Crested Myna, 11/5/2012

This myna is local to Taiwan and is called Taiwan Myna here. It's one of the rare Taiwan endemic subspecies and is listed as Class II, Rare and Valuable Species in Taiwan. Its habitats are threatened by the introduced Common Mynas and White-vented Mynas. According to my experience, they don't show up in city parks and can only be spotted in riverside parks in Taipei area. They would mix with other mynas.

The major difference between Crested Myna and Common Myna and White-vented Myna is the color of their bills. The bill of Crested Myna is white, but the bill of the other two are yellowish orange. The body of these three mynas are all black. They all appear in flock, usually searching for foods on grasslands.



taken at the riverside park near HuaZhong Bridge, Taipei City, on 11/5/2012



taken at the riverside park near HuaZhong Bridge, Taipei City, on 11/5/2012



taken at Wenshan District, Taipei City, on 5/7/2011



White-vented Myna v.s. Crested Myna video recorded at Wenshan District, Taipei City, on 5/7/2011

Chinese name:	八哥
English name:	Crested Myna
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Acridotheres cristatellus
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Sturnidae
Species status:	Taiwan endemic subspecies
Conservation status:	IUCN lists it as Least Concern, but Taiwan Council of Agriculture lists it as Class II, Rare and Valuable Species.
Migration status:	Taiwan local bird
Frequency of appearance:	Rare in Taiwan
Foods:	Insects, seeds, fruits
Habitat:	Grasslands, farm fields
Altitude:	Low altitudes
Behavior:	Often appear in flock in grasslands and farm fields.
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 26 cm long. The whole body is shining black, with white stains on both wings. Bill is milky white. There is a black crest on the base of the upper beak. Feet are yellowish orange. The edges of the undertail coverts are white. Summer Plumage: Winter Plumage: Similar species:
Breeding places:	China, Lao, Myanmar, Viet Nam, Taiwan, etc.
Migration destinations:
Time photographed:	5/7/2011, 11/5/2012
Location found:	Wenshan District of Taipei City, The riverside park near HuaZhong Bridge of Taipei City
Sources:	Internet
Notes:

Superb Starling, 11/5/2012

A birding friend told me some starlings, including European Starling, White-cheeked Starling and Superb Starling, appeared at the riverside park near HuaZhong Bridge, Taipei City, on 11/5/2012. As I arrived at the site, I saw this Superb Starling mixed in a group of mynas. I used to see one Superb Starling in October 2012 in Taoyuan County and was amazed by its beautiful colors. Breeding in northeastern Africa, Superb Starlings are introduced birds in Taiwan.



taken at the riverside park near HuaZhong Bridge, Taipei City, Taiwan, on 11/5/2012



This one was taken at Taoyuan County on 10/13/2012 and was found as early as 2011.

Chinese name:	栗頭麗椋鳥
English name:	Superb Starling
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Lamprotornis superbus
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Sturnidae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	Least Concern
Migration status:	Introduced bird in Taiwan
Frequency of appearance:	Rare in Taiwan
Foods:	Insects, cereals, fruits, juicy fruits
Habitat:	Woods
Altitude:	Low altitude
Behavior:	Often appear in parks
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 18 cm long. Head is black. Breast, back and wing are mixed with shining blue and greenish blue. Belly is chestnut. One horizontal white stripe borders between breast and belly. Undertail coverts are white. Bill and feet are black. Summer Plumage: Winter Plumage: Similar species:
Breeding places:	Northeastern Africa, including South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, etc.
Migration destinations:
Time photographed:	10/13/2012, 11/5/2012
Location found:	Taoyuan County, The riverside park near HuaZhong Bridge, Taipei City
Sources:	Internet
Notes:

Black-headed Bunting, 11/2/2012

In May 2012, a male Black-headed Bunting appeared in Jinshan, New Taipei City. Since it's in breeding season, the bunting was in colorful breeding plumage with bright yellow covering its underpart and part of its head, very attractive. People said it's the first time the male Black-headed Bunting had ever been recorded in Taiwan. A lot of birding fans rushed to the site to take photos, immediately after the news spread out. I was not aware of the site, so I missed it that time.

