taiwan birding trip report

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Taiwan Trip ReportJune 2014 Andy Walker 1http://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk

Taiwan Birding Trip Report

May 14th 24th2014

Andy Walkerhttp://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk

Fairy Pitta at Linnei Forest Park, Huben


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Outline Itinerary

May 14thArrive Taipei mid-afternoon travel to Pitta Caf, Huben.May 15thHuben area (Pitta Caf, Linnei Forest Park/Huben Temple), travel to Alishan/Yushan NP.May 16thAlishan/Yushan NP area.May 17thAlishan/Yushan NP area, travel to Huisun for afternoon then onto Wushe.May 18thWushe area (Blue Gate Trail/Continuation Trail/Peitungyenshan).May 19thWushe area (Chung Yang Farm), Hehuanshan Pass afternoon trip.May 20thWushe, Hehuanshan Pass, Taroko Gorge, Liwu Rivermouth, Nanping, Taitung, Chiphen.May 21stChiphen, Taitung Ferry Crossing to Lanyu Island, Lanyu Island.May 22ndLanyu Island, Lanyu Island Ferry Crossing to Taitung, travel to Kwangua.May 23rdKwangua, Aogu Wetlands, travel to Taipei.May 24thLeave Taipei early morning.

Outbound I flew Leeds Bradford, UK to Taipei, Taiwan via Schipol, Netherlands with KLM and theninbound I flew Taipei, Taiwan to Leeds Bradford, UK via Hong Kong, China and Schipol, Netherlandswith China Airlines and KLM. Flights ran smoothly and pretty much on time. My layovers in Schipoland Hong Kong were 1.5/2hrs, these were long enough to make my transfers and grab a drink.

We hired a car (Toyota RAV4) whilst on the mainland and hired a small car whilst on Lanyu Island.We caught the ferry to Lanyu Island from Taitung and back again (details of these below).

Birding Highlights

This was my first trip to Taiwan after recent birding trips to Thailand (December 2013-January 2014:http://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/thailand-trip-report.html)and Malaysia (March 2013:http://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/malaysia-trip-report.html). Elsewhere within the Orientalregion Ive also visited Borneo (2007) and Goa, India (2009), though neither of these were specificbirding trips and Im planning on going back to Borneo next year to do it properly this time.

On this trip I recorded 157 species; just under half of these were new birds and most wererecognised endemic species, endemic sub-species with a good chance of being raised to full speciesstatus or other endemic races. Didnt really go list-padding as there was not the time and most ofthe ducks/waders/winter migrants had already headed north to their breeding grounds. The maintarget of the trip was Fairy Pitta and the endemics; the following are some of my highlights:

Fairy Pitta 1 male seen at Linnei Forest Park, Huben with probably one other heard. Swinhoes Pheasant 1 male and 2 female at Chun Yang Farm, 1 pair at Kwangua and 1

female at Peitungyenshan. Mikado Pheasant 1 male at Alishan, 1 female at Yushan NP and 1 male at Hehuanshan. Taiwan Hill Partridge 6 seen at Kwangua, others heard at Huben and Wushe. Lanyu (Elegant) Scops Owl 1 seen and c.2 heard in Flycatcher Creek, Lanyu Is. Taiwan Blue Magpie Family group with young fledglings at Huisun. Taiwan Barbet Commonly recorded in a range of habitats and altitudes. Yellow Tit 2 on the Blue Gate Trail, Wushe. Styans (Taiwan) Bulbul Commonly recorded on the southeast coast. Flamecrest Several pairs in Yushan NP. Taiwan Bush Warbler Several in Yushan NP and Hehuanshan. Collared Bush-Robin Common in Yushan NP and Hehuanshan. Taiwan Whistling Thrush Recorded in Huisun, Wushe area, Kwangua and Taroko Gorge. Taiwan Hwamei 1 seen at Chun Yang Farm and 1 heard at Liwu Rivermouth. Steeres Liocichla Common above 1,000 m, e.g. Wushe and Yushan NP. White-whiskered Laughingthrush Common at high elevations e.g. Yushan. Rusty Laughingthrush 2 seen in Yushan NP and 1 at Chun Yang Farm.

Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush 1 nest building at Peitungyenshan. Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler Family group in Linnei Forest Park, Huben. Taiwan Scimitar Babbler Common in lowlands often in family groups, e.g. Huben.
http://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/thailand-trip-report.htmlhttp://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/malaysia-trip-report.htmlhttp://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/malaysia-trip-report.htmlhttp://awbirder.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/thailand-trip-report.html


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Taiwan Wren-Babbler (Cup-wing) Several heard, 1 seen in Yushan NP. Taiwan Barwing 2 seen in Yushan NP near Giant Hemlock. Taiwan Fulvetta Common in Yushan NP, also in Wushe area. White-eared (Taiwan) Sibia Very common in forests above 1,000 m, e.g. Yushan NP. Taiwan Yuhina Common in Yushan NP and Wushe area. Taiwan Shortwing At least 3 seen Yushan NP, also 3 seen on Blue Gate Trail, Wushe. Taiwan (Vinaceous) Rosefinch Several seen in Yushan NP and Hehuanshan. Grey-cheeked Fulvetta Common and widespread, e.g. Huben, Wushe and Yushan NP. (Chinese) Taiwan Bamboo Partridge 2 seen near the Pitta Caf, Huben, others heard

at Wushe, Chiphen and Kwangua. (Brown-flanked) Strong-footed Bush Warbler 1 seen at Chun Yang Farm. (Yellow-bellied) Taiwan Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler Common Alishan/Yushan NP. (Golden) Taiwan Parrotbill Common at Yushan NP in bamboo at Tataka visitor centre. (Island) Taiwan Thrush Several pairs seen in the Wushe area. Taiwan (White-browed) Robin Common in Yushan NP. (Vivid) Taiwan Niltava 1 male and a pair on the Blue Gate Trail, Wushe. (Grey-headed) Owstons Bullfinch 1 male seen on two dates in Yushan NP. (Maroon) Red Oriole 1 female seen in the Huben area. (Dusky) Goulds Fulvetta Several seen in the Huben area and Kwangua. Chinese (Taiwan) Tawny Owl 3 seen in the Alishan/Yushan NP area. Japanese (Black) Paradise Flycatcher A family at nest in Flycatcher Creek, Lanyu Is. Lowland White-eye sp. Common on Lanyu Is. Malaysian Night-Heron Several seen including a showy bird in Huben.

Lanyu (Elegant) Scops Owl at Flycatcher Creek, Lanyu Island


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I didnt take too many pictures on this trip but Ive included a few in this report; most are taken athigh ISO due to dark forest conditions so are a bit grainy in places but hopefully they give a goodidea of what it was like! Most photos in this report were taken with my Panasonic Lumix FZ-200 whichI continue to be impressed with, with a couple off my IPhone 5s.

