China / Taiwan Tally Sheet

Here is a complete list of all the birds seen throughout our trip to China and Taiwan.  Where available, I have included a link to photos of each species.  There are 89 species listed.

SPECIES	LATIN BINOMIAL	LOCATION
Waterfowl – Anatidae
Eastern Spot-billed Duck	Anas zonorhyncha	Taiwan
Grouse – Phasianidae
Ring-necked Pheasant	Phasianus colchicus	China, Taiwan
Grebes – Podicipedidae
Little Grebe	Tachybaptus ruficollis	China, Taiwan
Great Crested Grebe	Podiceps cristatus	Taiwan
Herons & Bitterns – Ardeidae
Yellow Bittern	Ixobrychus sinensis	Taiwan
Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea	China, Taiwan
Great Egret	Ardea alba	China, Taiwan
Intermediate Egret	Mesophoyx intermedia	China
Little Egret	Egretta garzetta	China, Taiwan
Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis	Taiwan
Chinese Pond-heron	Ardeola bacchus	Taiwan
Black-crowned Night-heron	Nycticorax nycticorax	Taiwan
Ospreys – Pandionidae
Osprey	Pandion haliaetus	Taiwan
Hawks – Accipitridae
Black-shouldered Kite	Elanus caeruleus	Taiwan
Rails – Rallidae
White-breasted Waterhen	Amaurornis phoenicurus	Taiwan
Eurasian Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus	Taiwan
Oystercatchers – Haematopodididae
Eurasian Oystercatcher	Haematopus ostralegus	Taiwan
Plovers – Charadriidae
Black-bellied Plover	Pluvialis squatarola	Taiwan
Greater Sand-plover	Charadrius leschenaultii	Taiwan
Kentish Plover	Charadrius alexandrinus	Taiwan
Sandpipers – Scolopacidae
Common Sandpiper	Actitis hypoleucos	Taiwan
Green Sandpiper	Tringa ochropus	Taiwan
Spotted Redshank	Tringa erythropus	Taiwan
Common Greenshank	Tringa nebularia	Taiwan
Common Redshank	Tringa totanus	Taiwan
Far Eastern Curlew	Numenius madagascariensis	Taiwan
Eurasian Curlew	Numenius arquata	Taiwan
Ruddy Turnstone	Arenaria interpres	Taiwan
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper	Calidris acuminata	Taiwan
Gulls & Terns – Laridae
Whiskered Tern	Chlidonias hybrida	Taiwan
Royal Tern	Sterna dougallii	Taiwan
Doves – Columbidae
Rock Pigeon	Columba livia	China, Taiwan
Oriental Turtle-dove	Streptopelia orientalis	China
Red Collared-dove	Streptopelia tranquebarica	Taiwan
Spotted Dove	Streptopelia chinensis	China, Taiwan
Cuckoos – Cuculidae
Asian Koel	Eudynamys scolopaceus	Taiwan
Greater Coucal	Centropus sinensis	Taiwan
Swifts – Apodidae
Pacific Swift	Apus pacificus	Taiwan
Kingfishers – Alcedinidae
Common Kingfisher	Alcedo atthis	Taiwan
White-throated Kingfisher	Halcyon smyrnensis	Taiwan
Bee-eaters – Meropidae
Blue-tailed Bee-eater	Merops philippinus	Taiwan
Hoopoes – Upupidae
Eurasian Hoopoe	Upupa epops	Taiwan
Woodpeckers – Picidae
Grey-capped Woodpecker	Dendrocopos canicapillus	China
Shrikes – Laniidae
Brown Shrike	Lanius cristatus	China
Long-tailed Shrike	Lanius schach	China, Taiwan
Drongos – Dicruridae
Black Drongo	Dicrurus macrocercus	China, Taiwan
Crows & Jays – Corvidae
Azure-winged Magpie	Cyanopica cyanus	China
Red-billed Blue-magpie	Urocissa erythrorhyncha	China
Eurasian Magpie	Pica pica	China, Taiwan
Large-billed Crow	Corvus macrorhynchos	China
Collared Crow	Corvus torquatus	Taiwan
Swallows – Hirundinidae
Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica	China, Taiwan
Pacific Swallow	Hirundo tahitica	Taiwan
Red-rumped Swallow	Cecropis daurica	China
Tits – Paridae
Marsh Tit	Poecile palustris	China
Coal Tit	Periparus ater	China
Japanese Tit	Parus minor	China
Long-tailed Tits – Aegithalidae
Black-throated Tit	Aegithalos concinnus	Taiwan
Bulbuls – Pycnonotidae
Collared Finchbill	Spizixos semitorques	China
Light-vented Bulbul	Pycnonotus sinensis	China, Taiwan
Black Bulbul	Hypsipetes leucocephalus	Taiwan
Chestnut Bulbul	Hemixos castanonotus	China, Taiwan
Bush-warblers – Cettidae
Brownish-flanked Bush-warbler	Horornis fortipes	China
Yellowish-bellied Bush-warbler	Horornis acanthizoides	China
Cisticolas – Cisticolidae
Common Tailorbird	Orthotomus sutorius	China
Hill Prinia	Prinia superciliaris	Taiwan
Parrotbills – Paradoxornithidae
Beijing Babbler	Rhopophilus pekinensis	China
Vinous-throated Parrotbill	Sinosuthora webbiana	China
White-eyes – Zosteropidae
Japanese White-eye	Zosterops japonicus	China, Taiwan
Old World Babblers – Timaliidae
Rufous-capped Babbler	Cyanoderma ruficeps	China
Streak-breasted Scimitar-babbler	Pomatorhinus ruficollis	China
Laughingthrushes – Leiotrichidae
Chinese Hwamei	Garrulax canorus	China
Père David’s Laughingthrush	Ianthocincla davidi	China
Chinese Babax	Ianthocincla lanceolata	China
Red-billed Leiothrix	Leiothrix lutea	China
Old World Flycatchers – Muscicapidae
Dark-sided Flycatcher	Muscicapa sibirica	China
Oriental Magpie-robin	Copsychus saularis	China, Taiwan
Blue-and-white Flycatcher	Cyanoptila cyanomelana	China
Blue Rock-thrush	Monticola solitaria	China
Thrushes – Turdidae
Orange-headed Thrush	Geokichla citrina	China
Starlings – Sturnidae
Crested Myna	Acridotheres cristatellus	Taiwan
Javan Myna	Acridotheres javanicus	Taiwan
Common Myna	Acridotheres tristis	China
Black-collared Starling	Gracupica nigricollis	Taiwan
Daurian Starling	Sturnia sturnina	China
Finches – Fringillidae
Oriental Greenfinch	Chloris sinica	China
Old World Sparrows – Passeridae
Eurasian Tree Sparrow	Passer montanus	China, Taiwan
Estrildid-finches – Estrildidae
White-rumped Munia	Lonchura striata	China