Fortunately, in November 2012, another Black-headed Bunting appeared again in Wugu Wetland, New Taipei City. This time it's a female. Although the female plumage is not as colorful as the male's, it still attracted wave after wave of birding fans, since it's belong to vagrant or disoriented birds and hardly appeared in Taiwan. I had never seen so many birding fans jamming Wugu Wetland before.

Black-headed Buntings breed in the area from southeastern Europe to Middle East, and winter in southern Middle East, India and Nepal, with very few drifting into Southeast Asia and China. I guess this one is probably one of the few that were drifting into China.















female video recorded at Wugu Wetland, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on 11/2/2012

Chinese name:	黑頭鵐
English name:	Black-headed Bunting
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Emberiza melanocephala
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Emberizidae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	Least Concern
Migration status:	Disoriented bird
Frequency of appearance:	Rare in Taiwan
Foods:	Insects, seeds, cereals, juicy fruits
Habitat:	Short trees, farm fields
Altitude:	Low altitudes
Behavior:	Often appear alone
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 17 cm long. Bill is gray. Feet are light yellowish brown. Summer Plumage: For males, head is black. The underpart is yellow without vertical lines. The upperpart is mainly grayish brown. Throat is yellow. There is a large area of half-moon shaped yellow mark on side neck running toward throat. Rump is yellow. The underpart is mixed with grayish white, gray and grayish brown. Winter Plumage: For males, head is dark brown. For females, the upperpart is mainly grayish brown. Wing and tail is darker. There are vertical dark brown stains on head, rear neck and back. Wing edges are grayish white. Rump is light yellowish brown. Similar species:
Breeding places:	Breeding in the area from southeastern Europe to Middle East, including Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Iran, etc.
Migration destinations:	Wintering in southern Middle East, India, Nepal, etc., with very few drifting into southern and central Europe, northern Africa, Southeast Asia, China, Korean Peninsula, Japan, Taiwan, etc.
Time photographed:	11/2/2012
Location found:	Wugu Wetland, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Sources:	Internet
Notes:

Japanese Quail, 11/2/2012

This one unexpectedly came into my sight when I was searching for birds along the mid-level trail at YehLiu GeoPark in the morning of November 1, 2012. It jumped down the trail from uphill first, walked slowly across the trail, and then disappeared into the woods downhill. It was so unexpected that I could only take two pictures of it, all without correct focus. Judging from its look, I knew its something I hadn't seen before. So I waited....waited.....and waited, but it didn't show up again. Later I met a senior birding friend and asked him what the name of the bird is. He told me it's Japanese Quail and asked me where I photographed the bird, with a surprised look. I gave him my answer and went to other places to search for birds. That afternoon when I went back to the place where I met the bird, it was jammed by well-equipped birding fans already, waiting for the Japanese Quail to show up again. I was unable to find a foothold to take photos.

Next day when I went back to the same place. It was again jammed with birding fans. I managed to squeeze through the crowd and took only two clear pictures. Those pictures were the best I could get that day. Hope you enjoy them. Have fun! Thanks for visiting.

Later for over one week, that bird had become the major target of birding fans coming from as far as southern Taiwan.



Raising Quails has long become a mature business in the world. For those breeding in Japan, the Quails are called Japanese Quails. There are many kinds of breeds in Japan, China and Taiwan. All of them are raised for only one purpose, i.e., to lay eggs. For those raised in Europe, the Quails are one of the meat sources.



