澎湖貓嶼鳥相之初步調查

The Avifauna in Cat-islet, the Pescadores

貓嶼是台灣僅存的大規模海鳥繁殖地，近年來該島海鳥族群受外在因素干擾，而有減少的趨勢。本研究乃受行政院農業委員會的委託，自民國七十五年八月至七十七年一月，對貓嶼的鳥相及其鄰近島嶼的燕鷗分佈做一初步調查，以為日後經營管理的參考。初步結果顯示，島上出現的鳥種有27種，其中玄(Anous stolidus pileatus)、白眉(S.anaethetus anaethetus)、紅(S. dougollii bangsi)、蒼(S. sumatrana)和鳳頭(S. bergil cristata)燕鷗、和小雲雀(Alauda gulgula wattorsi)及岩鷺(Egretta sacra sacra)等7種鳥類在此繁殖，於多為過境的候鳥、其中包括稀有的黑腳信天翁(Dionedea nigripes)、大水薙鳥(Calonectris leucomelas)、軍艦鳥(Fregata minor minor)及白腹鰹鳥(Sula leucogaster)等。全島以玄及白眉二種燕鷗為主（90％以上），在繁殖高峰期全島數量在7000～20000隻間，鄰近島嶼雖有燕鷗分布，但數量卻不及本島的1/10。推究本島族群眾多之因，可能是由於漁業資源豐富，植生環境適合，再加上本島地形險惡，地處偏遠而使人為的干擾降低因素所致。

Cat-islet (13.75ha， 70.1m in elevation)， situated in the southwest corner of the Pescadores， is a large traditional breeding ground for terns. In response to the decreasing bird population in recent years， a study (Aug. 1986 - Jan. 1988) was entrusted by the Council of Agriculture to learn current status and basic information of the bird population on the islet and neighboring areas for future management planning.Twenty-seven species from 17 families were recorded， Among them， seven species， i.e. Egretta sacra sacra， Anous stolidus pileatus， Sterna anaethetus anaethetus， S. bergii， S. dougallii bangsi， S. sumatrana， and Alceda gulgula wattorsi were found to breed there. The population peak was between Apr. and Sept. During this period， 7，000-20，000 terns， mainly A. stolidus pileatus and S. anaethetus anaethetus (90%) were seen. However， on other adjacent islands， the bird populations were less than one-tenth the population on Cat-islet.Though decreasing， the number of birds in the Cat-islet is still abundant. Reasons for these are probably the combined effects from lesser human interference (eg. remoteness and steepness of the islet)， abundant food resources in the nearby sea， and suitable habitat for breeding birds.