More than 20 members of a native subspecies of ring-necked pheasant, commonly known as the “wailing chicken,” have been spotted by birdwatcher Huang San-ming within the Jinsha Borough of Tainan’s Sigang District. There have also been separate sightings of Formosan ring-necked pheasants perching in Beipu Borough in Jiangjun District and in Fandian Borough in the city’s Yanshuei District.
The Formosan ring-necked pheasant, Taiwan blue pheasant and mikado pheasant are the three main types of protected pheasant in Taiwan. The “wailing chicken,” or Formosan ring-necked pheasant, mostly perches in flat open fields and used to be a common sight in Taiwan. However, a combination of excessive hunting and overdevelopment has meant that these days it is rare to catch a glimpse of the bird. Huang says that Formosan ring-necked pheasants will immediately take off if they catch sight of a human or hear the wind rustling through the grass, which makes watching them extremely difficult.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY EDWARD JONES)
Photo courtesy of Huang San-ming
照片:黃三明提供
台灣特有亞種環頸雉(俗稱啼雞)在台南市西港區金砂里被鳥友黃三明發現有廿多隻出現。此外,將軍區北埔里、鹽水區飯店里也有台灣環頸雉棲息。
台灣環頸雉、藍腹鷳,和帝雉是台灣三大保育類雉雞。其中俗稱啼雞的環頸雉主要棲息在平地田野,早年常見,因濫捕加上過度開發,現在很少看到牠們蹤跡。黃三明說,因為啼雞一見人或風吹草動就跑,要看到牠們的身影不容易。
(自由時報楊金城)
A: South Korean supergroup BTS is finally staging a comeback tomorrow, releasing their new album in nearly four years: “Arirang.” B: And to promote their new album, BTS will hold a comeback concert at the Gwanghwamun Plaza in downtown Seoul this weekend. According to police estimates, the show could attract a crowd of at least 260,000 fans. A: What about their new world tour? When will it start? B: The upcoming world tour will kick off from Gaoyang on April 9, and Kaohsiung will be included this time. A: Really? Hurry up and tell me the dates of the Kaohsiung shows. Maybe we
K-pop oozes with talent, flair and hard work, but the spectacularly successful South Korean music industry also has a dark side — sometimes with tragic results. After BTS’s comeback concert on Saturday, AFP looks at the intense competition, the grueling training, the tight control over stars’ lives and the sometimes obsessive fan behavior in the industry. 300 GROUPS South Korean record labels launch dozens of new groups every year in the hope they will become the next BTS or Blackpink, but with some 300 outfits already out there, the big time is elusive. The tiny minority of the thousands of young hopefuls
A: K-pop supergroup BTS is set to tour Taiwan at the end of the year, putting on three shows in Kaohsiung on Nov. 19, 21 and 22. B: But before that, VieShow Cinemas across Taiwan will launch the “BTS World Tour ‘Arirang’ in Japan Live Viewing” from the Tokyo Dome on April 18. A: In recent years, BTS’ junior groups — Tomorrow X Together (TXT) and CORTIS, which debuted under the same label in 2019 and 2025 respectively — have also quickly become global sensations. B: I like those two groups, too. Didn’t TXT just perform at the Taipei Dome recently? Their popularity
Heavy rain brought by Typhoon Ragasa caused the barrier lake above Matai’an Creek in Hualien’s Guangfu Township to overflow on Sept. 23 of last year. The sudden rush of water and mud destroyed a major bridge and swept through nearby villages, leaving significant damage in its wake. The barrier lake was formed in July, when heavy rain caused landslides and blocked the creek’s natural flow. As rainwater built up, the lake grew increasingly unstable. When Typhoon Ragasa hit, the water level rose rapidly and finally overflowed. In the aftermath, volunteers across Taiwan, known as “shovel supermen,” stepped in