Fairy Pittas arrived at the study area around
20 Apr. in 2000 and 2001. Thirteen nests were
located in 2001. In four of them, the 1st egg was
laid between 8 and 10 May, and in another 5
nests, between 11 and 31 May (R.S. Lin unpubl.
data). Nestlings were observed from late May
through July. Our earliest 2 sampling periods corresponded
with the pre-nesting and early-nesting
periods of the Fairy Pitta in the study area. The
results suggested that in Taiwan, it is critical to
census the Fairy Pitta population during the pre- to
early-nesting period, from late Apr. to early May,
because the detectability of pittas dramatically
decreased after mid-May. Nevertheless, when
applying our results to other breeding ranges of
the Fairy Pitta, the census should be carried out
based on the local breeding schedule of the Fairy
Pitta.
Although it seemed that responding Fairy
Pittas were likely to remain at the same locations