Wild Birds: Crested Goshawk

Reporter/Provider - TaiwanPlus
Publish Date -

It is a predatory bird most adapted to Taiwan’s urban life — the crested goshawk (鳳頭蒼鷹). Not just in the sense of passing by, or taking a quick tour, but rather being born, growing up, and dying from age in the city. This is in the heart of Taipei. Atop the branches of a roadside tree, there is a nest of crested goshawks. The bird that’s just returned is the mother, while the one standing in front of the lens is the chick. We don’t know what food the mother brought home today, but usually, crested goshawks living in Taipei’s parks feed on Eurasian tree sparrows, pigeons and doves, brown rats, or Pallas's squirrels. This chick is actually old enough to get ready for fledging. Therefore, the mother purposely brings the food away from the nest in order to tempt the chick to fly away from the nesting tree.


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