Which subspecies of Japanese Paradise Flycatcher in Taiwan? (1 Viewer)

[gusasp]

As the thread title reads, which is the subspecies that breeds on "mainland" Taiwan? Clements/e-bird has illex (which would be logical), IOC has atrocaudata (with illex strangely wedged in between in Ryukyu Islands only) and HBW Alive doesn't even mention Taiwan in the distribution, though it is on their map and stated as resident in the text. Quite confusing. Which would be correct?

 

[l_raty]

None, so far as I know.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure...aradise-Flycatcher-Terpsiphone_fig1_323861596

 

[Nutcracker]

As the thread title reads, which is the subspecies that breeds on "mainland" Taiwan? Clements/e-bird has illex (which would be logical), IOC has atrocaudata (with illex strangely wedged in between in Ryukyu Islands only) and HBW Alive doesn't even mention Taiwan in the distribution, though it is on their map and stated as resident in the text. Quite confusing. Which would be correct?

T. a. atrocaudata, non-breeding winter visitor (breeds mainland Japan, etc.).

None, so far as I know.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure...aradise-Flycatcher-Terpsiphone_fig1_323861596

Shows breeding distributions only. T. a. illex resident, so it is only 'sandwiched' between the breeding and wintering areas of T. a. atrocaudata, not between different breeding areas.

 

[l_raty]

Shows breeding distributions only. T. a. illex resident, so it is only 'sandwiched' between the breeding and wintering areas of T. a. atrocaudata, not between different breeding areas.

I was answering the question ("which is the subspecies that breeds on "mainland" Taiwan"), not the thread title.

Brazil ("Birds of East Asia") writes: "Some in Nansei Shoto perhaps resident, remainder migratory, moving along Chinese E coast, also Taiwan, and wintering in peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. [...] T. a. illex is resident (perhaps migrant) on Nansei Shoto." He also says periophthalmica is "considered resident on Lanyu off SE Taiwan, but presence in winter uncertain", thus things are not that clear for this population in the literature either. I spent a few days on Lanyu in winter a couple of years ago, and we failed to find it despite active searching. We did not see the species on the mainland either, by the way -- and Brazil's map shows it as "scarce" there (and only in the northern part), not as a regular visitor.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

From Ebird (which is used a lot these days in Taiwan) there is only one summer mainland Taiwan record. There are quite a lot of records from Lanyu, however.

 

[gusasp]

Thank you all! Interesting, that means that all three of IOC, Clements and HBW (partly at least) are all wrong!