It is said Quails are low fat, high protein and high vitamin food sources. Especially, they contain brain nourishing substances and lecithin, which are substantial nutrition for high level nuero-activities. Quails are also low in cholesterol, lower than chicken meat and egg.



video recorded at YehLiu GeoPark, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on 11/2/2012

Chinese name:	日本鵪鶉
English name:	Japanese Quail
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Coturnix japonica
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	Near Threatened
Migration status:	Disoriented bird
Frequency of appearance:	Rare in Taiwan
Foods:	Insects, cereals
Habitat:	Bushes, brushwoods, farm fields
Altitude:	Low altitudes
Behavior:	Often appear alone or in pair
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 20 cm long. Bill is gray. Feet are light yellowish brown. Tail is very short. At first glance, its upperpart is mainly dark brown, its underpart is mainly light yellowish brown, and it looks like there are several thin or wide white lines running from head top to tail and from breast to belly. When examined in detail, these thin or wide white lines are formed by a series of spear-like lines lined up one after another. Its rear neck, back and wings are covered with horizontal brown or black stains. Its underpart is covered with horizontal light brown stains as well. The stains near the throat is darker. For males, its face, cheek and throat are reddish brown. Its eyebrow stripe is white and is very long. And there are three vertical wide dark brown lines on its side neck. For females, its cheek and throat are grayish white. Summer Plumage: Winter Plumage: Similar species:
Breeding places:	Southeastern Russia, northeastern China, northeastern Mongolia, Japan.
Migration destinations:	Wintering in India, Bhutan, southeastern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao, Viet Nam, Korean Peninsula, etc.
Time photographed:	11/2/2012
Location found:	YehLiu GeoPark, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Sources:	Internet
Notes:

Red-flanked Bluetail, 11/2/2012

As its name hints, the tail of Red-flanked Bluetail is blue. And For males, the face, back and tail are bright blue too. For females, the whole body is mainly olive-greened brown, which is plain and unattractive. This conforms to the fact that most males are more beautiful than females in the wild animal world, since males have to compete with other males in order to mate. This time the picture is not good either. Next time I will do my best to get the pictures clear and beautiful, if I have a chance.


female taken at YehLiu GeoPark, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on 11/2/2012

Chinese name:	藍尾鴝
English name:	Orange-flanked Bush-robin, Orange-flanked Bush-Robin, Red-flanked Bluetail
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Tarsiger cyanurus
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Muscicapidae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	Least Concern
Migration status:	Winter migratory birds or passage migrants in Taiwan
Frequency of appearance:	Uncommon in Taiwan
Foods:	Insects, seeds, fruits
Habitat:	Woods, brushwoods, bushes
Altitude:	Low to mid-altitudes
Behavior:	Often appear alone in woods, brushwoods and bushes
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 14 cm long. Males and females look very different. They are common in white belly, orange flank and white throat. For males, the face, back and tail are bright blue. The eyebrow stripe is white. The breast is white mixed with light blue and light grayish brown. For females, the face, back and wing are mainly olive-greened brown. The breast is white mixed with light olive-greened brown. The color is light blue from rump down to tail. The eye frame is white. Summer plumage: Winter plumage: Similar species:
Breeding places:	Breeding mainly in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Russia, northeastern China, northern Mongolia, northwestern Korean Peninsula, Japan.
Migration destinations:	Wintering in Indian Sub-continent, southern China, southwestern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao, Viet Nam, Taiwan, etc.
Time photographed:	11/2/2012
Location found:	YehLiu GeoPark, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Sources:	Internet
Notes:

Asian Stubtail, 11/1/2012

This Asian Stubtail suddenly appeared while I was taking pictures of a Grey-backed Thrush. Since this is the first time I ever hear the name, you can imagine how bad I wanted to take a good picture of it. But the site was so dark that my photographing thing didn't go well. This dark-colored bird was moving fast in and out of the dark ground under the woods in search of foods, which made the bird looking almost like a black shadow. It's very hard to get the focus right. I was unable to take a clear picture that afternoon. So I went again next day, but the result was the same. I guess my technique and my camera both need to be upgraded. But I managed to record a short video which is not good either. If the video hurt your eye, I apologize.



