Garrulax taewanus
Silhouette: Jiekun He · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The Taiwan hwamei (Garrulax taewanus) is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1859. It is endemic to the island of Taiwan. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the Chinese hwamei (Garrulax canorus) but has since been split as a separate species. It is estimated to have diverged from the Chinese hwamei about 1.5 million years ago.
It is about 24 centimetres long. It is mainly grey brown with heavy streaks on the crown, nape and back and fine streaks on much of the underparts. It lacks the white eye-markings of the Chinese hwamei which is also more rufous in colour and less heavily streaked. The whistling song is long, melodious and varied.
It inhabits secondary woodland in the foothills and lower mountains up to 1,200 metres above sea level. It forages alone, in pairs or in small groups, searching amongst the understorey for insects and seeds. It has a declining population of 1,000–10,000 individuals and is classified as a near threatened species by BirdLife International. Habitat loss may affect its numbers but the main threat is hybridization with introduced populations of the Chinese hwamei. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fonghuanggu Bird and Ecology Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Taiwan Hwamei sighting in Taipei on a given day, based on 45 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 187th most-seen of the 266 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Taiwan Hwamei in Taipei on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 5 and 8 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Taiwan Hwamei sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Taiwan Hwamei sightings, Taipei ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kaohsiung (Taiwan, under 5%) and Taichung (Taiwan, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Taiwan Hwamei is recorded against all the birds logged in Taipei (45 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
