A Wild Pitta Chase: The 2022 Global Big Day in Taiwan

By: Scott Pursner

On May 14th, 2022, birders and nature enthusiasts around the world joined in the third annual Global Big Day bird count organized by Global Birding and powered by the eBird online platform. During the event, 51,455 people from 201 countries recorded 7,673 species on 132,350 checklists, an increase of 433 species from the 2021 Global Big Day!

Though many individuals in Taiwan provided checklists that day, there was only one Taiwanese team officially registered for the Global Birding event. The Taiwan Treepies team was comprised of local bird guide Chuck Kuan-Hsieh Hung, Fairy pitta specialist and business-owner Chen Jia-hong, avid birder and filmmaker Mark Wilkie and Taiwan Wild Bird Federation's Director of International Affairs, Scott Pursner. The team spent the Big Day in central western Taiwan's Yunlin County. The area is a well-known breeding site for Fairy Pittas in the spring and summer. At 5:50am, the team started off from the Fairy Pitta Café in Yunlin's Huben Village to search for the globally threatened migratory land bird.

Searching for Fairy Pitta in Huben Village, Yunlin County, Taiwan

That day, rains covered much of Taiwan, and Yunlin was no exception. As the team began their search, they observed a number of common species found in Taiwan's lowlands: Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Black Bulbuls, Red-Collared Doves and invasive Javan Mynas. In the distance they were able to hear the calls of Oriental Cuckoos and Taiwan Barbets. Then as they entered deeper into the woods, the team recorded both Taiwan Partridge and Black-naped Monarch.

Thanks to Jia-hong's local knowledge, the Treepies were able to search several different spots where the pittas were known to call or forage. However, the rain got heavier as the morning continued. The team remained undeterred though the birds were not nearly as active because of the rain. Thus, most species were heard but not seen, including Rufous-faced Warbler and Rufous-capped Babbler as well as the endemic Black-necklaced Scimitar-Babbler. The team was delighted to see an Asian Emerald Dove and some fun and spritely Morrison's Fulvettas though. One of the really nice records from the day was an endemic Swinhoe's Pheasant. Jia-hong said that it was not very common to see those in the area so it was a good pick-up for the day. Yet there was no pitta to be seen or heard for the Treepies.

The Treepies spotted a Swinhoe's Pheasant while looking for Fairy Pitta

Resting Savanna Nightjar Spotted by the Huben Dam in Yunlin, County.

Continuing on, the team went to the Huben Dam where they observed a resting Savanna Nightjar and Eastern Spot-billed Ducks amongst others. The next stop was the Jhoushui River, which is Taiwan largest river. This spot was great, and they picked up species like the Oriental Praticole, Lesser Coucal, Cinnamon Bittern, and Oriental Skylark. Finally, they finished the day looking in some local rice paddies and residential areas. It was there they recorded Common Moorhen, Ruddy-breasted Crake and the team's namesake, Grey Treepies.

The Jhoushui River

In the end, the Taiwan team recorded 60 species that day. Overall though, Taiwanese birders recoded a total of 231 species and submitted 684 checklists. This contributed to Taiwan placing 17th in checklists overall for the Global Big Day event. The Treepies were happy with their effort even if they didn't see their target bird species. They hope more teams from Taiwan will also sign up to take part in this major international birdwatching event in the future.

Cover Photo: The Taiwan Treepies Team