Shield bug

You know I'm busier 'n sheeit when I go long periods without a post, and my entry turns out to be just a picture of a bug, bird or flower.

I came across this interesting bug last month while hiking in the mountains outside Taipei.

Megarrhamphus truncatus, on the leaf of a mountain screwpine (Freycinetia formosana).

Chinese hydrangea

Chinese hydrangea (Hydrangea sinensis)

I saw it on a hike along the Bijiashan ridge a couple weeks ago. It's not a decorative like the common hydrangea; it's a wild plant with large flowers.

Muller's Barbet (Megalaima oorti)

The Chinese call it the Five-Color Bird. It's very common in the lower-altitude wooded areas in Taiwan. I've rarely actually seen them, but I commonly hear when hiking. They have a distinctive call.

I was walking around the Liuzhangli cemeteries when I found this one. A beautiful bird.



You can hear the bird's call here:

Chinese bulbul

Chinese bulbul, or Light-Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis)

We saw this bird near the town of Linnei, on a recent, less-than-successful attempt to see the Purple Butterfly migration.