10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2020

That means it also has many tropical birds that a foreigner living in China can see without risking to leave the country (which would mean 2 weeks of quarantine on reentry at best and complete exclusion at worst, depending on the ever-changing regulations). Predictably, the flowers attract several species of sunbirds.

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China Barn Owls Birds Laos 264

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JANUARY 9, 2023

That comes at a price – the HBW describes the species as “stocky and fairly sluggish” and – with a critical undertone – continues to state that the species is “generally less agile in flight than are most flycatchers”. Why the Latin species name is cyaniventer (meaning having a dark blue belly) remains a mystery to me though.

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China Hunting Birds illegal 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

It is listed as Vulnerable, as its range is rather restricted, though it has been found outside of China as well, e.g., in Vietnam, though the HBW does not seem to have read that paper yet. Some ornithologists are so desperate to add papers to their resumes that they write about new records of Black-crested Bulbul subspecies within China.

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China Vietnam Birds Monkeys 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2022

The Beautiful Sibia is one of 11 bird species listed in the HBW with the word “beautiful” in its name. However, the Latin species name is desgodinsi after Auguste Desgodins, a French missionary whose sole claim to fame seems to be that he attempted to enter Tibet in the early 1860s. Nationalism still sucks.

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China India Birds North Korea 232

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2021

High up at almost 4500 meters, some Alpine Accentors were posing in the sunshine, justifying the description in the HBW as “large, attractive accentor” (though eBird seems to disagree, instead characterizing the species as a “stocky, stout, and unobtrusive bird”). I side with the HBW on this issue.

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China Birds Sheep Monkeys 200

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JUNE 20, 2022

Or would be, had I encountered more of them – so far, I have seen only a very small share of the approximately 233 woodpecker species, and got decent photos of an even smaller number – not much more than 10% of all of them. T he Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Tengchong, China) is a tiny bit bigger and looks much soberer.

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Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 245

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

A nicer name for the species is Chinese Painted Quail (since when are kings so diminutive in size?). ” Kind of like the catfish of the avian world, right? Quite successfully, it turned out (note: to be honest, successful does not mean that I found the birds but that somebody else found them and I got to see them as well).

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Lemurs China Owls Birds 232

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JANUARY 10, 2022

While it is laudable to point out the plight of homeless woodpeckers, this is hardly the right subject for an upbeat bird photo contest. Notes on bird species and locations shown: Amur Paradise Flycatcher (Nanhui, China). Bar-tailed Godwit (Tiaozini, China). Barn Swallow (Nanhui, China). Curlew (Tiaozini, China).

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China India South Africa Homelessness 230

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APRIL 15, 2024

They are ridiculously unafraid of people there – so the cynic in me suspects that swan meat is not regarded as tasty by the Japanese (another explanation, that the Japanese just like animals too much, can presumably be discarded given the country’s very principled approach in insisting on the right to kill whales).

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China Iceland Whales Whaling 226

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NOVEMBER 11, 2021

learning to swim” A baby bird ( Robin Accentor , Dulan, China). Several baby birds ( Little Egret , Shanghai, China). Black-necked Crane , Qinghai Lake, China. White-naped Crane , Nanhui, China. An Oriental Turtle Dove (Wolongshan, China). I am sure you can easily imagine this as a PowerPoint slide.

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South Africa China Germany Birds 240

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FEBRUARY 12, 2024

The scientific species name of the Golden-throated Barbet is franklinii , commemorating Capt. The HBW section on this species’ behavior mostly repeats the phrase “more information needed” Though of course scientists, hungry for grants and topics, say that all the time. Ok, I made that up. Then, on to nuthatches.

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Birds China Woodpeckers Breeding 188

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OCTOBER 3, 2022

The ongoing destruction of Nanhui, where the species can frequently be seen on migration, certainly will not help. Judging from the facial expression of this White-shouldered Starling , I would rather not have an annoyed bird of this species as a roommate. The species has reversed sex roles, with the males doing the incubating.

