Transferred from: Homestay Xinjiang
If there is any activity that integrates tourism, fitness and entertainment, and popular science and leisure, it must be bird watching travel.
As the hinterland of the Asian continent, Xinjiang is one of the best bird watching locations in the world. From the surface height difference of 8611 meters above sea level to 154 meters below sea level, Xinjiang spans a geographical area of 23 longitudes and 15 latitudes, the ring belt landform of the alpine surrounding the basin, and the distribution of stepped natural landscapes from the glacial snowfield to the Gobi Desert, all of which provide sufficient optional conditions for the settlement and migration of various birds.
Therefore, Xinjiang is an important bird distribution area in the Chinese mainland and has abundant bird resources. It can be said that in Xinjiang, almost everywhere human footprints can reach, there are legends of birds.
According to statistics, about 490 species of birds have been found in Xinjiang, distributed in various natural environments from the snowy plateau to the desert hinterland.
Moreover, bird watching is also a low-cost way of travel. A good telescope or professional bird watching mirror, a notebook and a bird atlas, plus a geolocation device, can support a successful bird watching trip.
The following is to share with you the birds of Xinjiang photographed by the northern goat teacher of yili cultural tourism.
The black-throated rock wren (scientific name: prunella atrogularis) is a small bird of the genus Rock Wren in the family Rock Wren, with a body length of 15–16 cm. The crown of the head, cheeks, chin, and throat are black, the eyebrow stripes are yellow, the upper body includes two wings and tail gray-brown, the back has brown longitudinal stripes, the lower body skin is yellow, and the abdomen is white. It inhabits montane coniferous forests and mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, especially in coniferous forests such as spruce forests, but also in broad-leaved forests, secondary forests, shrublands, and orchards and small jungles near cities and villages. It is active alone or in pairs during breeding, and in small groups in other seasons. It is mainly ground-dwelling, often moving in understory shrubs and aboveground, and sometimes standing on trees or shrub top branches, but as soon as it sees people, it immediately goes down to the ground. It feeds mainly on insects, plant fruits and seeds. It is mainly distributed in China, Ural, Altai, Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan.
The star crow (scientific name: nucifraga caryocatactes) is a bird of the genus Star crow in the family Ravenidae, with a total of 10 subspecies. Body length 29-36 cm, wingspan 55 cm, weight 50-200 g, lifespan of 8 years. Most of the body feathers are brown with white spots; when flying, black wings, white undertail coverts and white ends of tail feathers are prominent. Individually or in pairs, occasionally in small groups. It inhabits pine forests and feeds on pine nuts. Other nuts are also buried for winter consumption. The flight is undulating and rhythmic. It is found in the northern Palearctic Boundary, Japan and Taiwan, and from the Himalayas to southwest and central China.
Panurus biarmicus , a small bird of the genus 15–18 cm long. The mouth is yellow, straighter and pointed, and the feet are black. The upperparts are brownish yellow , the wings are black with white wing spots , and the outer tail feathers are white. The male has a grey head, and the black of the eyes and the eye area are connected to the black hair pattern downwards, forming a thick black spot, which is very conspicuous on the pale head. The underparts are white , the ventral skin is yellowish white , and the males have black undertail coverts. The food consists mainly of insects, spiders and reed seeds and grasses. Nests usually lie in the lower parts of reeds or shrubs, but also on lodging reed piles or on top of old reed stubble. It is a summer migratory bird distributed in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and the northern part of the northeast, and a winter migratory bird in the south of the northeast and Hebei, with a large number.
Blue-cheeked bee tiger Blue-cheeked bee tiger (scientific name: merops persicus): There are 2 subspecies. Body length 27-33 cm, wingspan 46-49 cm, weight 38-50 g. The mouth is slender and curved, the apex is pointed, the mouth peak has a ridge; the nostrils are exposed; the primary flight feathers are 10 pieces; the tail feathers are 12 pieces; the body feathers are dense, normal and no longitudinal lines; the tail is convex, the central tail feathers are specially elongated and the end is narrow or sharp, the feet are thin and weak, the middle toe and the outer toe are at least connected to the second joint of the base, and the inner toe is only connected to the first joint of the base; the wings are long and pointed, the first flight feather is small, and the second is the longest. The plumage is bright in color, the cheeks are distinctly bluish green, the sexes are similar, and the young birds resemble adult birds. The Golden Rib subspecies is found on the western border of the Sahara Desert, from Morocco to Algeria and Senegal and Chad, and to sub-Saharan Africa in winter. The nominate subspecies are distributed in Egypt including the Nile Delta, Israel, Turkey, south to the Persian Gulf, caspian and Aral Seas, Balkhash, Afghanistan, India (New Delhi and Gujarat); winters are mainly in tropical eastern Africa.
