Common Name: Formosan Blue Magpie or Taiwan Magpie
Scientific Name: Urocissa caerulea
Length: 64 cm (including tail)
Distribution: Taiwan only! Found in deciduous lowland forest.

I chose the Formosan Blue Magpie to be the symbol of this web site because I owe my present love of birds and birding to my first encounter with this beautiful bird. On my first birding trip at Wulai in the summer of 1993, I was part of a group of elementary students led by a guide from the Wild Bird Society of Taipei's birding camp for kids. I was not particularly interested in birds then, but instead was more interested in the insects and flora. Our guide suddenly stopped and set up a spotting scope telling us to look at "Formosan Blue Magpies." Not knowing what exactly was a Formosan Blue Magpie and being unfamiliar with how to use the telescope, I only took a brief peek inside the scope. Either the bird had already flown away or maybe I just wasn't looking carefully, but I saw nothing but branches swaying in the wind. Embarrassed not to have seen the bird, I said "Nice bird" and stepped aside for the next person in line to see. When I saw the drawing of a Formosan Blue Magpie in the field guide later that day, I could not believe that birds so pretty existed in Taiwan. Remembering how close I was to seeing one in the wild that day, I grew angry at myself. I then became determined to see the bird at least once in my life. I forgot about birding for about a year, but by the time I finally saw Blue Magpies about a year and a half later, I was hooked on birds and so began my history of birding.

The Formosan Blue Magpie is one of the 14 endemic bird species of Taiwan, found no where else in the world. It is uncommon in low elevation broadleaf forests all around the island. The Formosan Blue Magpie usually appears in groups of 3-8 birds, but may sometimes appear in flocks of up to 20 birds. Often accompanying the presence of these birds is their loud cackling call that can be heard from quite a distance away. Although often venturing close to human settlements, these birds are wary and difficult to approach. The Formosan Blue Magpie and the Formosan Yuhina are the only cooperative breeders in Taiwan; the whole flock of birds raises one nest of young each year. They build a platform nest composed of course twigs and branches. It is a sight to behold when a flock of birds fly, one after another, from tree to tree or across valleys, each bird followed by its long and segmented tail. The main threats to the survival of this bird are illegal captures and habitat loss as the last tracts of lowland broadleaf forests are developed.

Sadly, the guide led us back to the place where he found the Blue Magpies the next day, but all we saw were bulldozers and trucks and the hillside that had been completely dug up overnight. What stands there today is a mansion for the rich boasting, ironically, to be a paradise for birding. I have never seen another Blue Magpie there since.

Below are some photos I took at Yangmingshan of a nest of Formosan Blue Magpies. This flock raised five chicks.

	The nest is constructed of coarse twigs at the fork of a branch.
	This is a chick that has already left the nest.
	Here's an adult bird feeding three chicks.