Photos with this report (click to enlarge) | |||
 Vinceous Rosefinch |
 Nutcracker |
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We live in Japan, so Taiwan is a very short flight away. September 8th-10th was conducted in a spirit of experimentation: How many of the Taiwan endemics could we get in two days (one PM, one full day, and one AM) without killing ourselves? We knew of course that our time was far too short to do the island properly, so we would just see what we could see.
Well, it was far from killing ourselves: we enjoyed strictly roadside birding with an excellent, hardworking freelance guide, Kuan-Chieh Hung, who prepared all of the logistics for us as a package deal. After we arrived at Taipei from Haneda, all we had to do was take the magnificent High Speed Rail down to Taichung (50 minutes) and then K-C took over. Virtually all of our time was spent working our way up the road between Taichung City (100 m) and Siaosyueshan (2600 m) at the end of the Dasyueshan National Forest Road, which, if driven without stopping, could be traversed in a couple of hours, I think. We spent the first night in a roadside hotel at 1000 m and the second night at the park lodge at the top. We went nowhere near any rice fields or the coast, so we saw only 66 bird species in total.
The extent of island speciation of many Taiwan birds is still under discussion, but we were working from a list of 21 endemic species and 67 near-endemic or endemic subspecies. We were able to see 12 of the 21 Taiwan endemics and 26 of the 67 near/endemic subspecies, or 57% and 39% respectively, in the time alloted. As often happens, we got a few difficult ones and missed a few easy ones: the luck of the draw. Here are the 12 endemic species we saw:
Swinhoe's Pheasant, Mikado Pheasant, Taiwan Barbet, Yellow Tit, Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler, Taiwan Wren-Babbler, White-whiskered Laughingthrush, Steere's Liocichla, White-eared Sibia, Taiwan Yuhina, Flamecrest, and Collared Bush Robin. (We heard 2 more: Taiwan Hill Partridge and Taiwan Shortwing.)
I highly recommend Kuan-Chieh Hung if you need a birding guide in Taiwan. He is young, helpful, enthusiastic, energetic, knowledgeable (he is also a birdbander and a contributor to The Photographic Guide to the Birds of Taiwan)— and very companionable besides. You can find him via Birding Pals or at helapiz@gmail.com. His website is http://kchung.me .
Taiwan Hill Partridge, Arborophila crudigularis (h)
Chinese Bamboo Partridge, Bambusicola thoracicus (h)
Swinhoe's Pheasant, Lophura swinhoii
Mikado Pheasant, Syrmaticus mikado
Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax
Eastern Cattle Egret, Bubulcus coromandus
Little Egret, Egretta garzetta
Crested Serpent Eagle, Spilornis cheela
Crested Goshawk, Accipiter trivirgatus
Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
Rock Pigeon, Columba livia
Ashy Woodpigeon, Columba pulchricollis
Oriental Turtle Dove, Streptopelia orientalis
Red Turtle Dove, Streptopelia tranquebarica
Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis
White-bellied Green Pigeon, Treron sieboldii
Mountain Scops Owl, Otus spilocephalus
House Swift, Apus nipalensis
Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
Taiwan Barbet, Megalaima nuchalis
Grey-chinned Minivet, Pericrocotus solaris
Brown Shrike, Lanius cristatus
Black Drongo, Dicrurus macrocercus
Grey Treepie, Dendrocitta formosae
Common Magpie, Pica pica
Spotted Nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes
Large-billed Crow, Corvus macrorhynchos
Green-backed Tit, Parus monticolus
Yellow Tit, Parus holsti
Black-throated Tit, Aegithalos concinnus
Pacific Swallow, Hirundo tahitica
Asian House Martin, Delichon dasypus
Striated Swallow, Cecropis striolata
Plain Prinia, Prinia inornata
Collared Finchbill, Spizixos semitorques
Light-vented (Chinese) Bulbul, Pycnonotus sinensis
Himalayan Black Bulbul, Hypsipetes leucocephalus
Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler, Cettia fortipes
Yellowish-bellied Bush Warbler, Cettia acanthizoides
Rufous-faced Warbler, Abroscopus albogularis
Taiwan (Streak-beasted) Scimitar-Babbler, Pomatorhinus musicus
Taiwan Wren-Babbler (Cupwing), Pnoepyga formosana
Rufous-capped Babbler, Stachyris ruficeps
White-whiskered Laughingthrush, Garrulax morrisonianus
Steere's Liocichla, Liocichla steerii
Dusky Fulvetta, Alcippe brunnea
Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, Alcippe morrisonia
White-eared Sibia, Heterophasia auricularis
Taiwan Yuhina, Yuhina brunneiceps
Japanese White-eye, Zosterops japonicus
Flamecrest, Regulus goodfellowi
Eurasian Nuthatch, Sitta europaea
Javan (White-vented) Myna, Acridotheres javanicus
Taiwan (White-browed) Shortwing, Brachypteryx goodfellowi (h)
White-browed Bush Robin, Luscinia indica
Collared Bush Robin, Luscinia johnstoniae
Oriental Magpie-Robin, Copsychus saularis
Plumbeous Water Redstart, Rhyacornis fuliginosa
White-tailed Robin, Myiomela leucura
Ferruginous Flycatcher, Muscicapa ferruginea
Vivid Niltava, Niltava vivida
Brown Dipper,Cinclus pallasii
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Dicaeum ignipectum
Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus
White-rumped Munia, Lonchura striata
Grey Wagtail, Motacilla cinerea
White Wagtail, Motacilla alba
Vinaceous Rosefinch, Carpodacus vinaceus