Monday, March 25, 2013

Black-browed Barbet

The Black-browed Barbet or Müller's Barbet (Megalaima oorti) is a bird belonging to the Asian barbet family, Megalaimidae.

It is 20-23.5 cm long. The plumage is mostly green apart from the head which is patterned with blue, yellow and red. There is a black stripe above the eye. The bill is black and the feet are grey-green. The Chinese name for the bird, "five-colored bird" (五色鳥) refers to the five colors seen on its plumage. Because of its colorful plumage and that its call resembles that of a percussion instrument known as a wooden fish, the species is also referred to as the "spotted monk of the forest" in Taiwan.




Thursday, March 14, 2013

A few egrets

I seldom take pictures of egrets....they are kind of too common here! I see them every day!Sometimes hundreds of them!





Thursday, March 7, 2013

The black-faced Spoonbill

I had the chance to take some more pictures of the black-faced Spoonbill!

Around 100 Spoonbills started to stay just 5 km from where I live! Exciting!
The black-faced Spoonbill is one almost extinct bird in the world and protected by regulation. The Black-faced Spoonbill is a large wading bird. Males and females look alike, with long, black bills and black facial skin. During the breeding season adult birds also develop yellow ornamental feathers on the head and breast, and yellow patches of skin under the eyes.
Every year, between September and April next year, large flocks of an endangered species, the "Black-faced Spoonbills", visit Taiwan to spend the winter here. In 2011, the global population of Black-faced Spoonbills was approximately 2,600, with 1,500, or more than half of the population, appearing in Tainan.
The number of black-faced spoonbills in southern Taiwan’s Tainan region has hit a record high of more than 1,500, according to Taijiang National Park Headquarters Jan. 14.2013!