The final time I birded Longcanggou, a nationwide forest park in China’s Sichuan province, was in November 2021. Now, 14 months later, the place has modified – sadly, for the more severe, no less than as birding is worried.
Longcanggou has two foremost birding spots – the precise nationwide forest park and one other, which I can sadly solely describe as “not the precise nationwide forest park”. Final time, the primary one was formally inaccessible to vacationers, however because of the native contacts of my information Bella from Alpinebirding, we bought in there anyway. Right now, the nationwide forest park is open to vacationers – which in China means giant teams of individuals in equally giant buses. So, on the advice of a educated native, we needed to skip this half this time – because of the visitors and the individuals, it’s not a great place for birding.
The opposite half was nonetheless accessible and pretty empty, and that’s the place a lot of the photographs proven under have been taken. Nevertheless, apparently, from March 01 on, this half will probably be ticketed – and my guess is it’s going to quickly be too crowded for good birding as nicely.
So, possibly this was the final time I birded Longcanggou – a considerably unhappy story that’s prone to repeat itself at many different Chinese language birding areas as nicely. Right here’s what birders may miss sooner or later (worst case), or share from afar with hundreds of disinterested Chinese language vacationers who primarily come to take selfies of themselves in entrance of a mountain panorama (barely higher case).
Shockingly, the Ashy-throated Parrotbill apparently is a species closely hunted for hen preventing in Guizhou Province, China (source). It even appears that the pliant researchers not directly assist the preventing (though it has led to the species being one of the hunted ones in that province) by creating a fast technique to establish the intercourse of the hen (the males become considerably larger and thus presumably the extra coveted fighters). Disgrace on the researchers.
If being hunted by evil people was not sufficient, Ashy-throated Parrotbills are additionally hosts of the parasitic Widespread Cuckoo. Apparently, they use the presence of their very own eggs as a cue for recognizing parasitic eggs – so with out the presence of their very own eggs as a template they fail to acknowledge a parasitic egg. Some people even rejected their very own eggs once they have been within the minority.
One other method that Ashy-throated Parrotbills apparently make the most of is to diversify – some females lay white, some blue eggs. So to keep away from immediate rejection, the parasitizing cuckoo additionally must diversify and certainly tends to put eggs in host nests with eggs of the identical shade (source).
The eBird fashion gurus attest male Blyth’s Shrike-Babblers to be “well attired”.
The females are described as “way more light” (possibly from the housekeeping?).
The HBW really (fairly clumsily) calls it the Himalayan/Blyth’s/Dalat Shrike-babbler, indicating a future break up. I favor the “Blyth’s” identify, for 2 causes: on the one hand, it permits me to namedrop one among my favourite (and comparatively obscure) British bands, Blyth Power.
The opposite is to say that the identify commemorates Edward Blyth (1810-1873), who revealed the primary description of the species. In his life, according to Wikipedia, he had a psychological breakdown and needed to be saved in a non-public asylum, he later took to ingesting, and he was as soon as held for assaulting a cab driver. However haven’t all of us carried out these items?
The Eurasian Wren isn’t really a very particular hen to Longcanggou – I’ve seen it in my mother and father’ backyard in Germany as nicely.
The tail of the wren can assume the place of a spoiler in a sports activities automotive for males with an exaggerated need to show their masculinity (and normally a beer stomach as nicely).
Relying on whether or not it’s in its manic or in its depressive part, it both “sings from a reasonably uncovered perch” or is “fairly mouselike, creeping in brambles and understory” (eBird).
Totally different from many people, they are typically fairly well mannered – in a study, male wrens prevented overlapping their very own music over the playback of one other male by timing the beginning of their music accordingly.
Sadly, another species don’t appear to hearken to the wren a lot. Nice Tits (sorry, no joke this time – these solely include photographs) responded way more to mobbing calls of nuthatches than to that of wrens (source). Nevertheless, as an alternative of a tit joke, some wren pornography.
The HBW lists a complete of 8 species of forktails, 5 of which will be seen in China, so having two right here at Longcanggou will not be unhealthy. The Little Forktail will not be named after Arthur D. Little, the founding father of a administration consultancy I as soon as labored for in a reasonably unsuccessful approach, however fairly for its smallish dimension – who would have thought?
Whereas it’s certainly a forktail, the tail will not be significantly forked (it is just too brief for that). eBird mercilessly highlights this, doing the species’ self-confidence no favor: “the smallest of the forktails and the one one missing an extended tail”. Consequently, many (significantly male) Little Forktails work very exhausting of their careers, exhausting themselves within the ambition to purchase an costly sports activities automotive that may compensate for his or her brief tail.
The Latin identify scouleri is derived from Prof. John Scouler (1804-1871), a Scottish surgeon-naturalist, botanist, and explorer. Curiously, shortly after he had settled down as a medical physician in Britain, he was appointed professor of geology and pure historical past and mineralogy and later (at one other college) of zoology and botany as nicely. I assume individuals have been extra versatile then.
In what looks as if a reasonably pointless research to me, Little Forktails in Nepal have been discovered to forage round mid-river rocks 55% of the time, marginal rocks 29% of the time, and at different areas 16% of the time (supply: HBW). The research doesn’t state the place the birds took their smoking breaks.
In distinction to the Little Forktail, the Noticed Forktail hardly ever lusts for sports activities automobiles – no want, as even the bored eBird reviewers are impressed by its “gorgeous galaxy-like white recognizing on the again”.
And its tail really is forked.
Sharing the identical river with one other forktail (the Little Forktail) is facilitated by each species having completely different foraging methods and completely different prey objects, as described here. For instance, whereas a Noticed Forktail readily ate from the Snickers bar I handed it, the Little Forktail loudly requested a Mars bar (which sadly I didn’t have with me). This useful resource participation, because the ornithologists name it, permits for comparatively peaceable coexistence so long as each manufacturers of confectionary can be found.
Within the German language, the Latin species identify maculatus (“noticed”) has a detrimental ring to it because the German phrase Makulatur describes waste paper consisting of nugatory printed paper. I’m positive you needed to know this.
Because the identify suggests, the Nice Barbet is the biggest of all barbets. The busybodies of eBird (who presumably spend a number of time doing sports activities) describe the species as sluggish – however then once more, in addition they state that it’s shy and “tends to stay to dense forest cover, the place it’s tough to see”, one thing that my photographs appear to not precisely illustrate very nicely.
The Latin species identify virens (“inexperienced”) solely covers a small a part of the species’ shade spectrum – which by some means it pulls off with out wanting gaudy. Respect from an individual who normally thinks one shade (black) is ample.
Sadly for such a fantastic hen, the one research paper associated to it was one with the fairly unappetizing title “Two new species of feather mites (Acarina: Psoroptidia) from the Nice Barbet, Psilopogon virens (Piciformes: Megalaimidae)”. Perhaps it’s simpler to get grants for work on feather mites than on birds? Higher financial implications, e.g., injury to home chickens?
Sadly for birders who like a little bit of logic, neither the Golden-breasted Fulvetta (straight under) nor the Gold-fronted Fulvetta (additional down) are a part of the genus Fulvetta, which contains 8 species (supply: Wikipedia).
This doesn’t maintain eBird from calling the Golden-breasted Fulvetta a “gorgeous little hen, extraordinarily brightly coloured for a fulvetta”.
A pleasant drawing of the hen will be discovered here.
The HBW part on distribution states that the hen is “usually fairly unusual to pretty frequent”. I assume in the event that they have been to difficulty climate stories, they’d give forecasts similar to ” usually wet to pretty sunny”.
As talked about, the Golden-fronted Fulvetta apparently additionally will not be an actual fulvetta (I additionally heard it was born in Kenya), however sadly, completely different from the Golden-breasted Fulvetta, it’s listed as Weak, largely as a result of its very restricted vary.
From seeing some flocks at Longcanggou, evidently the species likes to forage within the moss rising on tree trunks.
Success!
The third fulvetta at Longcanggou that in accordance with Wikipedia will not be an actual fulvetta is David’s Fulvetta. Presumably, in Russia, all these species are referred to as “particular operations” as of late.
Sadly, because of the fog within the morning I photographed this Bay Woodpecker, the flame shade indicated within the Latin species identify pyrrhotis was not that seen.
The Rufous-vented Tit is an “lively and social small hen” and thus (no less than because of the “social” half) not precisely my soulmate.
For the Stripe-throated Yuhina, eBird has the kind of ID trace birders hate: “Streaked throat is diagnostic however tough to see”. Really, I feel it’s fairly simply seen. Perhaps they only wish to deter some birders.
It appears this species sometimes moonlights as a flower pollinator, no less than in elements of India and at any time when the cash is especially tight (source).
eBird disparagingly calls the Yellow-browed Tit a plain yellowish hen – it appears they don’t recognize subtlety a lot. I feel it’s fairly a pretty hen although.
Perhaps they took a touch from the Latin species identify modestus (“plain, modest, unassuming”)?
Lastly, the opposite unhealthy half apart from the rising variety of vacationers as described originally of this put up. Certainly, not every part is nice at Longcanggou. Not every part you see here’s what you wish to see. As everyone knows, among the many animal courses, mammals are those accountable for the biggest variety of wars. American Civil Battle? World Battle 1? World Battle 2? All brought on by mammals. A great cause solely to take some fast photographs of the Longcanggou ones however in any other case ignore them.
Mammals – Worst. Animal Class. Ever.
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