White-rumped Shama, 5/13/2012

This April someone spotted a White-rumped Shama in Taipei Botanical Garden. The news immediately spread out and attracted wave after wave of birdwatching fans to come photograph the bird. This time the bird stayed long, over a month, which made everybody happy. White-rumped Shama is not Taiwan local species. They are originally introduced into Taiwan for entertainment purpose and are either released to the wild or escape from cage afterward. Over the years, they have bred in the wild and caused impact to the survival of local species. To protect Taiwan local species, Endemic Species Research Institute of the Council of Agriculture of Taiwan has initiated a plan to remove them from the wild. Although they are harmful to local ecology, they are in fact good-looking. Especially when they erect their long tail, they look stylish. During its stay in the Botanical Garden, the bird mostly stayed in dark areas at the lower level of the woods, which made it hard for birdwatching fans to take pictures. It might be because the dark areas provides more types of foods which the bird loves. I found the bird would dig out earthworms to eat.


Male bird, photographed on 4/29/2012 at Taipei Botanical Garden, Taipei City



Male bird, photographed on 4/29/2012 at Taipei Botanical Garden, Taipei City



Male bird, photographed on 4/29/2012 at Taipei Botanical Garden, Taipei City



Male bird, photographed on 4/29/2012 at Taipei Botanical Garden, Taipei City



Male bird, photographed on 5/13/2012 at Taipei Botanical Garden, Taipei City



Video recorder on 4/29/2012 at Taipei Botanical Garden, Taipei City

Chinese name:	白腰鵲鴝
English name:	White-rumped Shama
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Copsychus malabaricus
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Muscicapidae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	Least Concern.
Migration status:	Introduced bird in Taiwan
Frequency of appearance:
Foods:	Insects, earthworms, crickets, spiders
Habitat:	Woodlands
Altitude:
Behavior:	Often appear at the lower level of the woods, searching for foods such as earthworms.
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 24 cm long. Male's upperpart is mainly dark blue. Primaries are light orange. Rump is white. Throat and upper breast are maroon. Tail is long. Bill is black. Feet are light pink. Female's color is lighter. Summer Plumage: Winter Plumage: Similar species:
Breeding places:	Southern China, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, etc.
Migration destinations:
Time photographed:	4/29/2012, 5/13/2012
Location found:	Taipei Botanical Garden, Taipei City
Sources:	Internet
Notes:	Foreign species, introduced into Taiwan. Now they have bred in the wild, causing impact to local ecology. To protect Taiwan local species, Endemic Species Research Institute of the Council of Agriculture of Taiwan has initiated a plan to remove them from the wild.