Site and Travel InformationI went on this trip with UK world-birder John Gregory. Mike Edgecombe, another UK world-birder wasalso going to be travelling with us but unfortunately Mike had to pull out for personal reasons justbefore the trip. Mike had sorted a lot of gen out for the trip which proved invaluable for us whilst overthere. The main target was always the Fairy Pitta, this would complete the world Pitta set for Mikeand complete the Asian/Australasian Pitta set for John. For me it would only be my 10 thPitta, but Iwas still excited to get a new one! After the Pitta the target was simply to see as many endemicspecies/sub-species as we could manage in the very short timeframe that we had. We got lucky andmet a couple of Dutch birders at the Pitta Caf in Huben whod just completed 11 days birding on theisland, with more still to come. We got a lot of current site and logistical information from them; thisreally was a stroke of luck and after spending an hour chatting to them we had formed the itineraryoutlined above. [Edit: 08.06.2014: Mike has just seen the Fairy Pitta this morning in Huben,

completing the set! Congratulations Mike].

Background Information/References/Resources

Our actual route was formed on spec, based on discussions we had with the Dutch birders referencedabove. However, prior to heading over there Id read through an awful lot of trip reports on birding inTaiwan and on Lanyu Island and had a good idea of the birds wed see in each location. Some of thetrip reports contained some really useful information on sites/access/logistics etc. and are certainlyworth reading. For example check out reports from G Hinchon (May 2011), Sander Bot (Undated) andGruff Dodd (2005) available via Google (or email me for them). There was also some useful olderdata on Dave Gandys site and some useful information, including GPS co-ordinates for birdinglocations on the ever-useful Birding2Asia website.

Of great help was hearing from people who had birded in Taiwan before/recently, or who currentlylive over there, all who provided something useful, too many to list but thank you.

I used the very good Helm Field Guides: Birds of East Asia by Mark Brazil for the trip as this guidecovers Taiwan, has all of the endemic species illustrated and many of the endemic sub-species too.

I had Birds of Tropical Asia 3 on my IPhone and I downloaded a load of songs/calls from Xeno Cantoonto my IPhone via the AvesVox App. This combination worked well and we had most of what weneeded, including the songs/calls of many of the endemic sub-species actually recorded in Taiwan.

Getting Around - Cars

We hired a Toyota RAV4 for our time on the mainland, this was fairly expensive but it was worthwhileon some of the roads we ended up driving along, especially in the poor weather we experienced inthe mountains, it felt nice being in something not tiny. Fuel was cheap, half the cost of UK Idestimate. The car came with SatNav, which was a real blessing! I also had a SatNav App SYGIC SEAHK TW, on my phone which was fairly cheap and a good way to double check that the cars SatNavwas taking us to the right place! In addition, John had a road map that was also very useful forplanning the route round the country. It is worth noting that many of the place-names (towns andvillages) are different on the SatNav, trip reports, maps and the actual signs on the road!

Driving was easy, generally good to very good roads, occasionally poor in places (non-existent if youhit a landslide, or rather if a landslide hits you). There was very little traffic on the roads. There was

plenty of petrol stations and on the highways/expressways plenty of service stations with fairly decentfood, toilets etc.


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There are toll roads, and parking charges and a tonne of speed cameras and traffic light cameras.You pay any charges when you drop your car back at the hire place, which incidentally I cantremember the name of it was about 5 minutes from the airport.

Whilst on Lanyu Island we hired a small road car (it was a total banger) as no-one would let us hire

scooters as it was clear we had no idea what to do with them! It wasnt overly expensive, though I dothink we probably ended up paying over the odds but we didnt care as we just wanted to getbirding! The lady at the hire place (on the port see below) told us to drive carefully and watch outfor all the cows on the island as it was covered in them. We didnt see a single cow, but the islandwas crawling with goats easy mistake. Driving round Lanyu Island was very easy with hardly anyroads, most in a pretty poor state.

Getting Around - Flights

We didnt take any internal flights though it is possible to fly from Taitung to Lanyu Island, but wewanted to do some sea-watching so opted for the boat.

Getting Around - Boats

We got a boat from Taitung (Fugang Harbour, Fugang Street) across to Lanyu Island (and backagain). It took about 2.5 hours each way and costs about 25/30 for a return ticket (I think). Doingthe boat both ways means staying overnight.

There is a bit of conflicting information about the boat. We found it relatively easy probably thanksto meeting the Dutch birders who gave us some information on it. Id recommend getting there theday before you want to go to Lanyu Island and check the times of the sailing. I think Id be correct insaying there is only one sailing a day each way, and the times are slightly variable presumablybased on the tide times. Our sailing times were different to those of the Dutch guys a few daysearlier.

A lot of people say you cant look at the birds from the boat as youre enclosed. The boat we went onhad an outside upper deck area, complete with deck-chairs (and a sunshade). A bit of carefulwedging of the chairs amongst the floatation devices/lifeboat/sick bins etc. allows you to sit downand seawatch till your heart is content, or you get sea sick, or someone blocks your view.

The sailings were both really calm and we saw some nice seabirds and some cetaceans, dolphins,flying fish etc.

Accommodation

Accommodation was booked on the go, with just the first night at the Pitta Caf pre-booked. Findingplaces to stay in each of the birding locations was generally pretty easy and we didnt really have anyproblems getting rooms at the last minute. I cant really provide many details on this as most of theplaces didnt have English names, or we rocked up in dark and left the next day at first light.

The Pitta Caf in Huben was basic (as were most places we stayed), but clean, very nice and the staffwere very friendly and food was nice too. In Alishan there is a line of hotels, we just went door todoor trying to find one with room (it was very busy there). In Wushe we found a really nice moteltype place on the left just before getting into the town. In order to get the boat to Lanyu Island westayed in Chiphen rather than in Taitung, this allowed us to do an hours birding at first light in decenthabitat which was good it was one of the many huge hotels at the (very busy) spa resort area. OnLanyu Island we stayed in a nice small motel on the right about 1.5/2 km before reaching FlycatcherCreek if driving from the direction of the airport. Note finding somewhere on Lanyu Island was

harder than on the mainland as on Lanyu Island nowhere seemed to have any signs you may be ok


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if you can read Mandarin! For Kwangua we stayed at Fireflies Lodge, and near the airport we stayedat the Novotel (which was booked a few days in advance online).

I think everywhere we stayed (except Fireflies) had free Wifi available.

Miscellaneous (Weather/Food/Pests/Itinerary)The weather was not great during the trip. We lost a lot of time most afternoons, sometimes fromlate morning onwards with rain and/or low cloud. We got hit particularly badly in the Wushe areawhere we probably only had a couple of hours in 2 days when it was dry, and even then the manylandslides prevented us getting to the best birding places. Temperatures ranged from low/mid-30oCsduring the day in the lowlands, dropping to mid-20oCs at night (including on Lanyu Island). In thehigher elevation areas it was around mid-20oCs during the day, dropping to c.12oC at night. The topof the Hehuanshan Pass was 8oC when we were up there near dawn, though it felt a lot colder in thewind and low cloud.

Food was variable. We had some really nice stir-fries, curries and fish (Alishan, Wushe and LanyuIsland), though there were a few questionable dishes that made my stomach turn, which I avoided at

all costs. The main problem was finding places with enough English on the menu to be able to knowwhat to order. We made a lot of use of the numerous 7-11 stores but generally ended up eating a lotof junk food from these for breakfast and lunch, sometimes for dinner. In Wushe we spent a lot oftime drinking tea/coffee and eating cake in Starbucks due to the rain! We may also have had a coupleof stops at the golden arches when the need hit. We did have some really nice tea drinking sessionswith hotel proprietors, Black and Oolong.

