Birding Taiwan’s Beautiful Endemic Birds
Taiwan is the land of the cute – “kawaii”. A Japanese word, but Taiwan has adopted it to the extreme. The birds in Taiwan are also kawaii. They are not boring Little Brown Jobs, but spectacular in their color variation and cuteness.
Taiwan has no less than 30 endemics, plus many local subspecies that may be considered good species when the systematics catch up.
There are the small and cute endemic Flamecrest, Taiwan Yellow Tit, and Taiwan Cupwing, as well as the small panda patterned Black-throated Tit.
The larger endemic birds are equally spectacular, with two species of beautiful pheasants, two partridges, and the iconic Taiwan Blue Magpie.
The birding in Taiwan is not complicated, and there is easy walking on good surfaces, never far from the vehicle. The large number of bird photographers feeding birds has made the game birds extremely confident.
There are no real dangers, with an extremely low crime rate, and no malaria, dengue, ticks, leeches, or rabies.
Taiwanese food is delicious, and there are excellent options for vegetarians.