Taiwan hwamei
| Taiwan hwamei | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Leiothrichidae |
| Genus: | Garrulax |
| Species: | G. taewanus |
| Binomial name | |
| Garrulax taewanus (Swinhoe, 1859) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Leucodioptron taewanum | |
The Taiwan hwamei (Garrulax taewanus) is a passerine bird in the Leiothrichidae family. It is endemic to the island of Taiwan. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the Chinese hwamei (Garrulax canorus) but has recently been split as a separate species. It is estimated to have diverged from the Chinese hwamei about 1.5 million years ago.[2]
It is about 24 centimetres long. It is mainly grey-brown with heavy streaks on the crown, nape and back and fine streaks on much of the underparts. It lacks the white eye-markings of the Chinese hwamei which is also more rufous in colour and less heavily streaked. The whistling song is long, melodious and varied.
It inhabits secondary woodland in the foothills and lower mountains up to 1,200 metres above sea-level. It forages alone, in pairs or in small groups, searching amongst the understorey for insects and seeds.
It has a declining population of 1-10,000 individuals and is classified as a Near Threatened species by BirdLife International. Habitat loss may affect its numbers but the main threat is hybridization with introduced populations of the Chinese hwamei.
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Garrulax taewanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ Shou-Hsien Li, Jing-Wen Li, Lian-Xian Han, Cheng-Te Yao, Haitao Shi, Fu-Min Lei, Chungwei Yen (2006) "Species delimitation in the Hwamei Garrulax canorus", Ibis 148 (4): 698–706. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2006.00571.x
- BirdLife International (2008) Species factsheet: Garrulax taewanus. Retrieved 22/05/08.
- MacKinnon, John & Phillipps, Karen (2000) A Field Guide to the Birds of China, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- Birding in Taiwan - Hwamei Retrieved 22/05/08.