The itinerary was rushed, theres no getting around that. Most people staying as short amount oftime as we did would not attempt Lanyu Island, though Im really glad we did. You could quite easilyhave spent 2 or 3 days at each of the places we stayed perhaps 1 or 2 days. The exception beingLanyu, a half day there is plenty if the birds are playing ball. Maybe we got lucky and you need anovernight stay for the owls?

Worth mentioning here that we tried to see everything without going to a bird-feedingstation/photography stake out, which we pretty much did, with the exception of Taiwan Hill Partridgeon our last full day birding, mainly because we got rained out of our best site in the Wushe area. Wealso saw all the endemics etc. without visiting the most popular birding site in the country Dasyueshan (Anmashan area), ironically the site Id done most of my genning up on!

My recommendation after what we did would be to spend 14 days in the country, spend a bit longerat each location but go a couple of weeks earlier, e.g. mid-April onwards, finishing late-April for theFairy Pitta, this will allow time to get things like Black-faced Spoonbill and a large number of wildfowl,waders (and other over-wintering/passage migrants), as well as plenty of time for all of the endemicspecies/sub-species. I found birding in Taiwan excellent and really enjoyable. The two Dutch birders

we saw on our first day were the only birders we saw on the whole trip (I guess most of the birdtours go in April) so we had the sites and trails pretty much to ourselves. The country is very popularwith Chinese tourists that do tend to take over most of the resort-type places and locations, and arebest avoided. They tend to only have one volume too, loud. I think the weather may be better in Apriltoo.

We only encountered a couple of leeches, at Wushe on the Blue Gate Trail. There were mosquitoes atseveral locations, e.g. Huben, Lanyu and Aogu the latter the worst place by far. I understandtheres no Malaria on the island so antimalarials were not required. There is Dengue Fever on theisland so worth trying to prevent bites. Will update if I come down with anything, but so far so good!There are ticks on Lanyu Island that carry Lymes Disease, presumably due to the many goats so bestavoid those areas, and check yourself for them after bush-bashing for migrant warblers and buntings!


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Birding Sites

Below are some of my notes on the locations we visited with some details of the birds we recorded.

Huben Area

We spent one morning in this area, our first morning of the trip. After arriving about 2100hrs afterdriving straight from Taipei it was nice to wake up at the Pitta Caf. We birded at four locations here(below). It would be quite easy to spend a couple of days here.

1. Pitta Caf2. Linnei Forest Park3. The River4. Huben Temple

Pitta Caf

A Mountain Scops Owl was heard calling in the middle of the night and we were woken up by thesong of a White-rumped Shama (a captive bird) just before it got light. The vegetation around thecaf held Taiwan Scimitar Babbler, Black Drongo, Japanese White-eye (nesting), Chinese Bulbul(nesting), Black Bulbul, Spotted Dove, Common Myna, Javan Myna and Eurasian Tree Sparrow.Taiwan Barbet was calling from the forest opposite the caf whilst overhead House Swift, StriatedSwallow, Pacific Swallow and Barn Swallow were busy feeding.

Linnei Forest Park

We spent an hour or so in the park, prime location for the Fairy Pitta. We went in with a guidesupplied by the Pitta Caf (for a small fee split between myself, John and the two Dutch birders).This really took the pressure off as although we found the Pitta easily (it might not always be thateasy?) it just meant we didnt have to worry that we were searching the wrong area of forest. As ithappens we were drawn to the Pitta by it singing high up in some bamboo. It then flew across thetrail where another bird was calling or so we thought. We followed the sound to find a couple ofphotographers using playback right next to an area they were feeding up with mealworms etc. A fewwords to our guide passed on to the photographers and the tape was turned off, allowing us to enjoywatching the pitta slightly more traditionally. We spent some time photographing the bird beforeleaving the photo stage and after a short while managed to pick the bird up as it was moving aboutwithin the vegetation, using the bamboo as a song perch.

Fairy Pitta, Linnei Forest Park, Huben


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We had really great views of this rather impressive bird, reminded me a lot of the Indian Pitta Idseen in Goa back in 2009. We did possibly hear a second bird, but probably, unfortunately, cant ruleout the photographers using tape lures again. In 2007 there was 40 Fairy Pitta in the Huben area;this had dropped to just 4 birds in 2012. However, promisingly there were 12 birds in 2013. I heardthere was at least 4 present while we were there. It is difficult to know what the future holds for thisspecies, but Huben is probably the best place in the world to see this bird.

Whilst in the forest we also recorded the following very good birds: Taiwan Hill Partridge (H),Malaysian Night-Heron, Black-necklaced Scimitar Babbler, Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, Dusky (Goulds)Fulvetta, Emerald Dove, Black-naped Monarch (pair at nest), Bronzed Drongo, Black Bulbul, ChineseBulbul and Rufous-capped Babbler.

Malaysian Night-Heron, Linnei Forest Park, Huben

The River

Between the Pitta Caf and Huben Temple we stopped for a productive 15 minutes at the rivercrossing connecting with Chinese (Taiwan) Bamboo-Partridge, Little Egret, Eastern Cattle Egret, AmurWagtail, Scaly-breasted Munia, White-rumped Munia, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Red Collared Dove,Crested Goshawk, Black Eagle and Little Ringed Plover.

Huben Temple

We spent an hour around the temple, it was not the best time of the day but we still chalked up afew birds, including: Taiwan Hill Partridge (H), better views of Grey-cheeked Fulvetta and Dusky(Goulds) Fulvetta, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Taiwan Barbet, Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Maroon

(Red) Oriole, Grey Treepie and Taiwan Scimitar Babbler.


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Taiwan Scimitar Babbler, Huben

Alishan/Yushan NP Area

We spent a couple of days birding within this area. Our approach was to stay in the accommodationin Alishan, bird our way up the road to Yushan NP at first light (looking for Pheasants, Owls andThrushes with mixed success), then focus our attention around the Tataka visitor centre (also knownas Tatajia in some reports/maps). We spent considerable time around the visitor centre and on thevarious trails/roads in that area birding here was generally easy and definitely enjoyable, apart fromthe afternoon rain which we thought was bad, until we got to Wushe! We then birded our way backdown to Alishan in the late afternoon.

Highway 18 runs past Alishan up to the visitors centre (with increasing km markers). At the visitorscentre the road changes to Highway 21 (with decreasing km markers thereafter) as it winds its way

down into the Toroko Gorge. We had Mikado Pheasant (male) at km 94 on Highway 18 on twoconsecutive days (at 1600hrs) and we had two Chinese (Taiwan) Tawny Owls between km 91.5 and93.5 also on Highway 18 (bathing in puddles). We also had Chinese (Taiwan) Tawny Owls around thevisitors centre. Note there is a nightly roadblock by the visitors centre so make sure youre on theright side of it, otherwise youll get a night in your car!

Key birds recorded in this area included: Mikado Pheasant (1 male twice and 1 female), Chinese(Taiwan) Tawny Owl (three birds), Ashy Woodpigeon, White-bellied Green Pigeon, Large Hawk-Cuckoo (H), Collared Owlet (H), White-backed Woodpecker, Spotted Nutcracker, Large-billed Crow,Green-backed Tit, Coal Tit, Asian House Martin, Collared Finchbill, Black-throated Bushtit, Taiwan

Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler, Taiwan Bush Warbler, Rufous-faced Warbler, Taiwan Wren-Babbler,Rufous-capped Babbler, Rusty Laughingthrush, White-whiskered Laughingthrush, Steeres Liocichla,

Taiwan Barwing, Taiwan Fulvetta, Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, White-eared Sibia, Taiwan Yuhina, Golden(Taiwan) Parrotbill, Flamecrest, Winter Wren, Taiwan Shortwing, Taiwan (White-browed) Robin,


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Collared Bush-Robin, White-tailed Robin, Ferruginous Flycatcher, Plain Flowerpecker, Taiwan(Vinaceous) Rosefinch, Owstons (Grey-headed) Bullfinch.

