Listen to the Taiwan hwamei
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Taiwan hwamei
The Taiwan hwamei is a bird in the family Sylviidae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “near threatened”.
What does the Taiwan hwamei sound like?
Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
The recordings here are labelled as 台灣台中東勢畫眉. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The Taiwan hwamei (Garrulax taewanus) is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1859. It is endemic to the island of Taiwan. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the Chinese hwamei (Garrulax canorus) but has since been split as a separate species. It is estimated to have diverged from the Chinese hwamei about 1.5 million years ago.
It is about 24 centimetres long. It is mainly grey brown with heavy streaks on the crown, nape and back and fine streaks on much of the underparts. It lacks the white eye-markings of the Chinese hwamei which is also more rufous in colour and less heavily streaked. The whistling song is long, melodious and varied.
More from the family Sylviidae
Frequently asked questions
What does a Taiwan hwamei sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the Taiwan hwamei on this page, including its 台灣台中東勢畫眉. Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
Is the Taiwan hwamei endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Taiwan hwamei as “near threatened”.
What family does the Taiwan hwamei belong to?
The Taiwan hwamei (Garrulax taewanus) belongs to the family Sylviidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- 台灣台中東勢畫眉 by Jidanni – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q716280 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Taiwan hwamei – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by 孫鋒 林 – CC BY-SA 2.0