Lyu Dao, Green Island
All over the island you hear the call of the Brown-eared Bulbuls. Later we heard this is the only location in Taiwan they can be seen in such big numbers. It was breeding season for them and we found numerous nests built in shrubs and trees.
A male, keen on the look out, guarding a nest
A female, on the way to feed her chicks.
One of the nests hidden in the branches was so close to the road, I could easily have peeked inside, but decided not to upset the parents more than I already did.
Bulbul is an Indian word, meaning pretty girl.
Scaevola
After the arid brownness of the Philippines Lyu Dao’s
scenery was surprisingly green.
While the heavy rains of the rainy seasons still had to materialize.
Japanese White-eye
A Blue Lycaenidae.
Left: Yellow Wagtail, right: Olive-backed (Tree) Pipit
The ripe fruit of Pandanus attracts all sorts of beetles, some endemics only found on Green Island.
Checking out the dock, a Spotted Longhorn beetle
Cattle egret, not living with cattle so much as with goats and deer that roam the island.
In breeding season their white heads turn orange.
White-spotted Chinese Skink
Another well represented specimen on Lyu Dao:
Swinhoe’s Japalura
Gives you an idea how fiery the old dinosaurs must have been.
Beautiful Galangal in bloom during our visit.
Left: Chestnut Bunting; right: Brown Shrike
Hypolimnas anomala, or Malayan
Eggfly
A kind of Lycaenidae again.
Hermit crabs love the shells of these land snails. The snails are edible, (we tried them in Hualien) but I recommend the crabs.
Sika deer, nearly extinct in other parts of Taiwan, are raised and farmed and allowed to run free most of the time, as long as they don’t fall into the hands of local pet-lovers, who tie them up in their yard.
The song heard every days from high rocks and
buildings, Blue Rock Thrush.
The female not so blue...
...the male very, on sunny days.
Springtime: Tadpoles in a puddle
Left: Foetid Nothapodytes is native to the island and contains the anti cancer drug camptothecin; right: Dona Aurora
Orange surprise. Don’t know what this really is. Maybe a bromeliad?
Another common sight: big billy goats
And a Common Tern who shared the dock with us.
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