If birding here it is definitely worth birding both sides of the visitors centre as we found the forestslightly different, e.g. more coniferous forest along 18 and more deciduous along 21.

Chinese (Taiwan) Tawny Owl, Alishan

Owstons (Grey-headed) Bullfinch, Yushan NP


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White-whiskered Laughingthrush, Yushan NP

Taiwan Yuhina, Yushan NP


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Huisun Area

We spent an afternoon in this (rather busy) park. I didnt really enjoy it here, it was overrun withpeople in some areas and where there were no people you couldnt hear yourself think due to all ofthe noise generated by the thousands of cicadas. Any hope of picking up birds here on call was a

non-starter. We dropped in here on our way to Wushe hoping to find Taiwan Blue Magpie and(Taiwan) Varied Tit. We succeeded with the Magpie, eventually, when we found a family group with acouple of fledglings near the accommodation block right at the top of the site. Unfortunately wedipped the Tit here, and didnt get it anywhere else on the trip.

Birds recorded here included: Taiwan Barbet, Grey-chinned Minivet, Black-naped Monarch, TaiwanBlue Magpie, Grey Treepie, Collared Finchbill, Chinese Bulbul, Black Bulbul, Grey-cheeked Fulvetta,and White-bellied Erpornis.

Taiwan Blue Magpie, Huisun

The river that is crossed on entering Huisun just before the ticket office gate and car park was good

for Taiwan Whistling Thrush, though to say the bird was shy would be an understatement! It was

calling constantly from the undergrowth but only gave a couple of fleeting glimpses.


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Wushe Area

We got really unlucky here with the weather which was a major disappointment as the trails hereseemed really promising; indeed we got some great birds in the short time we actually had herewhilst it was dry. We birded, or at least tried to bird at the following four areas:

1. Blue Gate/Continuation Trails (morning)2. Peitungyenshan (middle of the day)3. Chun Yang Farm (morning)4. Wushe Starbucks (most afternoons, some mornings)

We arrived into the Wushe area in darkness after a long day driving from Alishan (via Yushan NP andHuisun) and found a really nice motel-type place. The owner very kindly took us to a nearbyrestaurant for tea on our first of three nights and on our final night we found a really nice restaurantand had one of the best meals of the trip, and also got a full on tea-tasting session. Mountain ScopsOwl was very vocal around the accommodation every night.

Blue Gate/Continuation Trails

We did these trails on our first morning, arriving at first light. We started off creeping along the trailshoping for Swinhoes Pheasant and/or Taiwan Hill Partridge, neither of which we were successful with

though we did hear several Partridges. We noticed that the there was a lot of standing water on thetrail. It wasnt long until the dawn chorus got going and it was made up of slightly different birds towhat we were used to from previous days which was exciting. The main highlights along these trailsincluded two Yellow Tits, a single male (Island) Taiwan Thrush, a male, then a pair of (Vivid) TaiwanNiltava, an eventually showy male Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Taiwan Shortwing, several White-tailedRobins, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker and Ferruginous Flycatcher. Other birds we noted here included

Ashy Woodpigeon, Black Eagle, White-eared Sibia, Taiwan Yuhina, Dusky Fulvetta, Grey-cheekedFulvetta, Green-backed Tit, Eurasian Jay (H), Black-throated Bushtit, Rufous-faced Warbler, TaiwanWren-Babbler and Steeres Liocichla.

Ferruginous Flycatcher (left) and Yellow Tit (right), Wushe area

Peitungyenshan

We got rather unlucky (or lucky) here. After finishing the above trails late morning we thought wedgo and scope out the Peitungyenshan area, closer to Wushe so we knew where we would need to befor first light the next morning. On the way to the site we passed over two old landslides that had

been cleared enough to drive through. We made our way to the start of the birding track and plannedon spending an hour here around noon. The forest was brilliant here, in a short area Id had my first


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Swinhoes Pheasant (unfortunately just a female), about six (Island) Taiwan Thrush males andfemales, my first, and only Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush of the trip (nest-building), Scaly Thrush,Black Eagle, White-eared Sibia and Grey-chinned Minivet.

It was then that the afternoon took a twist. The cloud came down; it started raining, lightly at first soI headed back to the car. In no time at all it suddenly became torrential and the thunder and

lightning got going. After John got back to the car we decided it was pretty important that we got outand past the two landslides as soon as possible given the intensity of the rainfall.

We got to the first landside and started to cross, however as we got a third of the way across wenoticed that the single track route was blocked by a truck that had got stuck in the now rapidly-moving landslide. It was suddenly clear that we were in a spot of bother. The truck in front of us wastotally bogged down, large stones and trees were starting to bounce down the slope around them,and us. Whilst this was going on our vehicle was starting to get surrounded my mud. It was essentialthat we got off the area as quickly as possible. Luckily the area we were stuck was just wide enoughto swing the vehicle round, which John expertly did whilst I watched for the mountainside collapsing,which it was doing all around us. One of the truck drivers came across and said we best get off, andoffered to drive the vehicle off for us, which we duly accepted. There was no room for error due to a

rather big drop-off to our left. The local guy put his foot to the floor and the RAV4 sped across thegap back onto the road proper. We thanked the local who still had to work out how to get his vehicleout A little shaken we started on the 90 minute detour (in continuing torrential rain) on single tracklanes all the way back round to Wushe, slightly concerned we may be spending the night in the carsomewhere! Good job we had the SatNav! Whilst negotiating the landslide I did note a Besra andTaiwan Whistling Thrush and on the detour back to Wushe we had a couple of Plumbeous Redsarts.

We went back to check out the landslides the next day, the roads were pretty much wiped out, andtotally impassable and a large excavator was busy trying to reopen the road. There was a flock of

Asian House Martin and a couple of Crested Serpent-Eagles also having a look!

(Island) Taiwan Thrush, Wushe area


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Chun Yang Farm

We spent a morning walking a trail here, not sure if it was the right trail or not but we still saw arange of good birds. The highlight here was my first male Swinhoes Pheasant (and at least twofemales). The male really is absolutely stunning, certainly my favourite endemic of the trip. We alsospent about 45 minutes working on trying to get views of a skulking Taiwan Hwamei a real

songster; it eventually gave itself up giving nice views.

Other birds here included Crested Serpent-Eagle, Oriental Turtle Dove, White-bellied Green Pigeon,Taiwan Barbet, Grey-chinned Minivet, Black-throated Bushtit, Collared Finchbill, Chinese Bulbul, BlackBulbul, (Brown-flanked) Strong-footed Bush Warbler, Rufous-faced Warbler, Taiwan Scimitar Babbler,Rusty Laughingthrush, Steeres Liocichla, Japanese White-eye and White-tailed Robin.

