📸 PhotoPhoto: Francesco Veronesi from Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Taiwan Whistling Thrush
Myophonus insularis (Taiwan Whistling Thrush · ルリチョウ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its body length of 32 cm is slightly longer than the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 According to the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area Headquarters, it is a stream-dwelling hunter that eats valley fish, frogs, crabs, aquatic insects, and waterside earthworms and lizards.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Taiwan Whistling Thrush is an endemic species found only in Taiwan, living along clear mountain streams at elevations below 2,000 m.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It is a relatively large thrush with a body length of 30–32 cm and a wing length of about 16 cm.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It eats stream fish, frogs, shrimp, crabs, and aquatic insects, and also catches earthworms and lizards along the water's edge. It lives along clear mountain streams at elevations below 2,000 m.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2025) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22708334/154681611
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 154681611
- • wikidata.org — Q386368
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Formosan Whistling-Thrush - Taiwan S4E6052 (17047153068
- • trimt-nsa.gov.tw — 29
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · CC BY 4.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Phoenicurus ochruros)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.