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Nation’s population of Hodgson’s hawk eagles close to zero

The number of Hodgson’s hawk eagles — Taiwan’s largest bird of prey — has dropped to 100, members of the Taitung Wild Bird Society said on Wednesday, attributing the decline to human encroachment on the mountain bird’s habitats.

The society urged authorities to devise conservation plans as soon as possible to protect the endangered species from extinction in Taiwan.

The Taitung Wild Bird Society said that four years ago it was invited, along with ecology photographer Liu Yan-ming (劉燕明), by the Taiwan Forestry Bureau to conduct a survey on the distribution of hawk eagle groups in Taitung County.

In the past two years, their study focused on the bird’s breeding habits and population, society members said.

A survey report released recently by the society showed that while 140 hawk eagles were recorded two years ago, that number had fallen to 100 in the past year.

As there are no natural enemies threatening the bird’s survival in Taiwan, the drop could be attributed to damage to habitats, the report said.

Liu said the hawk eagle mostly lived in forests on steep mountains. More than four out of every 10 eagles were found nesting in natural forests, while 27 percent were in man-made forests.

The Hodgson’s hawk-eagle is a predator belonging to the Accipitridae family. It breeds in southern Asia, from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka to China and Japan.
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