Collared Finchbill (left) and Oriental Turtle Dove (right), Wushe area

Wushe Starbucks

We spent quite a lot of time here, lots of nice tea and cakes. Eurasian Tree Sparrow and Asian House

Martin about the best we saw during the consistent pouring rain!

Hehuanshan Pass/Taroko Gorge Area

We made two trips up to the Hehuanshan Pass. The first when we tried to drive above the rain inWushe we failed, it was just as wet up there, and even windier, and the second on our way to theeast coast for dawn, but this time we had low cloud/fog and light rain. So all in all two ratherunsuccessful trips! It will come as no surprise therefore that we dipped the endemic sub-species of

Alpine Accentor which was a huge disappointment. Over the course of the two visits we did recordseveral Taiwan (Vinaceous) Rosefinch, White-whiskered Laughingthrush, Collared Bush-Robin, TaiwanBush Warbler, Winter Wren and Flamecrest.

Taiwan (Vinaceous) Rosefinch (left) and Flamecrest (right), Hehuanshan area


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The drive through the Taroko Gorge was spectacular, if a bit scary at times! We didnt make toomany birding stops as we had a long day ahead and wanted to get to the east coast before it got toohot or wet. We got our first Styans Bulbuls at Tienhsiang, where there were also a couple ofPlumbeous Redstart and Taiwan Whistling Thrush. Somewhere between Hehuanshan and Tienhsiangwe had a male Mikado Pheasant walking around a litter bin at the side of the road. Unfortunately, aswith the previous views of this species it walked off the road before I could grab a picture!

The East Coast/Taitung/Chiphen Spa Area

We spent the majority of a day driving down the east coast towards Taitung in order to makearrangements for our trip over to Lanyu Island. We stopped at the following locations, and aftersorting out the boat trip finished the day in the Chiphen Spa area.

1. Liwu Rivermouth2. Nanping Farmland3. Chiphen Spa area4. Taitung area

Liwu Rivermouth

It was fairly easy to get to the Liwu Rivermouth, as per other trip reports we just followed our noses.Shortly after parking up we started to walk along the scrub/dunes/beach towards the rivermouth.Some of the better birds here included: Crested Goshawk, two Oriental Cuckoos, two SavannaNightjars, Brown Shrike, Long-tailed Shrike, Black Drongo, Grey-throated Martin, Oriental Skylark,

Yellow-bellied Prinia, Plain Prinia, Styans Bulbul, Chinese Bulbul (and some Styans x ChineseHybrids), Arctic Warbler, Taiwan Hwamei, Japanese White-eye, Black-headed Munia and AmurWagtail.

Nanping Farmland

This was the stakeout site for Ring-necked Pheasant (dont laugh its an endemic sub-species) andso we took a drive round the rice fields here. In the winter, or earlier in the spring you could imaginethe place crawling with waders and wildfowl. As it was a bit late in the year the majority of fieldswere knee-deep in rice. We did however easily connect with the Ring-necked Pheasant, a beautifulbird and we also had several other good birds in the area including Eastern Spot-billed Duck, GreatWhite Egret, Eastern Cattle Egret, Intermediate Egret, Little Egret, Slaty-breasted Rail, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Common Moorhen, White-breasted Waterhen, Little Ringed Plover, CommonGreenshank, Oriental Pratincole, Lesser Coucal, Long-tailed Shrike and Grey Treepie.

Oriental Pratincole, Nanping area


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Ring-necked Pheasant (left) and Ruddy-breasted Crake (right), Nanping area

Note the directions in older trip reports for finding Nanping are probably now not correct, the highwayappeared to be following a new/different route to that described. We just pulled off the highwaywhen we thought we were in about the right place, and where the habitat looked suitable.

Chiphen Spa Area

We had some gen about a site at Chiphen, it was from Dave Gandy but was about 20 years old. Wethought wed try it out for Taiwan Hill Partridge and (Chinese) Taiwan Bamboo Partridge. The areawas surprisingly good. We spent an hour birding in the evening up till dark, not seeing much butworking out the best way of hitting it the next morning. Our approach the following morning was todrive slowly along the single track road along the edge of the forest. However, despite hearing bothPartridge species frustratingly neither showed themselves. We did manage good views of thefollowing here though: Taiwan Barbet, Grey-chinned Minivet, Grey Treepie, Taiwan Scimitar Babbler,Crested Goshawk and we heard another Mountain Scops Owl.

Taitung Area

We drove through Taitung a couple of times, stopping briefly at a river where we recorded RedCollared Dove, Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Fan-tailed Warbler, Grey-throated Martin and Styans Bulbul.

Lanyu Island

I was really pleased to be able to get across to Lanyu Island, I didnt think we would have enoughtime but we did. Trying to organise getting to the island from the UK was quite difficult so we justorganised it the day before in Taitung at the harbour which was easy enough. We caught the boatacross (leaving our car parked up in the street near the harbour) and the sailing (both days) wassmooth. We spent about 24 hours on the island however we saw all of the target species within thefirst 56 minutes of being on the island, even though it was the middle of the day! We spent the restof the time eating, sleeping and touring the island looking for migrants.

The island is a bit of a dump to be honest, lots of dereliction and quite a bit of poverty, and asmentioned in most other literature is more Philippine than Chinese so quite different from mainlandTaiwan beautiful landscape though. The people more than make up for the above, with everyonewe met being incredibly friendly and helpful. We had some really nice fish to eat and found a coupleof very nice cafs. To be honest it was a bit of a surprise how easily we found all the key birds and Idont think we were expecting to have loads of free time. Ironically the one day we didnt need tohave a dry afternoon for birding, we got one, it did make a nice change though so no complaints!

We saw the following species on the crossings: c.15+ Streaked Shearwater, c.30+ Bulwers Petrel,c.250+ (presumably migrating) Eastern Cattle Egret, one juvenile Frigatebird sp (probable Lesser

Frigatebird but unable to see underwing/belly pattern due to distance/angle/light etc.), two BrownBooby, c.10 Red-necked Phalarope, three Black-naped Tern, two Little Terns and one Whiskered


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Tern. Didnt attempt to take any photos on the sea crossing but some of the birds were nice andclose, just a shame the Frigatebird wasnt!

We arrived in the port on Lanyu Island, sorted out our hire car (all in the same area) and whilewaiting for our car to arrive had Brown-eared Bulbul and Lowland White-eye in the trees around theport. After putting the minimum amount of fuel in the car we thought we could get away with we

headed down the coast to try and find Flycatcher Creek. This was fairly easy and in no time at allwed parked up at the bridge and were looking into the creek from above. The birds came thick andfast with Philippine Cuckoo Dove and Taiwan Green Pigeon flying around and perching up in the treesat eye-level. A Brown Shrike was getting mobbed by a couple Lowland White-eyes, Brown-earedBulbul and an Asian Brown Flycatcher (the only one of the trip). Very happy with what we had seenwe now knew we were down to the business end of the trip, Japanese (Black) Paradise Flycatcherand Lanyu Scops (Elegant) Owl, and judging by previous trip reports this could take anywhere in theregion of hours to days (and nights), and the thunderclouds were building.

I think we got lucky, not that Im complaining. We could hear a Paradise Flycatcher calling so headedinto the Creek. After a short while of climbing up the slippery, rocky riverbed and dodging huge orbspider webs we found a good viewpoint and looked up. Within no time at all a flicker of movement

caught my eye, a totally stunning adult male Japanese (Black) Paradise Flycatcher was sat on abranch right above me! Its huge bright-blue eye-ring wattle surprised me by being so big, and thenits tail which was incredibly long. This was a really impressive bird, and very high up the Bird of theTrip list. We watched this bird for a while before it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Brilliant.

