Protected painted snipes have appeared at the Sindian River Park. The rare and precious bird is categorized as a second-class protected animal. It habitually hides its whereabouts, but it seems that it has now found a new home at the park in Taipei.
The Hydraulic Engineering Office of the Taipei City Government recently released two photos of a male and a female painted snipe respectively. The medium-sized birds are 20cm to 30cm in length, and they mostly take swamps, paddy fields and wetlands as their natural habitat. One female mates with two or more male birds which is called polyandry. Male birds are responsible for hatching eggs and bringing up baby birds, which is rarely seen in the world of birds. Their activities and reproduction usually take place in wetlands where waters are shallow.
The Hydraulic Engineering Office said that the city’s river parks have large areas of grass-covered land, and many swamps can be found along the Sindian River. In recent years, the office has actively promoted environmental protection and habitat building, thereby attracting some painted snipes to roost and reproduce there.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Government’s Hydraulic Engineering Office
照片由台北市水利處提供
The Hydraulic Engineering Office said that painted snipes are shy and often hide, so they are not easily seen unless they bring their young to look for food. Most of the time people will only become aware that painted snipes are around as the birds fly up when being scared by humans.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Eddy Chang)
新店溪河濱公園出現保育鳥類彩鷸,屬於珍貴稀有的二級保育類動物,習性非常隱匿,不過牠們在北市的河濱公園找到新家了。
台北市水利處提供一公、一母的兩張彩鷸照片,該彩鷸屬中型鳥類,體長約廿至卅公分間,主要以草澤、水田及濕地為棲息場所,為一妻多夫的鳥類,由雄鳥負責孵卵及育雛的工作,在鳥類世界中較罕見,多數於有淺水域的濕地活動和繁殖。
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Government’s Hydraulic Engineering Office
照片由台北市水利處提供
水利處表示,所轄河濱公園,擁有大面積的草生地,而新店溪一帶更有許多積水的草澤分布,近年來積極進行環境維護和棲地營造,吸引了部分彩鷸在河濱公園棲息和繁殖。
水利處說,由於彩鷸生性害羞,行蹤極為隱蔽,除了親鳥帶幼鳥覓食時容易被發現外,通常在受到驚擾飛起時,民眾才會驚覺彩鷸就在身邊。
(自由時報記者郭安家)
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