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China Birds Ukraine Killing 190

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MARCH 30, 2023

William also had connections to both China and Napoleon, but I am too lazy to copy these bits from Wikipedia right now. Other sources are even more exuberant – birdfact.com calls the species “one of the most striking birds on the planet” (probably again only referring to the male, though). Judge for yourself.

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China Research India Zoos 244

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APRIL 13, 2023

The family has about 37 species, but that includes several fulvettas – only 21 of the species have “parrotbill” in their names (and frankly, the bills of fulvettas do not look like those of parrots at all). A paper on breeding of the species was actually researched right here at Wawushan.

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Pandas Birds Eggs China 218

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

While I am still not so sure about China’s sense of humor – though admittedly, the issue is mostly a mismatch between what I think is funny and what the average Chinese thinks is funny, an issue that I have had in other countries as well – the country sure has its fair share of Laughingthrushes. This post shows some of them.

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San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 219

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OCTOBER 11, 2021

So, I asked around and was told that Qinghai is the place to go to for birds in China in August. Similarly, the Alpine Leaf Warbler is one of the more attractive species in an otherwise almost indistinguishable family of identical leaf warblers. (“But the difference in wing bars, Kai!”). Fashion show.

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Birds North Korea China Woodpeckers 251

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FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Located right where the Yangtze River enters the sea (and dividing it into two parts), it is mostly flat farmland. A number of species use Chongming as a wintering spot, not just the Cinereous Vultures I already mentioned in a previous post. These Eurasian Teal s know they are treading on thin ice in China. Black-faced Bunting.

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China Ducks Transported Game 169

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APRIL 1, 2024

Any place that used to be good for an interesting species last year is likely to have been turned into another construction site this year. I don’t think many other bird species are named after Japanese citizens. Also, there are quite some variations within each species – for details, see here. One, a Ryukyu Minivet.

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Chicago Birds Asia China 149

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OCTOBER 30, 2023

The Ashy Tailorbird is a good example of the different perspectives of describing a bird – while the English name focuses on the body of the bird, the Latin species name ruficeps refers to the rufous head. The split makes the bird one of the six species endemic to Sabah, Borneo ( source ), four of which I saw during my week at Sepilok.

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Woodpeckers Birds Eggs India 222

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MARCH 17, 2022

The falcon breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China but winters in Southern and East Africa. The Latin name of the Chinese Sparrowhawk is Accipiter soloensis, and if (like me) you are wondering (like me) what makes this species particularly solitary (the “solo” in soloensis), you are (like me) barking at the wrong tree.

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Falcons Japan China South Africa 253

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MARCH 18, 2021

A typical description of the family is that of “a tropical African and Asian songbird that typically has a melodious voice and drab plumage”, another is “small, dull-colored passerine birds of Asia and Africa”, yet another states that they are “often rather plain” Individual species get even harsher reviews.

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South Africa Malaysia Africa China 239

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OCTOBER 31, 2022

The closest the poor writer of a blog has to a “Ius Primae Noctis” is the right to discuss things that are totally irrelevant to the supposed topic of the blog. Though my expertise regarding another animal species – homo sapiens – leads me to believe that this show-offish pose indicates a male bird).

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Bangladesh Birds China India 181

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JUNE 17, 2023

Today, I invite you to join me, Kai Pflug, on an extraordinary avian expedition as we explore the vibrant cityscape of Shanghai, a hidden gem for birdwatchers in the heart of China. The Majestic Wetlands: Within Shanghai’s boundaries lie several pristine wetland habitats that serve as vital sanctuaries for a plethora of bird species.

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China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 176

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MARCH 4, 2024

The scientific species name venustulus means lovely, charming. Right, unless you are a stranger attacked by a male conspecific. Despite the recent extensive media coverage of the housing glut in China, most bushtits still rely on building their own nest rather than renting or buying one.

