Striated Heron, 5/1/2012

When we were searching for birds along a big gutter in Cingshuei Wetland of New Taipei City, my birdwatching buddy spotted this Striated Heron by chance and asked me what it is. I followed the direction he pointed to and saw this bird too. At first glance I thought it was a Black-crowned Night Heron. But my buddy shouted "Chinese Pond Heron". Quickly I pressed the shutter of my camera. The bird was so shy that it flew away after I took two shots. Later I showed the pictures to another senior birdwatching fan and he said it's a subadult of Black-crowned Night Heron, not a Chinese Pond Heron. I agreed with him because I used to take some pictures of Chinese Pond Heron before and this one doesn't look like Chinese Pond Heron. Several days later I met my birdwatching buddy again. He told me it's some unusual bird, neither a Chinese Pond Heron nor a Black-crowned Night Heron. I decided to figure it out. So I searched all the birds in the Ardeidae family and found a bird that looks exactly the same. It's the Striated Heron. It's so unusual here in Taiwan that even the senior birdwatching fan mistook it as a Black-crowned Night Heron.

Most of the Striated Herons in Taiwan are rare Passage migrants, with few local species.

Chinese name:	綠蓑鷺
English name:	Striated Heron
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Butorides striata
Order:	Ciconiiformes
Family:	Ardeidae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	Least Concern
Migration status:	Passage migrants in Taiwan, some are Taiwan local birds.
Frequency of appearance:	Uncommon in Taiwan
Foods:	Fishes, insects
Habitat:	Wet areas, streams, sea shores
Altitude:	Low altitude
Behavior:	Appear alone
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 52 cm long. It looks like Black-crowned Night Heron, but its eye is yellow. There are bright white edges on wings. Crown is black, but there is no additional feather on head top. Back is light blue with vertical tuft-like feathers. Flanks are gray.
Breeding places:	East Asia including Siberia and North China, Middle East, Central Africa and Central America.
Migration destinations:	Wintering in Sunda Islands, etc., stopping by Taiwan.
Time photographed:	5/1/2012
Location found:	Jinshan District, New Taipei City
Sources:	Internet
Notes: