Country/territory: Taiwan, China
IBA criteria met: A1 (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 2,200 ha
Site description (2001 baseline)
Extent of this site: The northern border is south of Provincial Highway 3, west of Yunlin County Highway 61, and east of the Linnei City district; the eastern border is the boundary between Yunlin and Nantou Counties; the southern border is from Nanshihkeng and Lunweikeng on the upstream sections of the Meilin River to the east and north.
This site includes the Taiwan Forestry Bureau’s Ali Mt. District, Forest Compartment 11, and about 100 ha of the Pillow Mt. area. Principally the Site comprises the upstream section of the Huwei River, including part of the mountain area at Linnei, Douliu, and Gukeng. The highest elevation is at Muguatan Mt. with the height of 519 m near Gukeng’s northern border. The territory includes Forest Compartments 61-73 in which the Thorny Bamboo is predominantly cultivated. There are plantations of fruit orchards, orange groves, and betel nut only in the small section of Compartments 62-68. Scattered among these economic areas are second growth forests.
At this site, the climate can be divided into wet and dry seasons, with the rains coming in April to October, when average annual precipitation exceeds 2,000 mm. The dry season is from December to February with less than 500 mm of rain. Within this site, most of the area is public land belonging to the Taiwan Forestry Bureau, among which 105 ha is privately owned.
Key biodiversity
IBA Al criterion species: Fairy Pitta
• This is a breeding site for the Fairy Pitta. In June 2000, more than 20 pairs were recorded.
• At this site, 97 species in 33 families have been recorded, among which are 5 endemic species, 32 sub-endemic species, and 25 protected species.
• The endemic species are Formosan Blue Magpie, White-throated Hill Partridge, Swinhoe’s Pheasant, White-eared Sibia, and Steere’s Liocichla.
Non-bird biodiversity: • Also found here are the Formosan Macaque Macaca cyclopis, Formosan Ferret-Badger Melogale moschata subaurantiaca, Crab-eating Mongoose Herpestes urva, Formosan Gem-faced Civet Paguma larvata taivana, Leopard Cat Prinnailarus bengalensis bengalensis Gray, White-faced Flying Squirrel Petaurista alborufus lena, Large Red Flying Squirrel Petaurista petaurista grandis, Chinese Cobra Naja naja atra, Taiwan Banded Krait Bungarus multicinctus, Moltreche’s Green Tree Frog Rhacophorus moltrechti, Microhyla heymonsi. Microhyla inornata, and Yellow-lined Box Turtle Cyclemys flaeomarginata.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Huben (Taiwan, China). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/huben-iba-taiwan-china on 04/12/2024.