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Raccoons Birds Fox Turtles 130

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MARCH 21, 2022

Jianfengling National Forest Park is a park in the West of Hainan – the tourist websites claim that it is “the largest and best-preserved tropical original forest in China”, which – if true – is a rather sad statement given the wide inroads that commercial agriculture has made into the park. But then, who knows?

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Birds Egypt China 2002 260

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MAY 23, 2022

At this moment, Baihualing is the eBird hotspot in China which has by far the largest number of species – 486. With 398 species, Nanhui is trailing far behind despite being covered by a much larger number of checklists (2225 compared to 608). So, it is certainly justified to cover this spot in more than one post.

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Litter China Species Abandon 227

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FEBRUARY 4, 2023

For the Chinese New Year 2022 holidays, my girlfriend and I decided to visit the remote areas of Guangxi in the South of China, at the border to Vietnam. At that time, China was strictly applying the zero COVID-19 policy. I asked myself while I was in the taxi on my way to the airport. Why did all tourists disappear?

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Birds China Emotional Vietnam 189

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2019

For a German living in China, bird names have some additional complexities. However, I know almost none of the German names of the birds here and am even a bit surprised there apparently is a German name for each species (I cannot imagine there is too much use for German names of some purely Asian species). Well, no more!

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China Eagles Cats Owls 197

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JUNE 8, 2023

The Fairy Pitta is listed as Vulnerable, with the HBW that the species is “rare; global population probably no more than a few thousand individuals” While the sexes are alike, my guess is that the Fairy Pitta in the photo is a male given its early arrival date in Shanghai. I hope he is right.

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Birds China Research Tenant 130

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JUNE 23, 2022

Hongbenghe is a very small village in Yunnan, right next to the border with Myanmar. I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta.

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Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

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JUNE 22, 2023

Being lazy, a bunch of researchers used camera traps to investigate the species rather than following the birds directly (which would have had some health benefits). They found that the species is diurnal (well, using cameras, would they even have seen nightly activities?), Being wet seems to help, though.

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Birds China Science Research 130

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AUGUST 1, 2022

Shanghai parks are rather crowded and noisy places, but the goshawks – who unlike me have lived in China all their lives – apparently do not mind. Coming from somebody who has exiled himself to China, this is not exactly a compliment. Swinhoe’s White-eye was just promoted to the rank of a full species in 2018.

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Birds China Eggs Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2020

One of the many things I did not know about Delhi is that it is the capital city with the second-largest number of bird species (after Nairobi). These photos were actually taken right from my hotel room. This species constantly looks like it is very concerned about something, though I have no clue what that is. Black Francolin.

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Cattle India Birds Sanctuary 216

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JUNE 10, 2021

In contrast, the Amur Paradise Flycatcher regularly breeds in China, even in Shanghai. Unfortunately, the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China declined my request to make nametags for leaf warblers mandatory (despite the obvious benefits this would bring), so these birds will remain difficult to id.

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China Japan Tigers Breeding 150

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 28, 2021

Dulan County is a large county in east-central Qinghai, China. It feels a bit sad to admit that this photo sequence of a Little Owl makes me think of the Rocky Horror Picture Show (It’s just a jump to the left … and then a step to the right). Good for animals, of course – particularly some shy mammals.

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Sheep Mountain Goats Gazelles Birds 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2020

Shanghai is located on the coast of the East China Sea and lies right on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. In addition, some vulnerable bird species such as the Reed Parrotbill live in Shanghai year-round and rely on the reedbeds for survival. By some measures, Shanghai is the most populated city in the world. And yet it is.

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Wildlife Reserve Asia China Birds 173

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DECEMBER 19, 2019

And here in Europe, they are the real deal, an indigenous species and not domesticated animals gone wild. Annex II of the Bern Convention lists 45 of Beljarica’s bird species, with a further 91 species in Annex III. Finally, 24 species in Annex I of the EU Bird Directive were recorded in this area.

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Serbia Otters Boars Eagles 246