The yellow-throated wasp tiger (scientific name: merops apiaster) is a medium-sized bird with a body length of 23–30 cm. The throat is yellow with a narrow black chest band underneath it; the entire lower body below the chest band is blue-green. The forehead is bluish-white with a wide black eye stripe, the top of the head to the back of the neck is dark maroon, the tail is blue-green, and the central tail feathers are elongated, which are obviously prominently protruding from the other tail feathers. The wings have pale maroon spots. The mouth is black, slender and pointed, slightly curved downwards, and feeds on a variety of insects. Predation is mostly in the air, and predation is carried out while flying. The food is mainly insects, especially wasps. It inhabits overhanging rocks, steep slopes and river valleys at the foot of mountains and open plains. It is found around the Mediterranean sea to Europe, Southwest Asia, Africa, India and China.
Blue-breasted Dharma Monk Blue-breasted Dharma Monk (scientific name: coracias garrulus) is a medium-sized bird with a body length of 31 to 33 cm and a pale blue-green body throughout. The wings are long and wide , and are mostly blue except for the chestnut dorsal feathers. The forehead, eyes, and ear feathers are light brown; the top of the head, cheeks, and waist are pale blue-green. The back, shoulders, and innermost feathers are sand brown. Wing coverts are greenish-blue , small , with sand-brown sandy brown at the ends of the midhoppers and black-brown flight feathers. The upper coverts and tail feathers are brown. The coverts are covered in greenish blue. The chin is nearly white, pale greenish-blue below the throat, and yellowish-brown from the throat to the chest. The leading edge of the wing is bright blue and the tip of the wing is black. There is a pale blue spot on the wing and tail. It is found in North Africa and Europe, east to Altai and Central Asia, and winters in Africa and India. Its natural habitats are low mountains below 1500 m above sea level and in open areas such as foothill plains. It prefers to swoop down on perch trees to prey on insects. Show off the flight like a wheat chicken flying up and down. The whereabouts of the blue-breasted Dharma monks are mysterious and unpredictable. If in the dense forest, it can only be seen flying over the twin feathers shining with blue metallic luster; if it is in the open field and on the pole, it can be occasionally observed.
Blue-throated song Plover Blue-throated songbird, also known as blue-spotted chin (scientific name: luscinia svecica). The body size is similar to that of a sparrow, with a body length of 12-13 cm and a weight of 17-18 grams. The head and upper body are mainly earthy brown. Eyebrow lines are white. The tail feathers are dark brown with a chestnut red base. The chin and throat are glowing blue with black stripes underneath. The underparts are white. The female resembles a male , but has a brownish-white chin and throat. The iris is dark brown. The mouth is black. The flesh of the feet is brown. It inhabits shrublands or reeds. Timid in temperament, often in the ground for a short distance gallop, pause, from time to time twist the tail feather or spread the tail feather. It mainly feeds on insects, worms, etc., and also eats plant seeds. It is found in most of China, as well as in Europe, northern Africa, Russia, western Alaska, central Asia, Iran, India, and southeastern Asia.
Silver-throated long-tailed Silver-throated long-tailed (scientific name: aegithalos glaucogularis): There are 19 subspecies. It is small in size, with a total length of 10.8-13.1 cm, wings 5.2-6.0 cm long, and tail length of 6.0-7.8 cm. The bird's feathers on the top of the head are fuller and more developed, the body feathers are fluffy and fluffy, the top of the head, back, wings and tail feathers are black or gray, the underparts are pure white or light gray brown, the back is stained with grape red, some of the throat has dark gray patches, and the tail feathers are more than the length of the head. Females have plumage similar to those of males. The iris is brown; the mouth is black; the feet are brownish black. The bird is agile, comes and goes very suddenly, often jumps between trees or at the top of shrubland, lives in the woods of various environments in Eurasia, lives in groups or often mixes with other finches, and feeds on insects and plant seeds. It is found from northern and northeastern Europe, east through Siberia to kamchatka, Sakhalin Island (Sakhalin Island), North America and Australia.
