Dasyueshan (Great Snow Mountain) National Forest Recreational Area 大雪山國家森林遊樂區 in Hoping township 和平鄉 of Taichung County 台中縣, 43 kilometers from Dong-shi 東勢鎮, is reached via Dasyueshan Forest Road 200. One of Taiwan's 16 forest recreational areas, ths 3963-hectare area ranges from 1000 to 2996 meters above sea level. The recreation area includes Xiao Xue Mountain 小雪山 and An Ma Mountain 鞍馬山. The climate ranges from humid and cool with an annual mean temperature of 12C.
Swinhoe's Pheasant 藍腹鷳 (lán fù xián) Lophura swinhoii is endemic to the mountains of Taiwan, living in damp primary broadleaved forest and mature secondary forest from 200 to 2,300m. It was sometimes referred to as the unofficial national bird of Taiwan, but the Formosan Blue Magpie was voted the national bird in 2007. The male has glossy blue-purple chest, belly and rump, brown shoulders, red facial wattles and bright white feathers on the tail, back of the neck and crest. The female is a dark brown. The pheasant was named after the British ornithologist Robert Swinhoe, who first described the species in 1862. Swinhoe's pheasants mainly eat seeds and fruits, as well as insects. The female lays 2-6 eggs which are incubated for 25–28 days. The young can leave the nest after 2–3 days. The total population is estimated to exceed 10,000 birds.
Situated at the end of the Snow Mountain range 雪山山脈, where it joins Shiaoshui Mountain 小雪山 at 2,997m, Anma Mountain 鞍馬山 at 2,666m, Boat-shaped Mountain 船型山 at 2,274m and Shaolai Mountain 稍來山 at 2,307m, the area provides views of Yushan (Jade Mountain) 玉山.
Area trees include Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana 台灣扁柏, juniper 紅檜 Chamaecyparis formosensis, hemlock 鐵杉 Tsuga formosana, and pines 松; grasses include: the endemic dwarf bamboo Yushania niitakayamensis 箭竹, Miscanthus transmorrisonensis 高山芒, and Abies awakamii 台灣冷杉.
The Taiwan Yuhina 褐頭鳳鶥 (hè tóu fèng méi) Yuhina brunneiceps is a small songbird endemic to the temperate mountain forests of Taiwan from 1000 to 3300m in altitude, especially abundant from 1500m to 2500m. About thirteen cm long with a deep brown chestnut-colored crest and a black beard stripe descending from its beak, the bird's back, wings and tail are olive brown, and its lower breast is lighter in color. Gregarious, active and quite tame, it keeps to the lower forest where it often joins other species, especially tits in mixed flocks, making a constant soft chatter as they look for nectar, berries, flowers and small insects. Breeding season for the Taiwan Yuhina is from May to June.
The forest includes cypresses, hemlocks and broadleaf Fagaceae species; flowering plants include the Yushan Azalea, Taiwanese Cherry, Japanese Knoweed, Formosan Lily, and Digitalis.
Steere's Liocichla 黃痣藪鶥 (huáng zhì sǒu méi) Liocichla steerii is a species Timaliidae endemic to Taiwan.
We drive toward the end of the road to Tianchi 天池 before leaving the Da-Sueh Shan National Forest Recreation Area 大雪山國家森林遊樂區 in the morning.
Tianchi 天池 is a natural alpine lake at 2,600 meters above sea level at the 49-kilometer mark on Forest Road 100. The lake is surrounded by Taiwanese Red Pines.
Nutcracker 星鴉 Nucifraga caryocatactes
The Vinaceous Rosefinch 酒紅朱雀台灣亞種 Carpodacus vinaceus taiwanensis is a species of finch found in temperate forests and subtropical or tropical dry forests.
