Wednesday, October 1, 2025

The Eurasian Tree Sparrow in La Trinidad, Benguet

This bird is called the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus). It's called "maya" or "mayang simbahan" in Tagalog. Cordillerans have various words for it. 

Although this bird is everywhere, it's not native to the Philippines. It's an introduced or exotic species. Which means it was brought here. It's not clear how it got here in the Philippines. The prevailing theory is that it was introduced by the Spaniards. The birds could've arrived in the country as stowaways in the Spanish galleon ships.

What do you call this bird in your Cordilleran language?