video recorded at YehLiu GeoPark, on 11/1/2012

Chinese name:	短尾鶯
English name:	Asian Stubtail
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Urosphena squameiceps
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Sylviidae
Species status:	Species
Conservation status:	Least Concern
Migration status:	Winter migratory birds or passage migrants in Taiwan
Frequency of appearance:	Rare in Taiwan
Foods:	Insects
Habitat:	Woods, brushwoods, bushes
Altitude:	Low altitude
Behavior:	Often appear alone in woods, brushwoods and bushes
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: Small, about 10 cm long. Tail is very short. It's mainly grayish brown, with the upperpart darker and the lowerpart lighter and whiter. Eyebrow stripe is milky yellow, long and clear. Eyeline is black. Cheek is grayish white, with thin dark brown stains. Throat is grayish white. Undertail covert is light grayish brown. Summer plumage: Winter plumage: Similar species:
Breeding places:	Breeding mainly in a small portion of southeastern Russia, northeastern China, Korean Peninsula, Japan.
Migration destinations:	Wintering in southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao, Viet Nam, Taiwan, etc.
Time photographed:	11/1/2012
Location found:	YehLiu GeoPark, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Sources:	Internet
Notes:

Blue Rock Thrush, 11/1/2012

This is also a common visitor at YehLiu GeoPark. They are used to the presence of people and are easy targets to photograph too. They most frequently appear on reefs, although they also appear on roofs, windowsills and woods.

There are two subspecies of Blue Rock Thrush having been spotted here in Taiwan. One is the philippensis subspecies, which is red-bellied and is common wintering bird or passage migrant. Another one is the pandoo subspecies, which is blue-bellied and is categorized as disoriented or vagrant bird in Taiwan. The philippensis subspecies is easy to be found during Autumn, Winter or Spring, while the pandoo subspecies is very rare and only appears in Taiwan once per years.

A few Blue Rock Thrushes stay all year round and breed here in Taiwan.



male taken at YehLiu GeoPark, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on 11/1/2012



female taken at YehLiu GeoPark, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on 10/18/2012



female taken at YehLiu GeoPark, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on 10/18/2012



female taken at YehLiu GeoPark, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on 10/18/2012



female video recorded at YehLiu GeoPark, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on 10/18/2012

Chinese name:	藍磯鶇
English name:	Blue Rock Thrush
Nickname:
Scientific name:	Monticola solitarius, philippensis subspecies
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Muscicapidae
Species status:	Subspecies
Conservation status:	Least Concern
Migration status:	Most of them are either wintering birds or passage migrants during Autumn and Spring. Some are local birds, in Taiwan
Frequency of appearance:	Common in Taiwan
Foods:	Insects
Habitat:	Reefs, woods, windowsills, railings, walls
Altitude:	Low to mid-altitudes
Behavior:	Often appear alone in Reefs, woods, windowsills, railings
Characteristics:	General Characteristics: About 21 cm long. For males of the philippensis subspecies, the color is mainly gemstone blue. Head, neck, back and breast are gemstone blue. Wing and tail are black, with light blue edges. The color is chestnut from breast down. For females of the philippensis subspecies, the color is mainly blueish gray. Head, face, neck and back are covered with brown stains, large or small. Breast and belly are covered with scaly grayish brown stains. Wing and tail are black, with grayish white edges. Summer plumage: Winter plumage: Similar species:
Breeding places:	Breeding mainly in southern Europe, southeastern Europe, central Asia, China, Korean Peninsula, Japan.
Migration destinations:	Wintering in northern Africa(southern Morocco, Algeria, Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, etc.), southern Middle East, Indian Sub-continent, Southeast Asia, Indo-Pacific Islands, Taiwan, etc.
Time photographed:	10/18/2012, 11/1/2012
Location found:	YehLiu GeoPark of New Taipei City, Taiwan
Sources:	Internet
Notes: