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中華鳥會2022年會員代表大會在9月24日於宜蘭巿中山國小舉行，宜蘭鳥會陳介鵬理事長及陳樹德總幹事熱心協助會場借用、食宿等安排，宜蘭縣農業處得知各地鳥會代表將到宜蘭開會，因此為各地而來的會員代表，準備了袖珍包的「白鶴米」做為伴手禮，而這米背後的故事，代表了這個年度鳥類保育的一項重要成就。

白鶴米

The Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha) is a long-distance migratory land bird restricted to the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Known in Mandarin as the "eight-colored bird" (八色鳥), its extensive breeding range includes the Korean Peninsula, China, Japan, and Taiwan. Taiwan, however, is where much of the research on the species over the last 20 years has been conducted. This passerine also holds special significance in Taiwan among those involved in the country's environmental movement as it played an outsized role in Taiwan's modern conservation history. Yet for such a brightly colored bird, it still keeps its secrets well hidden. Even now, there is much that is not known about the species, which is considered "vulnerable" by the IUCN.

This piece was first published in BirdingASIA: The Bulletin of the Oriental Bird Club (Number 37 June 2022). The Oriental Bird Club aims to encourage an interest in wild birds in Asia and their conservation; promote the work of local bird and nature societies in the region; support projects on the ground for research and conservation of threatened birds; and collate and publish information on Asian birds. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the OBC for allowing us to contribute this piece. To learn more about the OBC, please visit: https://www.orientalbirdclub.org/(link is external).

By Scott Pursner

On May 8th, 2021, birders and nature enthusiasts around the world joined in the second ever Global Big Day bird count organized by Global Birding and powered by the eBird online platform. During the event, nearly 52,000 people from 192 countries recorded 7,234 species on 133,887 checklists! This was no small feat and could be celebrated as an international effort for birding and citizen science.

by Scott Pursner

The Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), whose global population has risen from a known 288 in 1990 to over 5,000 this year, is one of Asia's great conservation successes. This endangered migratory waterbird endemic to East Asia has not just become iconic in countries along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, but has won over the hearts of enthusiasts and the public around the world. Its conservation success relied on the power of partnership and cooperation at both the local and international level. Taiwan, which sees over half the global wintering population and where it is affectionately known as “Hei-Pi” (since the “hei” and “pi” of its Chinese name sound like “happy”), made outsized contributions to that success. Here we look at that story.