The Fairy Pitta (Pitta nympha) is a long-distance migratory land bird restricted to the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Known in Mandarin as the "eight-colored bird" (八色鳥), its extensive breeding range includes the Korean Peninsula, China, Japan, and Taiwan. Taiwan, however, is where much of the research on the species over the last 20 years has been conducted. This passerine also holds special significance in Taiwan among those involved in the country's environmental movement as it played an outsized role in Taiwan's modern conservation history. Yet for such a brightly colored bird, it still keeps its secrets well hidden. Even now, there is much that is not known about the species, which is considered "vulnerable" by the IUCN.
Part 1;
Pitta History in Taiwan
Though first described by Temminck & Schlegel in 1850 (1), the first mention of the Fairy Pitta in Taiwan came from famed British naturalist Robert Swinhoe in 1864 (2). Swinhoe thought he had discovered a new species and called it Pitta oreas, an ally of Pitta cyanoptera (Blue-winged Pitta) and Pitta nympha (Fairy Pitta). Publishing his description in journal The Ibis, he claimed the specimen was from the Formosan mountains. The area was likely what we would today call Taiwan's western low-altitude foothills. In 1864, Swinhoe probably had no access to the actual high mountains or the eastern portion of Taiwan, as they were not under the control of the Qing Dynasty at that time.
After Swinhoe, it wasn't until 1951 that the species was more thoroughly studied by Japanese ornithologists Masauji Hachisuka and Tatsuo Udagawa (3). They listed it as a subspecies of the Indian pitta (Pitta brachyura nympha), and called it "a summer visitor.... more frequently met with on the western hills than the eastern side." The assumption that the Fairy Pitta was a summer migrant to Taiwan would continue until the late 20th century. Prior to the 1970s, Fairy Pittas were also under pressure in Taiwan due to hunting, as specimens were able to fetch high prices (4). However, the situation improved after the bird specimen industry was more strictly regulated by the central government in the early 1980s (4).
The first Taiwanese researcher to discuss the species was Dr. Lucia Severinghaus in 1991 (5). Her paper described a Fairy Pitta nest discovered in Taichung City's Dakeng District in 1987, a year after the IUCN had declared it "vulnerable" due to presumed population declines across its range. Severinghaus said the bird was "a rarely seen uncommon summer visitor" and "one of the least known bird species in Taiwan." However, she did speculate that it should be a regular breeder even if only at a few locations.
Internationally, the Fairy Pitta was formally afforded protections under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1992.
From 1864 to 1991, very little was known about the distribution and ecology of this secretive species in Taiwan. It could have stayed that way if not for various land development pressures which threatened its breeding habitat. By the early 2000s, it would become the eight-colored face of the Taiwanese environmental movement.
Eight Colors, One Future: Fairy Pitta Conservation in Taiwan and Efforts for the Future －Part 1
Part 2;
Where Have All the Pitta Gone?
According to Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute researcher and Fairy Pitta expert Scott Ruey Shing Lin, the Fairy Pitta population in Taiwan decreased during 2001 to 2010. But numbers have since stabilized, and over the last 10 years, there has been much more research done locally and internationally about this elusive creature. Lin keeps in frequent communication with researchers in Korea and Japan who also work on the Fairy Pitta. According to him, "In Japan, there is a steady amount of research taking place. There are now more researchers working on this topic in Korea and in China too. So, you could say that now there is much more information out there on the Fairy Pitta."
Eight Colors, One Future: Fairy Pitta Conservation in Taiwan and Efforts for the Future －Part 2
Part 1;
Pitta History in Taiwan
Though first described by Temminck & Schlegel in 1850 (1), the first mention of the Fairy Pitta in Taiwan came from famed British naturalist Robert Swinhoe in 1864 (2). Swinhoe thought he had discovered a new species and called it Pitta oreas, an ally of Pitta cyanoptera (Blue-winged Pitta) and Pitta nympha (Fairy Pitta). Publishing his description in journal The Ibis, he claimed the specimen was from the Formosan mountains. The area was likely what we would today call Taiwan's western low-altitude foothills. In 1864, Swinhoe probably had no access to the actual high mountains or the eastern portion of Taiwan, as they were not under the control of the Qing Dynasty at that time.
After Swinhoe, it wasn't until 1951 that the species was more thoroughly studied by Japanese ornithologists Masauji Hachisuka and Tatsuo Udagawa (3). They listed it as a subspecies of the Indian pitta (Pitta brachyura nympha), and called it "a summer visitor.... more frequently met with on the western hills than the eastern side." The assumption that the Fairy Pitta was a summer migrant to Taiwan would continue until the late 20th century. Prior to the 1970s, Fairy Pittas were also under pressure in Taiwan due to hunting, as specimens were able to fetch high prices (4). However, the situation improved after the bird specimen industry was more strictly regulated by the central government in the early 1980s (4).
The first Taiwanese researcher to discuss the species was Dr. Lucia Severinghaus in 1991 (5). Her paper described a Fairy Pitta nest discovered in Taichung City's Dakeng District in 1987, a year after the IUCN had declared it "vulnerable" due to presumed population declines across its range. Severinghaus said the bird was "a rarely seen uncommon summer visitor" and "one of the least known bird species in Taiwan." However, she did speculate that it should be a regular breeder even if only at a few locations.
Internationally, the Fairy Pitta was formally afforded protections under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1992.
From 1864 to 1991, very little was known about the distribution and ecology of this secretive species in Taiwan. It could have stayed that way if not for various land development pressures which threatened its breeding habitat. By the early 2000s, it would become the eight-colored face of the Taiwanese environmental movement.
Eight Colors, One Future: Fairy Pitta Conservation in Taiwan and Efforts for the Future －Part 1
Part 2;
Where Have All the Pitta Gone?
According to Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute researcher and Fairy Pitta expert Scott Ruey Shing Lin, the Fairy Pitta population in Taiwan decreased during 2001 to 2010. But numbers have since stabilized, and over the last 10 years, there has been much more research done locally and internationally about this elusive creature. Lin keeps in frequent communication with researchers in Korea and Japan who also work on the Fairy Pitta. According to him, "In Japan, there is a steady amount of research taking place. There are now more researchers working on this topic in Korea and in China too. So, you could say that now there is much more information out there on the Fairy Pitta."
Eight Colors, One Future: Fairy Pitta Conservation in Taiwan and Efforts for the Future －Part 2