JimmyThe raptors are calling as if cheering for the clear skies after days of rain.
🦅 Spilornis cheela
https://ebird.org/species/crseag1
#silentsunday #yilan
#birdsInTaiwan #birdsofmastodon #birdwatching
Common Snipe (田鷸)
Gallinago gallinago
https://ebird.org/species/comsni
It's fascinating to see their long, beak probing the water like a straw. True to their name, they do 'snipe' underwater to catch earthworms, although it's amusing how disproportionately long their beak is.
The beak looks like a thick straw used for drinking Taiwan bubble milk tea.
📷 Canon PowerShot SX740 HS
Common Snipe - eBird
Squat, cryptically-plumaged shorebird with a very long bill. Inhabits a wide range of wetland habitats, from damp meadows to saltmarshes. Mostly inconspicuous, feeding in muddy ground by probing with its bill, usually near reeds or other grassy cover. Often not seen until flushed, when it usually rises from fairly close range with a rough rasping call. Breeding birds are more conspicuous, perching on fence posts. In display flight, birds stoop from high overhead and produce a pulsating, bleating sound from air passing through their fanned tail. In Asia, beware of extremely similar Pin-tailed, Swinhoe's, and Latham's Snipes, all of which lack the white trailing edge of Common and have a slower, less erratic flight.
Northern Lapwing (小辮鴴)
Vanellus vanellus
https://ebird.org/species/norlap
Relatively rare guests come to Taiwan in winter.
Every time I watch them, I'm amazed that they have such anti-science hairstyles.
📷 Canon PowerShot SX740 HS
Northern Lapwing - eBird
A handsome and striking large wader (shorebird) with long wispy crest. Fairly common in open habitats, from grassland and farmland to wetlands, and locally on coastal mudflats. Declining in some areas with land-use changes. Forms flocks from late summer through winter, locally in hundreds or even thousands. Boldly patterned plumage looks black and white overall, but back shows green gloss in good light. Flies with deep, rather floppy wingbeats and dives steeply in breeding display; wingtips notably broad and rounded, not pointed like most waders.
Taiwan Blue Magpie
Urocissa caerulea
https://ebird.org/species/formag
The thug of the local birds in Taiwan.
Since the last time it hit my head, now whenever I spot one, I first watch what it's up to: Yep, with its tough-guy stance, even eating like a gang member.
📷 Canon PowerShot SX740 HS
Purple Heron (紫鷺)
Ardea purpurea
https://ebird.org/species/purher1
The Purple Heron is a special immigrant. They started to live in Taiwan since 2012. After 12 years, they are still rare and relatively lonely.
Today I saw one of them. It seems to have adapted to life in Taiwan as a local bird. Birds in Taiwan are chilling and staying with it.
Are Taiwanese people as welcoming to our new immigrants as birds are to the Purple Heron?
📷 Canon PowerShot SX740 HS
Purple Heron - eBird
Large heron with rusty head and streaky neck; juvenile is extensively rusty brown on upperparts. Favors fresh marshes with tall reeds and other vegetation. Often more retiring than Gray Heron and rarely seen in open situations. Only likely to be confused with larger and bulkier Gray Heron, which is paler and grayer overall, with a stouter bill.
Black-winged Stilt (高蹺鴴)
Himantopus himantopus
https://ebird.org/species/bkwsti
Yilan, Taiwan.
The first batch of birds arriving in Taiwan to spend the winter at the beginning of autumn, resting in the rice paddies reflected against the dark forests. Their white figures are thus mirrored in the water.
📷 Canon PowerShot SX740 HS
Black-winged Stilt - eBird
Striking large black-and-white wader with a thin, straight bill and bright pink legs, found in wetlands with open shallow water throughout much of Africa and Eurasia, often in brackish habitats. Some populations are migratory, departing northerly breeding grounds for warmer southern regions. Often forms noisy colonies on bare ground near water. Essentially unmistakable throughout much of its range, but compare with Pied Stilt in parts of Southeast Asia. Feeds by wading in water, picking from the water surface with its needle-like bill. In flight, long pink legs stick out far beyond the tail. Calls loudly and stridently, especially when alarmed during the breeding season.
Crested Goshawk
(Accipiter trivirgatus formosae)
Wulai District, Taipei County, Taiwan.
TBN
https://www.tbn.org.tw/taxa/8b793d63-11b9-47e2-b5bd-6fb62571ca19
ebird
https://ebird.org/species/cregos1
📷 Sony DSC H90V
Eastern Cattle Egret (黃頭鷺)
Bubulcus coromandus
https://ebird.org/species/categr2
Kuandu, Taipei, Taiwan.
📷 Canon PowerShot SX740 HS
Eastern Cattle Egret - eBird
Small, compact white heron with relatively short yellow bill. More often seen in dry habitats than other egrets, but also frequent in rice paddies and shallow wetlands. In the breeding season, look for bright orange head and breast, as well as a brighter bill. Leg color varies from reddish or yellow during the breeding season to black during the nonbreeding season. Juveniles have dark bill. Always note relatively short, thick neck and short legs compared with other egrets. Often gathers in flocks, frequently following large animals and field machinery.
Maroon oriolein (Oriolus traillii ardens) in Taiwan.
https://ebird.org/species/marori2
The creative inspiration behind the famous painting "Poyo Bird" by artist Max Liu.
📷 Canon PowerShot SX740 HS
Maroon Oriole - eBird
Large, pale-eyed songbird of lower and middle elevations of montane forests. Male blood red with inky black head and wings and dark bill; female similar but less richly colored. Juvenile brown above, pale with dark stippling below, paler bill, and tawny undertail coverts. Birds in Taiwan and central Vietnam are much brighter red overall. Usually seen in pairs or small flocks, sometimes with mixed-species flocks. Pairs often engage in an ethereal duet: male gives a series of melodic notes, to which the female responds with a long, airy whistle. Also gives harsh, rasping calls.