Formosan Blue Magpie

The Formosan Blue Magpie otherwise known as the Taiwanese Blue Magpie was voted as the national bird of Taiwan in 2007 where over 1,000,000 votes were cast from 53 different countries. As its name implies it is blue in color with a black head and red beak. Size wise it is comparable to the European Magpie but its tail is much longer measuring up to 40 centimeters.

These birds often live in groups of 6 or more near human residences in the countryside and hills as they are not afraid of people. These birds are also monogamous which means they have the same mate through out their lifetime. When breeding the female takes care of the young which usually hatch in groups of 3 to 7 chicks while the male builds the nest and gets food. Blue magpie chicks take up to 19 days to hatch from their olive green eggs though only around 80% of the eggs will hatch.

These birds have been listed as "Rare and Valuable" by Taiwan's Cultural Heritage Preservation Act. However there is a good sized population of Formosan Blue Magpies inside Toucheng Leisure Farm where there is a safe environment for them to thrive in. Hopefully these rare yet beautiful birds will be with us forever. Hopefully humans wont drive them to extinction.