Bird enthusiasts in Penghu County earlier this week spotted two rare species — red crossbills and black bazas — indicating that the county is a relay station for migratory birds coming from China.
Birdwatchers in the county, including several professional photographers, often share images of rarely seen species on a Facebook page called Penghu Happy Bird Days.
Messages from the page said that they found black bazas on Monday and three red crossbills on Wednesday in a forested area in the county’s Magong City (馬公). The two species are listed as the county’s No. 404 and No. 405 species.
Photo provided by Lin Lien-shou
A rare predator species in tropical Asia, black bazas are a type of dream hawk, measuring 28cm to 35cm in length, and 64cm to 74cm across when its wings are fully open.
Black bazas often fly from the southern China region to winter in the Indochinese Peninsula.
Since they were first found spending the winter in Pingtung County in 1999, black bazas have been sporadically spotted in Taiwan, with the latest sighting recorded in Kaohsiung last month.
Photo provided by Lin Lien-shou
Red crossbills have only been documented in Taiwan in the past two years, and the Chinese Wild Bird Federation plans to list it as a new species next year, Penghu Wild Bird Society research division head Cheng Chien-hsun (鄭謙遜) said.
Red crossbills’ breeding areas span from northeastern China to Jiangsu Province in the east, while they might fly to Penghu for food, Cheng said.
From April to this month, five new species were found in the county, showing that it is an important stop for birds migrating across the Strait, he said.
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