Taipei City Geotechnical Engineering Office

Having found a habitat in Neishuangxi Natural Center, a pair of Taiwan barbets has given birth to their offspring, adding new family members to nature at the beginning of autumn this year.

As expressed by Ming-Yu He, Chief of the Forest Recreation Section of the Taipei City Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO), Neishuangxi Natural Center is a wooded area in the vicinity of Taipei for environmental education. Its rich natural factors have given birth to various ecological species, among which is the Taiwan barbet, a local resident bird that has long settled at the Center. The Taiwan barbet is Taiwan’s native species and also an expert in puncturing wood for making a dwelling. It has clear call resembling that of a wooden fish (a percussion instrument used by monks that makes the sound “ko ko ko”) and colorful feathers (bright green for the body and red, yellow, blue, black and green for the head, forming natural protective colors), thus earning the name “spotted monk of the forest”.

In recent years, a pair of loving barbets has given birth to their offspring, adding new members to, and enhancing, the ecological richness around the Center. The reproduction activities of barbets usually take place between March and August, among which the peak of reproduction falls between June and July. We are extremely happy to have found the trace of these baby barbets in the Center in late August. Visitors are welcome to come to the Center and look for these lovely and colorful “monks” along the wooden trail recently renovated inside the Center’s herbal garden.

The herbal garden of the Neishuangxi Natural Center is open to free visits from 9 AM to 4 PM from Wednesday through Sunday. In case of need, visitors can sign up for tour guides with the GEO, where friendly and enthusiastic water and soil conservation volunteers will lead the visitors to search for the Taiwan barbets. Visitors are advised to bring along a light jacket as the weather in the mountains has turned cooler with the arrival of autumn.

PS: To use the photos, please visit the Taipei City Geotechnical Engineering Office Chinese website (http://www.tcge.taipei.gov.tw/（Chinese）) to download.