Blue Eagle ( a stuffed real one is supposed to be in the university's Biology museum) and are in no danger of extirpation no matter how many Green Archers try to shoot it down. Some unfortunately are extinct or endangered three of them are in UP.


Here is a list of birds that are gone and are extinct or in the process of being one. The UP has to institute conservation measures, ASAP!


1) University of the Philippines parrot (Parrotus garrulous tibak)

In the 1960s my uncles and aunts (who were studying at UP went to the UAAP games with the UP Parrot on their jackets and notebooks). The parrot became endangered in the 1970s and probably went extinct right after the EDSA revolution. It was last spotted being sold at the Miranda and Sons bookstore at the Dilimall a.k.a Shopping Center in the late 1980s. I tried to Google for an image and couldn't find any. Perhaps President Roman can have it cloned for the UP Centennial! The parrot is believed to have evolved from the critically endangered UP Eagle that still sits near the entrance of the Main Library. The species is iconic of a species of student that were once the dominant kind but are now ideologically endangered and may go extinct within the next semester or so , the tibaks!

2) UP eagle (Aquila imperialismus dilimanensis)

The eagle is critically endangered and had its glory days during the Empire Days. An introduced species during the American colonial period, it became predominant. With the anti-imperialist angst of the last 40 years or so, the eagle lost its habitat and has its last roost in Quezon and Gonzales halls. It has received protection from the Philippine Intellectual Property Office as the official bird of the University.


3) The Oblation "bird". (incertae sedis)

Well it failed to hatch, show itself and fly after UP President Jorge Bocobo in 1939 ordered that a fig leaf be placed on top of it, thereby imprisoning it forever. The scence was recently immortalized in the recent UP centennial extravaganza "Pamantasang Hirang". Liberals believe that unless the bird is set free, the university will never be free. The gay community wholeheartedly agrees.




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