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)
For many introverts, shy individuals and people with social anxiety, mingling at parties is often draining or arouses uncomfortable emotions. The internal debate about whether or not to attend large get-togethers can get especially intense during the holiday season, a time when many workplaces celebrate with cocktail hours, gift exchanges and other forms of organized fun. “Some people are just not party people,” City University of New York social work professor Laura MacLeod said. “With a workplace holiday party, there’s a pressure to be very happy and excited. It’s the end of the year, it’s the holidays, we’re all feeling grand.
Twelve dinner guests have just left your house, and now a tower of greasy plates stares back at you mockingly. Your hands are already wrinkling as you think about scrubbing each dish by hand. This nightmare bothered households for centuries until inventors in the 19th century tried to solve the problem. The first mechanical dishwashers, created in the 1850s, were wooden machines with hand cranks that splashed water over dishes. Unfortunately, these early devices were unreliable and often damaged delicate items. The real breakthrough came in the 1880s thanks to Josephine Cochrane, a wealthy American socialite. According to her own account,
A: Wow, US climber Alex Honnold has announced that he’s going to free-climb Taipei 101 on Jan. 24. And the challenge, titled “Skyscraper Live,” will be broadcast worldwide live on Netflix at 9am. B: Oh my goodness, Taipei 101 is the world’s tallest green building. Is he crazy? A: Honnold is actually the climber in the 2019 film “Free Solo” that won an Oscar for best documentary, and was directed by Taiwanese-American Jimmy Chin and his wife. He’s a legendary climber. B: Didn’t Alain Robert, “the French Spiderman,” also attempt to scale Taipei 101 in 2004? A: Yes, but
對話 Dialogue 清清：你看到小陳最近發的滑雪照了嗎？看起來真帥氣。 Qīngqing: Nǐ kàndào Xiǎo Chén zuìjìn fā de huáxuě zhào le ma? Kàn qǐlái zhēn shuàiqì. 華華：感覺滑雪很好玩。看了他的照片以後，我在想要不要去學滑雪。 Huáhua: Gǎnjué huáxuě hěn hǎowán. Kàn le tā de zhàopiàn yǐhòu, wǒ zài xiǎng yào bú yào qù xué huáxuě. 清清：我聽說報名滑雪教室的話，會有教練帶你練習。 Qīngqing: Wǒ tīngshuō bàomíng huáxuě jiàoshì de huà, huì yǒu jiàoliàn dài nǐ liànxí. 華華：可是我有點怕摔倒，而且裝備好像不便宜。 Huáhua: Kěshì wǒ yǒudiǎn pà shuāidǎo, érqiě huāngbèi hǎoxiàng bù piányí. 清清：剛開始一定會摔啊，不過可以先上初級課程，比較安全。 Qīngqing: Gāng kāishǐ yídìng huì shuāi a, búguò kěyǐ xiān shàng chūjí kèchéng, bǐjiào ānquán. 華華：說的也是。那你呢？你想不想一起去？ Huáhua: Shuō de yěshì. Nà nǐ ne? Nǐ xiǎng bù xiǎng yìqǐ qù? 清清：我想加一！我們可以先找找看哪裡有教練和適合初學者的課程。 Qīngqing: Wǒ xiǎng jiā yī! Wǒmen kěyǐ xiān zhǎo zhǎo kàn nǎlǐ yǒu jiàoliàn hàn shìhé
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