John and I exchanged knowing looks, we were on a roll. We imitated the owl as others have done inthe past and straight away at least two birds started calling. This was pretty crazy stuff and wellbeyond what I was expecting. Suddenly a bit of movement caught my eye, a bit of manoeuvringaround the river bed and I was looking straight into the eyes of a tiny Lanyu (Elegant) Scops Owl!

Lanyu (Elegant) Scops Owl, Lanyu Island


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Lanyu (Elegant) Scops Owl, Lanyu Island

The presence of the owl was not going down too well with many of the other birds in the creek, mostof whom had young. During this time I found the Paradise Flycatcher nest, there was at least onefledgling sat near it. I grabbed a couple of record shots but really the Owl was the main attractionduring that moment and it held my attention.

Japanese (Black) Paradise Flycatcher (left) and Brown-eared Bulbul (right), Lanyu Island


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Lowland White-eye, Lanyu Island

We spent the rest of the afternoon in a bit of a surprise-induced daze driving a circuit around theisland and then spent a couple of hours the next morning watching a couple of interesting spotsidentified the previous day, in the hope of finding some new migrants yet avoid the ticks. Some of thehighlights included: Striated Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Pacific Reef Heron, Black-wingedKite, Grey-faced Buzzard, Black-winged Stilt, Lesser Coucal, Fork-tailed (Pacific) Swift, CommonKingfisher, Brown Shrike (c.40+, a fall?), Fan-tailed Warbler, Middendorffs Grasshopper Warbler,Blue Rock Thrush (c.25+), Grey Wagtail and Kamchatka Eastern Yellow Wagtail.

Brown Shrike (left) and Blue Rock Thrush (right), Lanyu Island


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Kwangua Area

We spent a night at Fireflies Guesthouse, Kwangua as we were heading back towards Taipei on ourfinal days birding of the trip. The main reason for doing this was not seeing Taiwan Hill Partridgeanywhere else during our trip. There was also a good chance of getting further views of Swinhoes

Pheasants. We spent a couple of hours early morning in the hide and sure enough we got ourtargets. First a female Swinhoes Pheasant walked in, then a male, then a covey of at least six TaiwanHill Partridge. We had seen all of the endemics! Unfortunately it was pretty much pitch black as it wasso early in the morning, though I got a couple of record shots. The only other birds notedfrom/around the hide were a pair of White-tailed Robin, White-eared Sibia and Taiwan Barbet.

Swinhoes Pheasant, Kwangua

Taiwan Hill Partridge, Kwangua


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We had a walk around the lodge and heard (Chinese) Taiwan Bamboo Partridge and saw some moreWhite-tailed Robins, a pair of Amur Wagtail, Large Hawk-Cuckoo, Black Bulbul and Chinese Bulbul. Atnight here we heard Mountain Scops Owl but we were unsuccessful in our pursuit of it, possibly dueto the shots of tea and liquor we were drinking! The small river near the lodge held a couple ofPlumbeous Redstart and some scrub had nesting Striated Prinia and a few Black-throated Bushtits.

Driving along the minor roads near the lodge we found a very smart male Eyebrowed Thrush,Oriental Turtle Dove, several Taiwan Whistling Thrush, Taiwan Barbet, more Plumbeous Redstartsand a single Emerald Dove.

White-tailed Robin, male (left), female (right), Kwangua

Aogu Wetlands Area

We spent an hour or so driving round this wetland site on our last day. There were not too manybirds around given the time of the year though we saw a few new trip birds having not visited any

similar habitat previously. It would be great to visit here during the winter, or earlier in the spring.

We had Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Little Grebe, Yellow Bittern, Cinnamon Bittern, Black-crownedNight-Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Intermediate Egret, Little Egret,Black-winged Kite, White-breasted Waterhen, Moorhen, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover, LesserSandplover, Greater Sandplover, Common Sandpiper, Oriental Pratincole, Caspian Tern, Little Tern,Whiskered Tern, Common Kingfisher, Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Long-tailed Shrike and Scaly-breasted Munia.

Eastern Cattle Egret (left), Black-winged Kite (right), Aogu Wetlands


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If you want any more detailed information about specific species mentioned above justdrop me an email, likewise if you want any further specific information aboutlogistics/birding locations t .

Other Wildlife

We saw a few interesting bits of non-avian wildlife on this trip such as Formosan Macaque, ReevesMuntjac, Pallass Squirrel, Pernys Long-nosed Squirrel, Maritime Striped Squirrel, Yellow-throatedMarten, Siberian Weasel. There were also a few Whales and Dolphins seen from the ferry crossing,though only brief views with nothing identified specifically. The flying fish seen from the boat wererather spectacular (and tasted nice too).

There were a huge number of beautiful butterflies and moths of all shapes, sizes and colour, theTaiwanese sub-species of Japanese Owl Moth was particularly impressive. We saw/heard a number offrogs, a couple of gecko, snakes and lizards etc. too including Kraepelins Cat Snake (freshly dead ona road), Swinhoes Japalura (possibly another Japalura species too), and a Skink sp. There were alsosome typically hideous giant spiders and not forgetting the four species of Fireflies at the FirefliesLodge in Kwangua.

Japanese Owl Moth, Wushe

Japalura (left) and Skink (right), Lanyu Island


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Summary

I had a fantastic time in Taiwan and enjoyed seeing a large number of endemic and range-restrictedspecies and sub-species. My highlights were Swinhoes Pheasant, Fairy Pitta, Lanyu (Elegant) ScopsOwl and Japanese (Black) Paradise Flycatcher.

Birding in Taiwan was very enjoyable not just for the birds, the scenery was very impressive and thepeople very friendly. Im looking forward to returning one day, and also to my next trip to theOriental region. These Pheasants and Pittas are quite addictive. Borneo or Sumatra anyone?

If you would like any further information please drop me an email to andywalker1000 AT hotmail.comsubject Taiwan Birding.

Due to the complexity of the Taiwanese taxonomy Ive included a copy of my list below for referenceand have highlighted the endemic species, endemic sub-species and endemic races.

Thanks, Andy7thJune 2014.

Plumbeous Redstart, Kwangua


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Taiwan Bird Trip List

Notes:

*E*= Endemic species, *ESs* = Endemic sub-species (considered potential split by some

authorities), *Er* = Endemic race (not considered potential split based on current thinking)

*H* = Heard only. List only records first location each species was recorded, unless when a heard

only was subsequently seen on another date.

