By now we should have been enjoying the clear cool weather of autumn, but on the Chia-nan Plain in southern Taiwan there is no sense of autumn in the air-the weather is still oppressively hot and the sun still beats down fiercely. Yet in Taiwan's largest area of water caltrop cultivation, the scent of the water caltrops drifts everywhere, and everywhere one can see large aluminum bowls and caltrop harvesting boats. People are busy, the farms are busy, and the creatures which live in and around the caltrop fields are not idle either. The most representative of the birds among them-the pheasant-tailed jacana, known in Taiwan as the caltrop bird-is particularly active as it fights a losing battle to survive here in its last Shangri-la.
The caltrop bird, which lives much of its life on the floating caltrop leaves, is listed as a rare resident bird in Taiwan. The jacana hens may take more than one mate, and incubating the eggs and raising the chicks is the responsibility of the male birds. As for whether the pheasant-tailed jacana is known as the caltrop bird because it is often seen among the floating leaves of the caltrop plants, or because its long neck and uplifted tail give it the appearance of a water caltrop, no one can say for sure.
As Taiwan's wetlands have been continuously drained and reclaimed, the water caltrop fields have become the pheasant-tailed jacana's last retreat. As the birds' habitat disappears and food becomes harder to find, it grows ever more difficult for them to make it through the cold winter. By the time spring arrives many have died, and although there are a few new hatchlings, something seems to be missing-a sense of vitality and the flourishing vigor of life, the hope that they need no longer live in fear, but might pass happy and carefree lives.
Spending over 3000 hours with the caltrop birds over four and a half years, I have grown with them and seen them go from being ordinary birds to being noticed by conservationists and gradually becoming celebrities. But with the headlong rush to development and a complete lack of any effective plan for preserving their habitat, I am afraid that in the end they will once again be ignored. All I can do for the time being is to use the images I have gathered through my lens during more than 400 working days over four years to tell something of their short lives.
About the photographer
Lin Hsien-tang
Born Tainan, Taiwan
Wild bird and nature photographer
p.48
Seconds away-Round One! Of the two pheasant-tailed jacanas spreading their wings and striking fierce poses, the one on the left is a female, giving a hostile reception to a male who tried to muscle in on her nuptial bliss. As for her "lord and master," all he can do is watch from the sidelines-in the jacana household, it is Madam who rules the roost. It is up to the male bird to turn the eggs to prevent his babies being broiled by southern Taiwan's powerful sun (top right); and when the chicks are hatched, it is Dad who must rear them (middle right). Only when the youngsters are able to fend for themselves can Father finally relax, his mission completed (bottom right).
p.51
The one busy building a nest out in the rain is Dad too (left), but the one with her neck puffed out in a threatening pose is none other than the all-powerful matriarch of the family (right).
p.52
In the caltrop fields, the greedy eyes of predators are ever-present. A direct attack by an irate moorhen is easy enough to dodge (left), but the egg-eating checkered keelback water snake, which pops up out of the water without warning, is more difficult to defend against (right).
p.54
With growing human intrusion, the caltrop fields are no longer peaceful places. But will the caltrop birds move away and settle elsewhere, or will they remain in their old home to face gradual extinction?
Seconds away--Round One! Of the two pheasant-tailed jacanas spreading their wings and striking fierce poses, the one on the left is a female, giving a hostile reception to a male who tried to muscle in on her nuptial bliss. As for her "lord and master," all he can do is watch from the sidelines--in the jacana household, it is Madam who rules the roost.
It isup to the male bird to turn the eggs to prevent his babies being broiled by southern Taiwan's powerful sun.
and when the chicks are hatched, it is Dad who must rear them （middle right）
Only when the youngsters are able to fend for themselves can Father finally relax, his mission completed （bottom right）.
The one busy building a nest out in the rain is Dad too （left）
The one busy building a nest out in the rain is Dad too （left）
but the one with her neck puffed out in a threatening pose is none other than the all-powerful matriarch of the family （right）.
In the caltrop fields, the greedy eyes of predators are ever-present. A direct attack by an irate moorhen is easy enough to dodge （left）
but the egg-eating checkered keelback water snake, which pops up out of the wate r without warning, is more difficult to defend against （right）.
With growing human intrusion, the caltrop fields are no longer peaceful places. But will the caltrop birds move away and settle elsewhere, or will they remain in their old home to face gradual extinction?
