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Guide to the Birds of China

10,000 Birds

To say that an update of John MacKinnon’s “A Field Guide to the Birds of China” (2000) has been highly anticipated by birders interested in Chinese birds is almost an understatement. For example, about half of the shortish entry on the Azure-Winged Magpie discusses subspecies, particularly their geographic distribution.

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Birding Balangshan, Sichuan, China (part 1)

10,000 Birds

China’s massive investment in infrastructure has indirectly benefited birders. This blue is not a pigment but rather a “structural color”, something I am too lazy to write about now but which has been explained nicely before, for example here. And it is a great place for birding.

China 259
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Spoon-billed Sandpiper at Tiaozini, Jiangsu, China

10,000 Birds

Spoon-billed Sandpiper at Tiaozini, Jiangsu, China. The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is probably the most iconic bird species in China – to the point that some bird guides I know are quite tired of looking for it. And yet, I have now birded China for almost 5 years without ever really trying to see one. Or Nordman`s Greenshank.

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Crested and Proud

10,000 Birds

For many species, their crest seems to be something not worth mentioning – for example, Eurasian Hoopoe, the Secretary, the Galah, the Northern Lapwing, or the Grey-crowned Crane. So much for the educational part of the blog post.

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Amur Paradise Flycatcher in Jixi, Anhui, China

10,000 Birds

So there are maybe 20 or 30 photographers just spending the whole day sitting next to a little stream, waiting and trying to get the signature photo of Jixi – a male Amur Paradise Flycatcher flying very close to the surface of the water (see [link] for an example). A village about 1.5 Red-billed Blue Magpie. Collared Finchbill.

China 136
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Birding the Danzhou Bay area (Hainan, China) by day

10,000 Birds

The Spring Festival – or Chinese New Year – is a big period for traveling in China. While not on the scale of bird migration, it is routinely and somewhat lazily described as the biggest annual migration of humans in the world. Being somewhat allergic to crowds, I usually avoid traveling during the peak of this period.

China 193
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Not enough Woodpeckers

10,000 Birds

T he Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Tengchong, China) is a tiny bit bigger and looks much soberer. A point in case: the Crimson-breasted Woodpecker (Tengchong, China). So, more than my usual maximum of five photos per species for the Eurasian Wryneck (Nanhui, Shanghai, China).