1. Eastern Spot-billed Duck,Anas zonorhyncha. 20.05.2014. Nanping.2. *E*Taiwan Partridge,Arborophila crudigularis. 23.05.2014. Fireflies Lodge, Kwangua.3. *ESs* Taiwan Chinese Bamboo Partridge, Bambusicola thoracicus sonorivox. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.4. *E*Swinhoes Pheasant, Lophura swinhoii. 18.05.2014. Peitungyenshan, Wushe.5. *E*Mikado Pheasant, Syrmaticus mikado. 15.05.2014. Alishan (Route 18, km 94).6. *Er* Taiwan Ring-necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus formosanus. 20.05.2014. Nanping.7. Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis philippensis. 23.05.2014. Aogu Wetland.8. Bulwers Petrel, Bulweria bulwerii. 21.05.2014. Between Taitung and Lanyu Island.9. Streaked Shearwater, Calonectris leucomelas. 21.05.2014. Between Taitung and Lanyu Island.10.Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel. 22.05.2014. Between Lanyu Island and Taitung.11.Brown Booby, Sula leucogaster plotus. 22.05.2014. Between Lanyu Island and Taitung.12.Yellow Bittern, Ixobrychus sinensis. 23.05.2014. Aogu Wetland.13.Cinnamon Bittern, Ixobrychus cinnamomeus. 23.05.2014. Aogu Wetland.14.Grey Heron,Ardea cinerea jouyi. 23.05.2014. Aogu Wetland.15.Australasian Great Egret,Ardea alba modesta. 20.05.2014. Near Nanping.16. Intermediate Egret,Egretta intermedia intermedia. 20.05.2014. Near Nanping.17.Little Egret, Egretta garzetta garzetta. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.18.Pacific Reef Egret, Egretta sacra. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.19.Eastern Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis coromandus. 14.05.2014. Near Taipei.20.Striated Heron, Butorides striatus javanica. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.21.Black-crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax. 14.05.2014. Near Taipei.22.Malaysian Night-Heron, Gorsachius melanolophus. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.23.

Black-shouldered Kite, Elanus caeruleus vociferous. 22.05.2014. Lanyu Island.24.*Er*Crested Serpent-Eagle, Spilornis cheela hoya. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.

25.Malaysian Black Eagle, Ictinaetus malayensis malayensis. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.26.Grey-faced Buzzard,Butastur indicus. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.27.*Er* Crested Goshawk,Accipiter trivirgatus formosana. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.28.*Er* Besra,Accipiter virgatus fuscipectus. 18.05.2014. Blue Gate Trail, Wushe.29.*Er*Slaty-breasted Rail, Gallirallus striatus taiwanus. 20.05.2014. Nanping.30.White-breasted Waterhen,Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus. 20.05.2014. Nanping.31.Ruddy-breasted Crake, Porzana fusca phaeopyga. 20.05.2014. Nanping.32.Eurasian Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus chloropus. 20.05.2014. Nanping.33.Mongolian Lesser Sandplover, Charadrius mongolus stegmanni. 23.05.2014. Aogu Wetland.34.Greater Sandplover, Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii. 23.05.2014. Aogu Wetland.35.Eastern Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis. 23.05.2014. Aogu Wetland.36.Little Ringed Plover, Charadrius dubius curonicus. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.37.Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus himantopus. 22.05.2014. Lanyu Island.38.Common Sandpiper,Actitis hypoleucos. 23.05.2014. Aogu Wetland.39.Common Greenshank, Tringa nebularia. 20.05.2014. Nanping.40.Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus. 21.05.2014. Between Taitung and Lanyu Island.41.Oriental Pratincole, Glareola maldivarum. 20.05.2014. Nanping.42.Little Tern, Sternula albifrons sinensis. 21.05.2014. Between Taitung and Lanyu Island.43.Caspian Tern, Hydroprogne caspia. 23.05.2014. Aogu Wetland.44.Whiskered Tern, Chlidonias hybrida hybrida. 22.05.2014. Taitung.45.Black-naped Tern, Sterna sumatrana sumatrana. 21.05.2014. Taitung Harbour.46.Feral Pigeon, Columba livia dom. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.47.Ashy Wood Pigeon, Columba pulchricollis. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.48.*Er*Taiwan Rufous Oriental Turtle Dove, Streptopelia orientalis orii. 19.05.2014. Chun Yang Farm.49.Red Collared Dove, Streptopelia tranquebarica humilis. 14.05.2014. Near Taipei.


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50.*Er*Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis formosana. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.51.Philippine Cuckoo-Dove, Macropygia tenuirostris phaea. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.52.Emerald Dove, Chalcophaps indica indica. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.53.*Er* White-bellied Green Pigeon, Treron sieboldii sororius. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.54.*Er* Taiwan Whistling Green Pigeon, Treron formosae formosae. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.55.Large Hawk-Cuckoo, Hierococcyx sparverioides sparverioides. 17.05.2014. Yushan NP.56.Oriental Cuckoo, Cuculus optatus. 20.05.2014. Liwu Rivermouth.57.Lesser Coucal, Centropus bengalensis lignator. 20.05.2014. Nanping.58.*Er* *H* Mountain Scops-Owl, Otus spilocephalus hambroecki. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.59.*ESs* Lanyu Elegant Scops-Owl, Otus elegans botelensis. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.60.*ESs* Taiwan Chinese Tawny Owl, Strix nivicola yamadae. 15.05.2014. Tataka Visitor Centre, Yushan NP.61.*Er* *H* Collared Owlet, Glaucidium brodiei pardalotum. 17.05.2014. Yushan NP.62.*Er* Savanna Nightjar, Caprimulgus affinis stictomus. 14.05.2014. Near Huben.63.Pacific Swift,Apus pacificus kanoi. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.64.*Er* House Swift,Apus nipalensis kuntzi. 14.05.2014. Near Taipei.65.Common Kingfisher,Alcedo atthis bengalensis. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.66.*E*Taiwan Barbet, Megalaima nuchalis. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.67.*Er* Grey-capped Pygmy-Woodpecker, Dendrocopos canicapillus kaleensis. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.68.*ESs* Owstons White-backed Woodpecker, Dendrocopos leucotos insularis. 17.05.2014. Yushan NP.69.Fairy Pitta, Pitta nympha. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.70.Grey-chinned Minivet, Pericrocotus solaris griseogularis. 17.05.2014. Huisun.71.Philippine Brown Shrike, Lanius cristatus lucionensis. 20.05.2014. Liwu Rivermouth.72.Long-tailed Shrike, Lanius schach formosae. 14.05.2014. Near Taipei.73.White-bellied Erpornis, Erpornis zantholeuca griseiloris. 17.05.2014. Huisun.74.*ESs* Maroon Red Oriole, Oriolus traillii ardens. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.75.*Er* Black Drongo, Dicrurus macrocercus harterti. 14.05.2014. Near Taipei.76.*Er* Bronzed Drongo, Dicrurus aeneus braunianus. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.77.*Er* Black-naped Monarch, Hypothymis azurea oberholseri. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.78.*ESs* Japanese Black Paradise Flycatcher, Terpsiphone atrocaudata periophthalmica. 21.05.2014. Lanyu.79.*Er**H* Himalayan Eurasian Jay, Garrulus glandarius taivanus. 18.05.2014. Blue Gate Trail, Wushe.80.

*E*Taiwan Blue Magpie, Urocissa caerulea. 17.05.2014. Huisun.81.*Er* Grey Treepie, Dendrocitta formosae formosae. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.

