Editor’s Note :
Travel is more than movement—it is a way of reading the world.
Cultural Express launches Hidden Pattern, a new column by USC professor Cheng-Ming Chuong and Violet Shen, former Director of Clinical Research at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
Through words and images, they explore landscape, culture, nature, and science—revealing the traces of time, the path of evolution, and the hidden order of the world.
Who would guess that Arizona’s desert near the Mexican border hides a birding kingdom of wonder?
After a birding bonanza, the author discovered that its avian abundance is no accident, but the work of mountains, water, and layered ecosystems.
Birding Began • Islands Beckoned
The author started birding during the COVID lockdown and soon learned that Sierra Vista in southern Arizona was one of North America’s top birding hotspots.
This year, she finally joined Birding Bonanza and, in just five days, added 24 new species, bringing her Merlin Bird ID Life List to 300.
Lazuli Bunting(from left.), Mexican Jay, and Northern Shoveler
What makes Sierra Vista so remarkable is its unusual terrain. Long ago, the earth’s crust here stretched and fractured, lifting some blocks into mountain ranges while others sank into basins.
Over time, erosion left these ranges isolated and encircled by desert, giving rise to the name “Sky Islands.”
The name itself feels legendary: beneath your feet lies dry desert, yet ahead the mountains seem to rise like islands in the sky—remote, mysterious, and mesmerizing.
Even more remarkable, the foothills may still be lined with cacti and desert scrub, while the peaks, cooled by higher elevation and enriched by greater rainfall, support pine forests and even fir.
In a surprisingly short distance, the landscape shifts from desert to forest, as if half of North America’s climates and plant zones had been compressed into a single mountain road.
Desert Peaks • Sky Isles
Desert, grassland, riparian wetlands, canyon woods, and mountain forests lie side by side, giving birds of every kind a place to live, breed, or briefly rest during migration.
What seems like a sun-bleached borderland is, in fact, a richly layered world alive with motion.
That is why Sierra Vista is more than a birding destination; it is a place people return to.
Change the canyon, forest edge, or feeding site, and an entirely different cast of birds may appear.
What truly awakens this land, however, is water. In the Sky Islands ecosystem, rivers and wetlands are its vital lifeline.
The riparian zone—where water feeds plants, plants sustain insects, and insects draw birds and other wildlife—becomes not just a blue line on the map, but a living corridor through the desert.
Waters Flow • Birds Gather
Near Sierra Vista, the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area and the Huachuca canyons, rich in water and woodland, shelter many rare and southwestern specialty birds.
More than 300 species can be recorded here in a year, a sign of the region’s remarkable biodiversity.
Its place along a major migratory route makes it even more extraordinary.
Each spring and fall, countless birds traveling between North America and Central and South America stop here to rest and refuel, making Sierra Vista a dream stopover for birders.
The Sierra Vista region is also known as the Hummingbird Capital of the United States. In the right season, more than ten hummingbird species may appear in a single day, flashing in the sun like tiny jewels.
Sky Echoes • Yushan Rises
As the author gazed at Arizona’s Sky Islands, she thought of Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range.
Though Taiwan has no desert-divided ranges, Central Mountain Range’s steep rise creates layered habitats at different elevations—a vertical Sky Island shaped by altitude.
Taiwan’s status as a world-class birding hotspot is no accident. Endemic birds such as the Mikado Pheasant, Taiwan Blue Magpie, and Swinhoe’s Pheasant are part of the island’s own winged legend.
From Arizona to Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range, though worlds apart, the same law of life holds true: the more distinctive the land and the richer the habitats, the more vibrant the birdlife.
Blue Magpie photo by Shao Huan Lang
In the next installment of Hidden Pattern, we will uncover the secrets behind the dazzling colors of bird feathers.
More content：
From Shallow Seas to Cloud Peaks : Guizhou’s Cave Legend
Mountains Endure, Miao Spirit Shines Exploring Xijiang Miao Village
About the Authors
Dr. Cheng-Ming Chuong is a professor of pathology at the University of Southern California. With a scientist’s eye and a gift for observation, he explores the hidden order of nature and the clues of life.
Violet Shen is the former Director of Clinical Research in Pediatric Brain Tumors at Children’s Hospital of OC.
Now devoted to travel and photography, she captures the beauty of landscape and human life through a discerning lens.