Wild Birds: Mountain Hawk-Eagle

Reporter/Provider - TaiwanPlus
Publish Date -
Watch On App

This is the first flight of a young mountain hawk-eagle (熊鷹). In the future, it will become the king of Taiwan’s forests and skies. Just two months ago, it was still a fuzzy chick, waiting for its parents to feed it with fresh meat they brought back every day. During the brooding period, parent birds go by the tradition of working father and stay-at-home mother, so the one feeding is the mother, and on a nearby tree hunting, is the father. These are his prey—Swinhoe’s pheasants. They mainly hunt by air ambushes, so even birds active on the ground like Swinhoe’s pheasants often become their meals. Mountain hawk-eagles like to live in large expanses of primitive forests in mid- to low-altitudes, and hunt a variety of preys, almost 80% of which are mammals. In particular, Formosan giant flying squirrels are hunted from their nests and the most common. As they are apex predators of the forest, their presence means the forest’s ecosystem is intact and healthy.

Up Next

program cover image

Formosa Forevermore

"Formosa Forevermore" is a documentary series that uses the beauty of wild birds and starry skies, paired with unique traditional songs, to engage international audiences. It tells stories that belong to Taiwan, guiding viewers from home and abroad to experience Taiwan’s ecology and environment.