IC Broadcasting’s Island Symbiosis – Listening to Taiwan talks about the beauty and sorrows of birds of prey in the city

When it comes to surveys of birds of prey, many people immediately think of documentaries such as The Oriental Honey Buzzards of Ninety-nine Peaks, Phantom of the Forest - the Black Eagle, or Fly, Kite Fly. Because birds of prey operate in large areas and exist in limited numbers, researchers must be extraordinarily passionate and devote many years of research to achieve some results. However, there is one bird of prey that has silently moved into cities in the last 20 years. They can be found in urban parks in Taipei, such as Da’an Park, Taipei Botanical Garden, and National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. These new residents of the city are crested goshawks.

Crested goshawks are mainly found in South East Asia. Their heads are gray in color with a small patch of feathers on the back of their heads called a crest, which is where their name is derived from. The feathers on their backs are generally gray-brown and the feathers on their chest are white with brown patterns. The feathers near their tail are white and puffed up, which many bird watchers describe as a diaper. Crested goshawks generally live in low altitude mountains and hills and will forage on the surrounding plains. In recent years, some groups of these birds have started living and reproducing in urban areas all year round.

In 2013, the Raptor Research Group of Taiwan began to study the urban ecosystem of crested goshawks in Taipei to understand their state of survival. The episode invites researcher Wang Lee-Lien to talk about our graceful neighbors in the city. We will discuss how they find food in the cities and the survival challenges they face.