82.*Er* Southern Spotted Nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes owstoni. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.83.Sunda [Large-billed] Crow, Corvus macrorhynchos colonorum. 15.05.2014. Alishan Area.84.*Er* Taiwanese Oriental Skylark,Alauda gulgula wattersi. 20.05.2014. Liwu Rivermouth.85.Grey-throated Martin, Riparia chinensis chinensis. 20.05.2014. Liwu Rivermouth.86.Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica gutturalis. 14.05.2014. Near Taipei87.Pacific Swallow, Hirundo tahitica. 14.05.2014. Near Taipei.88.Striated Swallow, Cecropis striolata striolata. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.89.Asian House Martin, Delichondasypus nigrimentale. 15.05.2014. Alishan Area.90.*Er* Coal Tit, Periparus ater ptilosus. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.91.*Er*Green-backed Tit, Parus monticolus insperatus. 17.05.2014. Yushan NP.92.*E*Yellow Tit, Parus holsti. 18.05.2014. Blue Gate Trail, Wushe.93.Black-throated Bushtit,Aegithalos concinnus concinnus. 15.05.2014. Tataka Visitor Centre, Yushan NP.94.*Er* Eurasian Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes taivanus. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.95.*Er* Collared Finchbill, Spizixos semitorgues cinereicapillus. 15.05.2014. Alishan Area.96.*Er*Chinese Bulbul, Pycnonotus sinensis formosae. 14.05.2014. Near Taipei.97.*E*Styans Bulbul, Pycnonotus taivanus. 20.05.2014. Nanping.98.*Er* Black Bulbul, Hypsipetes leucocephalus nigerrimus. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.99.*Er*Brown-eared Bulbul, Hypsipetes amaurotis harterti. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.100. *E*Flamecrest, Regulus goodfellowi. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.101. *E*Taiwan Wren-Babbler Cupwing, Pnoepyga formosana.16.05.2014. Yushan NP.102. Rufous-faced Warbler,Abroscopus albogularis fulvifacies. 17.05.2014. Yushan NP.103. *ESs* Brown-flanked Strong-footed Bush Warbler, Horornis fortipes robustipes. 19.05.2014. CY Farm.104. *ESs* Taiwan Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler, Horornis acanthizoides concolor. 15.05.2014. Yushan NP.105. Arctic Warbler, Phylloscopus borealis borealis. 20.05.2014. Liwu Rivermouth.106. *E* Taiwan Bush Warbler, Locustella alishanensis. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.


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107. Middendorffs Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella ochotensis. 22.05.2014. Lanyu.108. Zitting Cisticola, Cisticola juncidis tinnabulans. 21.05.2014. Taitung.109. *Er*Striated Prinia, Prinia crinigera striata. 23.05.2014. Fireflies Lodge, Kwangua.110. Yellow-bellied Prinia, Prinia flaviventris sonitans. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.111. *Er*Plain Prinia, Prinia inornata flavirostris. 20.05.2014. Liwu Rivermouth.112. *E*Taiwan Fulvetta, Fulvetta formosana. 15.05.2014. Tataka Visitor Centre, Yushan NP.113. *ESs* Taiwan Golden Parrotbill, Paradoxornis verreauxi morrisonianus. 15.05.2014. Yushan NP.114. *E*Taiwan Yuhina, Yuhina brunneiceps. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.115. Japanese White-eye, Zosterops japonicas simplex. 14.05.2014. Near Huben.116. Lowland White-eye, Zosterops meyeni batanis. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.117. *ESs* Goulds Dusky Fulvetta,Alcippe brunnea brunnea. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.118. *E*Grey-cheeked Fulvetta,Alcippe morrisonia. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.119. *E*Taiwan Hwamei, Garrulax taewanus. 19.05.2014. Chun Yang Farm, Wushe.120. *E*White-whiskered Laughingthrush, Garrulax morrisonianus. 15.05.2014. Yushan NP.121. *E*Rusty Laughingthrush, Garrulax poecilorhynchus. 17.05.2014. Yushan NP.122. *E*Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax ruficeps. 18.05.2014. Peitungyenshan, Wushe.123. *E*White-eared Sibia, Heterophasia auricularis. 15.05.2014. Alishan.124. *E*Steeres Liocichla, Liocichla steerii. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.125. *E*Taiwan Barwing,Actinodura morrisoniana.16.05.2014. Yushan NP.126. *Er*Rufous-capped Babbler, Stachyridopsis ruficeps praecognita. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.127. *E*Black-necklaced Scimitar-Babbler, Pomatorhinus erythrocnemis. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.128. *E*Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler, Pomatorhinus musicus. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.129. Asian Brown Flycatcher, Muscicapa latirostris latirostris. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.130. Ferruginous Flycatcher, Muscicapa ferruginea. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.131. *ESs* Taiwan Vivid Niltava, Niltava vivida vivida. 18.05.2014. Blue Gate Trail, Wushe.132. *E*Taiwan Shortwing, Brachypteryx goodfellowi. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.133. *E*Taiwan Whistling Thrush, Myophonus insularis. 17.05.2014. Huisun.134. *Er* White-tailed Robin, Myiomela leucura montium. 17.05.2014. Yushan NP.135. *ESs*Taiwan White-browed Bush-Robin, Tarsiger indica formosana. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.136. *E*Collared Bush-Robin, Tarsiger johnstoniae. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.137.

*Er* Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Ficedula hyperythra innexa. 18.05.2014. Blue Gate Trail, Wushe.138. *Er*Plumbeous Water Redstart, Phoenicurus fuliginosus affinis. 18.05.2014. Peitungyenshan, Wushe.

139. Blue Rock Thrush, Monticola solitaries philippensis. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.140. *Er*Scaly Thrush, Zoothera dauma/horsfieldi (unknown). 18.05.2014. Peitungyenshan, Wushe.141. *ESs* Taiwan Island Thrush, Turdus poliocephalus niveiceps. 18.05.2014. Blue Gate Trail, Wushe.142. Eyebrowed Thrush, Turdus obscurus. 23.05.2014. Fireflies Lodge, Kwangua.143. Javan Myna,Acridotheres javanicus. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.144. Jungle Myna,Acridotheres fuscus. 17.05.2014. Near Huisun.145. Common Myna,Acridotheres tristis tristis. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.146. Black-collared Starling, Gracupica nigricollis. 17.05.2014. Near Huisun.147. *Er* Plain Flowerpecker, Dicaeum concolor uchidai. 17.05.2014. Yushan NP.148. *Er*Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Dicaeum ignipectus formosum. 18.05.2014. Blue Gate Trail, Wushe.149. Kamchatka Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla tschutschensis. 22.05.2014. Lanyu Island.150. Grey Wagtail, Motacilla cinerea melanope. 21.05.2014. Lanyu Island.151. Amur [Chinese] Wagtail, Motacilla leucopsis. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.152. *E*Taiwan Vinaceous Rosefinch, Carpodacus vinaceus formosanus. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.153. *ESs*Owstons Grey-headed (Beavans) Bullfinch, Pyrrhula erythaca owstoni. 16.05.2014. Yushan NP.154. Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus malaccensis. 14.05.2014. Near Taipei.155. White-rumped Munia, Lonchura striata swinhoei. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.156. Scaly-breasted Munia, Lonchura punctulata topela. 15.05.2014. Huben Area.157. Chestnut Munia, Lonchura malacca formosana. 20.05.2014. Liwu Rivermouth.*ESs* missed = Taiwan Varied Tit*Er* missed = Slaty-legged Crake, Barred Buttonquail, Australasian Grass Owl, Collared Scops Owl,

Silver-backed Needletail, Golden-headed Cisticola, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Little Forktail, Crested

Myna, Alpine Accentor, Brown Bullfinch, Grey-headed Woodpecker

taiwan birding trip report

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