World Trip Reports

Taiwan/Singapore Trip 14 June – 30 June 2008



I spent two weeks in West-Central Taiwan. The major goal of the trip was to spend time looking for Fairy Pitta in the Huben area of Yunlin County. Fairy Pitta have long been an interest of mine and I wanted to focus on spending quite a bit of time in the Huben/Hushan area. I also visited local temples and other sites around Huben. BFs Mark Bruce and Dr Scott Lin of TESRI took me around Huben over several days. In all, I had several sightings of four individual Fairy Pittas. As it was quite late in the breeding season we had to work very hard to get sightings. The ease of early breeding season sightings had passed and many hours in very hot and humid conditions over a period of nine days were put in to get good sightings. Sadly, the construction of Hushan Dam is taking its toll on the Huben/Hushan IBA and the future of the Fairy Pitta in this important breeding area remains uncertain.


I did two day trips into the mountains to bird at Hsitou Forest and Shanlinhsi Forest. The botanical gardens at the Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute (TESRI) in Jiji and Sun Moon Lake were also visited. I did a day trip to the City of Tainan to visit the old temples and historical sites of Taiwan’s historical and cultural capital.


I didn’t go all out chasing numbers and trying to tick all the Taiwan endemics on the trip as the focus was to spend time focusing on the Fairy Pittas. I was still able to notch up over sixty species including some of the endemics on the trip.


Taiwan’s montane forests are really lovely. Birding in these mountain forests is lovely and offers a welcome escape from the very hot and humid lowlands.


A list of bird species seen follows (endemics in bold):




  1. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
  2. Great Egret Ardea alba
  3. Little Egret Egretta garzetta
  4. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
  5. Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
  6. Malayan Night-Heron Gorsachius melanolophus
  7. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
  8. Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus
  9. Crested Serpent-Eagle Spilornis cheela
  10. Chinese Bamboo-Partridge Bambusicola thoracica
  11. Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
  12. Red Collared-Dove Streptopelia tranquebarica
  13. Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis
  14. Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica
  15. Rock Pigeon Columba livia
  16. Large Hawk-Cuckoo Cuculus sparverioides
  17. Oriental Cuckoo Cuculus saturatus
  18. House Swift Apus nipalensis
  19. Taiwan BarbetMegalaima nuchalis formerlyBlack Browed Barbet Megalaima oorti nuchalis
  20. Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha
  21. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
  22. Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica
  23. Striated Swallow Cecropis striolata
  24. White Wagtail Motacilla alba
  25. Collared Finchbill Spizixos semitorques
  26. Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis
  27. Black Bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus
  28. Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis
  29. Striated Prinia Prinia crinigera
  30. Yellow-bellied Prinia Prinia flaviventris
  31. Plain Prinia Prinia inornata
  32. Rufous-faced Warbler Abroscopus albogularis
  33. Ferruginous Flycatcher Muscicapa ferruginea
  34. Snowy-browed Flycatcher Ficedula hyperythra
  35. Vivid Niltava Niltava vivida
  36. White-tailed Robin Cinclidium leucurum
  37. Little Forktail Enicurus scouleri
  38. Plumbeous Water Redstart Rhyacornis fuliginosa
  39. Black-naped Blue Monarch Hypothymis azurea
  40. Rusty LaughingthrushGarrulax poecilorhynchus
  41. Steere's Liocichla Liocichla steerii
  42. Taiwan Scimitar-BabblerPomatorhinus musicus formerly Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler Pomatorhinus ruficollis musicus
  43. Rufous-capped Babbler Stachyris ruficeps
  44. Taiwan BarwingActinodura morrisoniana
  45. Dusky Fulvetta Alcippe brunnea
  46. Taiwan FulvettaAlcippe formosana formerly Grey-cheeked Fulvetta Alcippe morrisonia formosana
  47. White-eared SibiaHeterophasia auricularis
  48. Taiwan YuhinaYuhina brunneiceps
  49. White-bellied Yuhina Yuhina zantholeuca
  50. Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea
  51. Japanese White-eye Zosterops japonicus
  52. Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
  53. Bronzed Drongo Dicrurus aeneus
  54. Grey Treepie Dendrocitta formosa
  55. Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius
  56. Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos
  57. White-vented Myna Acridotheres javanicus
  58. Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
  59. Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
  60. White-rumped Munia Lonchura striata
  61. Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata
All my thanks go to Mark Bruce and his wife Oscar for My Trip of a Lifetime, especially to Mark for taking the time and having the patience to show me so many beautiful birds and temples in the beautiful country of Taiwan.

Ann


Wow Ann, what a wonderful trip.

I am so glad you enjoyed it and all those birds you saw brilliant!

Any chance of some pictures?

D


Hi Delia,

It was a fabulous trip, the National Parks in Taiwan are beautiful and empty of people (busy at weekends I believe) there was just Mark and I walking around looking and listening to the birds.

Sorry no photos of my own as I am such a lousy photographer Mark was my camera man. I saw the birds and he took the photos for me. He is in Malaya this week and hopes to meet up with Dr Singh (I look forward to reading that report). When he returns I will ask him to post a selection for me I have around 300 on a CD but they are not all birds of course

Ann


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