Leptopoecile sophiae (scientific name: leptopoecile sophiae): 9–12 cm in length, is a furry purple warbler. The crown is brown and the eyebrows are white. The tail is long and the feathers are fluffy. The forehead has a broad pale yellow eyebrow stripe, the top of the head is maroon or brownish red, and some have a purple-blue luster. The back is gray, the waist and tail coverts are purple-blue, and the flight feathers are gray-brown. The outer three pairs of tail feathers are white, and the rest of the tail feathers are blue. The lower body skin is yellow or purple , with maroon spots in the center of the abdomen , some are purple-blue and the abdomen is yellow. The iris is red; the mouth is black; the feet are grayish brown. It inhabits dwarf shrublands, up to 4600 m above the forest line in summer and up to 2000 m above sea level in winter. It is an alpine mountain and highland bird, mainly a resident bird. It is found in individuals or in pairs during breeding, and in other seasons it is more common in flocks. It feeds mainly on insects, but also eats a small amount of plant fruits and seeds in winter. It is found in Central Asia, the Himalayas, and western China. These include India, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Cinclus cinclus ( ) is a bird of the genus Cinclus , with dark brown or coffee brown plumage and shorter , denser plumage. The mouth is narrow and straight, with a mouth length equal to the length of the head; the tip of the upper mouth is slightly curved or absent; there is no whisker, but there are short fluffy silky feathers at the corners of the mouth. The nostrils are covered by membranes. The wings are short and round, with 10 primary flight feathers. The tail is shorter, with 12 tail feathers. The tarsals are long and strong , with boot-like scales on the leading edge ; the toes and claws are stronger. It inhabits large rocks or fallen wood on both sides of mountain rivers, but only flies up and down along the surface of the river, and does not take an interception path from the air when it encounters a river bend. You can float on the surface of the water and you can also dive underwater. It feeds mainly in water, feeding on aquatic insects and other small aquatic invertebrates. It is widely distributed, mostly in the northern hemisphere, and is the national bird of Norway.
Cannabis flounder jiān (scientific name: botaurus stellaris) is a large heron with a body length of 59–77 cm. The body is thick and fat, the mouth is thick and pointed, the neck and feet are shorter and shorter, the head is black and brown, the back is yellowish brown with thick black-brown spots, the lower body is light yellowish brown with black-brown thick longitudinal stripes, the mouth is yellowish brown, and the feet are yellowish-green. It inhabits the reeds along rivers, lakes and ponds in the mountainous hills and foothill plains. In addition to the breeding season, it is often active alone, and the autumn migration season also integrates small groups of 5-8 animals. It is nocturnal, mostly active at dusk and at night, hidden in reeds and grasses by the water's edge during the day, and sometimes seen in swamp meadows during the day. It feeds mainly on animal foods such as fish, shrimp, frogs, crabs, snails, and aquatic insects. It is widely distributed in Europe, Africa and Asia.
The short-eared owl short-eared owl (scientific name: asio flammeus) is a bird of the order Owl family Owl. Short, about 38–40 cm long, yellow-brown owl. The wings are long, the face is prominent, the short ear feathers are not visible in the wild, the eyes are bright yellow, and the eye circles are dark. The upper body is yellowish brown with black and yellow longitudinal stripes, while the lower body skin is yellow with dark brown longitudinal stripes. Black wrist spots are noticeable when flying. It inhabits open fields and is also common during the day. Nests in groups on the ground. Feeds on mice, birds, insects and frogs. It is one of the most widely distributed owls, spreading from around the Arctic to the northern temperate zone, found in much of Hawaii and South America, and can migrate further south.
Haliaeetus albicilla ( scientific name : haliaeetus albicilla ) is a large bird of prey of the genus Ornithischia , the eagle family , and the genus Sea Eagle , with a body length of 84–91 cm. Adults are mostly dark brown; the hind neck and thorax feathers are lanceolate and long; the head and neck feathers are lighter, sandy brown or light yellowish brown; the beak and feet are yellow, and the tail feathers are wedge-shaped and pure white. The altitude of the event is 2500-5300 meters. It is active in swampy areas near rivers and lakes. It inhabits lakes , rivers , coasts , islands and estuaries , and is especially found in open lakes and rivers in tall tree-lined waters or forested areas during breeding. Mainly feeding on fish, it often flies low above the water surface, and when it is found, it reaches into the water with its claws to catch the edge. It also eats wild ducks, geese, swans, pheasants, rats, hares, roe deer, etc., and sometimes animal carcasses. It breeds in northern Eurasia and Greenland, wintering in Korea, Japan, India, the Mediterranean and northwestern Africa. It is the national bird of Poland.
Special note: This photo is taken from the Altay Fohai region only
Haliaeetus leucoryphus is a species of bird in the genus Haliaeetus leucoryphus, a large bird of prey that is brown in color and breeds in central Asia from Kazakhstan to Mongolia, from the Himalayas to northern India. It is more common in swamps, grasslands, and deserts or plateaus. Feeding mainly on fish and waterfowl, it often catches a variety of waterfowl on the surface of the water, such as geese, swan chicks and other birds, fishing mainly in shallow waters, but also eating the carcasses of dead fish and other animals.
The photographer of this article: Teacher Yang Xinye (net name North Goat)
Director of Xinjiang Photographers Association
He is a member of the Xinjiang Bird Watching Association
Vice President of the Ili State Photographers Association
President of Yining Photographers Association
Chinese ecological environment photographer
More Teacher Yang's photographic works to appreciate——