I would argue devil’s advocate and suggest that maybe the pheasant was able to lead such a pleasant life due to wild cat populations having being driven to extinction.
But I agree that feral cats are a worldwide problem for nature and diversity.
Tbh I wonder if they actually are in any way rebalancing systems even in those places where there used to be wild cats or if they’re just another psychopathic killer species that should never have been allowed to go feral?
Not sure if i gollow, sorry. Feral cats are still quite prevalent in many areas. They are causing huge levels of local population decline.
Cats aren’t rebalancing, they are only destroying. they make little distinction between a norwegian rat and a feral mouse, or an endangered bird vs a pigeon. They should never be allowed to be feral. Owners shouldnt be allowed to let them outside even. I was surprised that dogs and cats werent included on the recent import ban of exotic animal species. They included racoons but not cats or dogs. A mystery to me.
I agree dogs are less of a problem but still a problem . Cars are worse as they kill on the 3D level ,unlike dogs. they are up in trees urder flora just as fluently as on the ground. I respect their skill, but on an ecological level they are worse than german cokcroaches and slightly better than rats.
Ya cats are a REAL problem! They have wiped out a lot of things in areas they roam. I love cats and think they are cute, but they shouldnt be inteoduced to the wild ,for any reason.
Whats the species of pbeasant you have there? Taiwan has few species, but ours are the common type and still protected. Phasianus colchicus
May i ask how you trapped the cats? I dislike the idea, but it has to be done. I dont want to kill tem, will let the spca deal with them because i am too weak to do it. A few invasive lives are less important than thousands of native species’ lives. Gotta happen.
I just love the sound these pheasant make. Reminds me of when I was a kid. It’s been so long since I’ve heard their call.
Ahh, the memories!
Ya super cute sound. Until adults escape. They remind me of a helicopter x jet hybrid.
The ones around our area arent nearly as colorful as yours! Those are gorgeous!
Might be a long shot but have seen numerous empty nests in buffer zones recently. Any ideas who is the maker of these?
I only know the beautiful pheasant is the Chinese pheasant. All other smaller ones I have no idea. In our first two years on this land we could see pheasants almost every day. Five years later very rare to see one.
As for cats, I built my own trap. I can send a pic. Basically wood frame with wire mesh sides. Hung a small can inside which has line running to open front. When the cat pulls the can with food down the line lets a door slide down trapping the cat inside. I then load the trap on my truck to take them far away. I don’t like to do this but the number of cats coming to my land was too much. I have not trapped one in 3 years and they are starting to visit me alot lately.
My wire mesh has rusted away. If I redo will use plastic instead.
Do you want to see the bird?
I’ve seen it now!
Well, the cats around me are not really wild but roaming cats. They can roam a long way. Unlike real wild cats, they do not have to worry about finding food, surviving during hurricanes, etc. The roaming cats just kill for fun not to feed themselves. This is just like all the cats in the U.S. decimating the wild bird population. But cat owners will never admit their cats are doing that much damage. My brother’s wife thinks is so cute every time the cat brings a bird or rabbit home. I told her that cats kill too many birds…her response, “oh, the bird is still alive when she brings the bird home.” Oh, like the young bird snatched out of the nest is going to survive this encounter. Estimates are that cats kill 1 billion birds every year in the U.S. Some researchers argue is even more.
Sounds beautiful! If ts not a privacy concern, maybe snap some shots of the land when you have time. There are a number of farmers on this forum 
I know what you mean now with the trap ,cheers. We have a couple busted ones similar. But we were lazy and bought them from the hardware stores. Their spring seems too weak and cats (or something) have squeezed out many times. DIY or bust…
Well, what the wife and I do with our farm land cannot be compared with real farmers. My wife puts in some effort with certain fruit trees and alot of effort for her vegetables…while I do my best to prepare some areas for fruit trees and vegetables. But we in no way can compare to real farmers. ha
Nah man. At least in my perspective, the term real farming means producing excess that can be used outside that farmers circle. Be it for sale or not. Farming is producing food for the masses ,even if it is just a mass of 1 for now
Ego (and a decent dash of short term greed) is the reason “real farming” is in such a shit situation now. When production and the masses have an honest conversation and strike a deal, thats the day sustainability becomes just a common sense bare minimum providing f or yourself is already a huge win. Real change is accomplished by the individual, then scaled. always respect for those doing it the right way
Same question, different birds…
These and the mother are really tiny–mother maybe twice the size of a hummingbird. I thought they could maybe be Swinhoe’s white-eye, but they’re missing the name-sake white around the eye. Maybe it develops later, or maybe some other species.
Sadly, they disappeared from the nest the day after I took this photo, and I assume they weren’t ready to fly yet. Afraid they may have gotten poached by someone who thought they could sell them to a pet shop. Or maybe a cat found them. They were nested only about 2m off the ground, but silent, well-concealed and not kind of foliage a cat would normally like to try to climb.
could the human scent make them flee the nest? maybe a bird enthusiast here can confirm if that is a myth or real.
super yellow., quite pretty. i was googling “yellow teet” to try and find baby pics and came up with human tooth ailments. then realized it was tit not teet. the wormhole has consumed me now sorry.
Saw three of these colorful guys flying around Pier 2 in a flock.
Looks like some kind of parrot or lorikeet?
Sun conures. Probably someone’s pets. They either let them fly free, or they escaped their cages.
Well, in the wild. They’re doing quite well in the pet trade.
not sure of course, but lots of people in kaohsiung city (many places in taiwan) go to public places to both give their caged friends exercise as well as get themselves some much admired attention
