Crested Goshawk Guarding Its Nest.

Today, I spotted a male Crested Goshawk in NCKU, perching on a tree branch and seriously guarding its nest with one of its legs hiding inside its belly feathers. The breeding plumage is pale and grayish in color, especially the grayish head plumage.

glimpsed at me....

then, turned its head, starring at the nest, 
and ignored me.

Click HERE to view my last year pictures of Crested Goshawk.

A Pair of Crested Goshawk at NCKU

Last weekend, I was lucky to spot a pair of Crested Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus, 鳳頭蒼鷹) at NCKU (National Cheng Kung University) in Tainan, Taiwan. It was my first experience of spotting a pair of Crested Goshawk. 

It's an opportunity for me to learn how to distinguish the male and the female Crested Goshawk in the field. I learned that the size of the female Crested Goshawk is larger as compared to the male. From my observation and comparison through the digiscoped pictures and field book, I noticed the male has smaller body size as compared to the female, it has shorter crest and round head. The male has distinctive yellowish lines near the nostril and the upper beak. 

Let's take a closer look at the pictures of the pair.

The male:

and the female:

Besides that, I also heard the call that I have never heard of : "chiup.. chiup..chiup", an alarm call from one of them when I was trying to approach nearer.

Boon Eu, 16-March-2011, Tainan, Taiwan.

Taiwan Endemic Subspecies

I spotted more than 20 endemic subspecies in Taiwan. The digiscoped pictures are as follows:

Crested Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus formosae), a resident in Taiwan, I spotted this raptor in Taipei Botanic Gardens, it is one of the beautiful raptors in Taiwan.

I spotted the Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela hoya) on the way to Neidong from Wulai waterfall.

We heard the call of the eagles while walking on the road towards Neidong, not knowing which eagle is that, we then imitated their call to attract them out from the forest. Three raptors flew above us after some minutes, and one perched on the tree at the slope just in front of us. Unfortunately, the bird was blocked by branches and leaves, but it is good enough for us to identify the raptor as the Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela hoya).

Oriental Turtle Dove, in Chinese is known as Golden-backed Dove. It is one of the common dove in Taiwan, easy to see in parks and gardens. I feel that this species of dove is very beautiful, it has a golden back which really attracts my attention.

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis formosana), this dove is as common as the Oriental Turtle Dove.

White-bellied Green Pigeon (Treron sieboldii sororius), I saw it at the buddhist temple in Puli.


Chinese Bulbul, it is a common bulbul in Taiwan. It is as common as our Yellow-vented Bulbul.

Black Bulbul, I spotted at the buddhist temple in Puli:

Winter Wren, spotted it in the early morning in Hehuanshan.


Plumbeous Water Redstart, I spotted both male and female in Alishan, the male 's territory is at the sister pond, and the female is at the river near to the Sacred Tree trail.

Tits are small, agile and active birds, their feeding behavior is fast as the sunbirds and flowerpeckers, but manily feed on insects. Digiscoping small birds is always a challenging task, but as long as the bird is perching, it is not impossible to digiscope them, just a matter of skill and practice.

Green-backed Tit from Alishan,
Taiwan Varied Tit from Wulai :

Coal Tit, from Alishan: This is the only Coal Tit picture that I have. The main purpose of this picture is to show you the distinct feature of Taiwan Coal Tit, it has distinct fine crest as compared to other subspecies of Coal Tit.
Vinaceous Rosefinch, I saw both male and female in Hehuanshan.

 Grey Treepie at Wulai:

 

  

Spotted Nutcracker, sighted at Tataka National Park.

Alpine Accentor, I saw it at the road side of the Hehuanshan National Park. The picture is not so sharp is due to the misty weather.

The endemic sub-species which I spotted but did'nt digiscope are the Grey-cheeked Fulvelta, Rufous-capped Babbler, Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler.
hope you enjoy my digiscoped bird pictures from Taiwan.