Birds in Taiwan

Endemic Species

Collared Bush-Robin

Flamecrest

Formosan Magpie

Formosan Whistling-Thrush

Mikado Pheasant

Steere's Liocichla

Styan's Bulbul

Swinhoe's Pheasant

Taiwan Barwing

Taiwan Bush-Warbler

Taiwan Partridge

Taiwan Yuhina

White-eared Sibia

White-whiskered Laughingthrush

Yellow Tit

Endemic Sub-Species

Alpine Accentor

Black-browed Barbet

Black-naped Monarch

Black Bulbul

Black Drongo

Gray Heron

Ardea cinerea

This large (92 cm.) heron is gray on the back, upper wing coverts and tail.  The head is white with a black eye-stripe and black plumes.  The back of the neck is gray, the front is white with black streaks, and the breast and belly are white.  The flight feathers and bend of the wing are black.  The iris is yellow, and the bill and legs are brownish yellow, becoming reddish in the breeding season.

Gray Herons have a wide habitat preference, being found in shallow fresh, salt or brackish water, which may be calm such as ponds, marshes and lakes, or flowing such as small streams and rivers.  They are also found in rice fields, irrigated areas, and along the coast in deltas, estuaries,  tidal mudflats and mangroves.  The Gray Heron’s diet consists mainly of fish, but it will also take amphibians, crabs, molluscs, crustaceans, snakes, small rodents and even small birds.  The Gray Heron usually nests in colonies, sometimes mixed with other heron species.  The nest is a platform of sticks, 50 cm or more in width, usually placed high in a tree.  The Gray Heron is a common winter visitor to Taiwan, seen mainly along the coast, and in rivers and ponds at low elevations.

References:  A Field Guide to the Birds of China (Mackinnon and Phillipps);  Handbook of Birds of the World Vol. 1