eBird: Birding in the 21st Century

I don’t typically do this, but in keeping with the spirit of sharing opinions and information, I thought I’d write a little blurb for eBird.  eBird is an online database hosted by Cornell University and the National Audubon Society, which acts as a portal for the citizen science movement.  Established in 2002, eBird is now a global repository for bird sightings, and catalogs millions of sightings worldwide each year.  Just recently, eBird reached its 100 millionth record, and is showing no signs of slowing down as more and more birders across the globe begin to input data.

I’ve been using eBird since 2008.  A good friend of mine from Ottawa got me onto the site, and I’ve been hooked ever since.  The allure of eBird is multi-faceted: it automatically catalogs all of your sightings and organizes them into multiple formats, allowing you to keep track of how many species you’ve seen within a given county, state, country, continent, or hemisphere.  It also creates lists of bird sightings for month, year, and lifetime, so you can keep track of Year Lists without any extra work.  All that is required is logging in and inputting your sightings for the day…eBird does the rest.

But it’s more than just a useful tool for the bird-obsessed.  The data are used by scientists to track and monitor migration movements and population trends, which is especially useful in creating policies that protect or destroy critical habitats or species.

eBird began as a repository for North American sightings, but quickly expanded and now covers every country around the world.  Individual reports are reviewed at a local level by volunteers, so rare or unusual sightings are reviewed and confirmed before entering into the data stream.  The eBird database is also updated about once a year, to include new species and other taxonomic updates that are critical to our understanding of birds and their evolution.

Data entry is simple, and with the smartphone app, you can enter data right in the field.  I’m still a traditionalist and keep a notebook and pencil with me on my outings, but the online entry form couldn’t be simpler.  You can create locations by using a number of options, including finding it on Google Maps, inputting GPS coordinates, or simply choosing from a list of local “hotspots” that you may already be familiar with.

Once the location is set, add a little information concerning the time and date of your sightings, and whether you were travelling, searching over a set area, or just happened to see something from you bedroom window.  You’ll be presented with a list of common and expected species for the location you chose, and you can enter in the number of each species, add species that don’t appear on your list, and even go as far as identifying the subspecies of a bird (if you know it).  Then just hit submit.  Any unusual species, or higher-than-expected numbers, will be flagged for review.  You can also add information about gender, age, and breeding information, include photos and make comments that might be relevant to the sighting.

Besides keeping track of your totals and checklists, eBird compiles all of the sightings entered into the database onto a searchable map, which allows you to locate sightings of a given species anywhere in the world.  This is a great tool for locating rare sightings in your area, or for planning a birding trip somewhere new.  Going to Yosemite National Park and you’re interested in where the best place to find an American dipper is?  Search “American Dipper” in the Range & Point Maps section to bring up color-coded maps of every sighting reported to eBird of that species.

A detailed map showing all the American dipper sightings throughout North America.

A closer look at Yosemite National Park.  More recent sightings are marked in red.

The only downside I’ve found with eBird is that it follows the Clements taxonomic profile, endorsed by the ABA (American Birding Association), and as such may not list as many species as other taxonomic profiles, such as the IOU (International Ornithologists’ Union).  This mainly affects birders outside of North America.  For example, the IOU recognizes three species of herring gull; Clements and the ABA only recognize one, and considers the three forms to be subspecies only.  This can pose a slight problem if you are an international birder, as some of your lists may not correspond to the eBird lists.  In my case, I have two species listed on my Life List that are only recognized as subspecies by eBird.

Overall, eBird is a tremendous tool, both for birders and professional scientists alike.  I’d highly recommend checking out the site on your own, and giving eBird a try.