Mikado Pheasant

Taiwan's most visually striking endemic bird has earned a place on the NT$1,000 banknote — the highest-denomination note in everyday circulation — through the sheer impact of its iridescent blue-black plumage and white-barred tail feathers reaching up to 50 centimetres in length. The Mikado Pheasant (Syrmaticus mikado) exists solely in Taiwan at elevations between 2,000 and 3,300 metres, with a wild population estimated at 10,000–25,000 individuals; sightings remain exceptional due to the bird's shy, forest-floor habits. The Tatajia trailhead area in Yushan National Park and the high trails of Shei-Pa are the most consistent locations, best visited during early-morning hours in May and June. Taiwan's Endemic Species Research Institute reports nest success rates of approximately 60% in undisturbed old-growth forest, falling below 30% near habitat edges — a direct measure of how much habitat quality governs encounter probability. Most sightings last under 30 seconds as the pheasant crosses a trail and retreats into undergrowth. Compared to the Formosan Landlocked Salmon, which is confined to a 5-kilometer stream, the Mikado Pheasant's wider high-elevation range provides more varied viewing spots, yet its sighting duration averages 10 seconds shorter than the salmon's surface-active periods in winter.