There is such a place in the Dabie Mountains of Hubei Province, many photography enthusiasts are fascinated, and photographers from Taiwan, Hong Kong and other regions and even foreign countries in China gather here every year to find an animal - "blue-throated bee tiger". Seeing this name, it is "bee" and "tiger", you are probably a little confused. Is this "blue-throated bee tiger" a "bee" or a "tiger"?
Author: Zhou Quan
Xinhua News Agency photo: Liu Aicheng
In fact, it is neither a "bee" nor a "tiger", it is a bird, known as "the most beautiful bird in China". So, what is this bird, why is it so beautiful, and what is special about their survival habits? Let's take a look.
What does the "most beautiful bird" look like
The blue-throated hummingbird is a bird of the genus Hummingbird in the family Apiaceae that breeds in the summer in Hubei and southern Yangtze River regions of China, prefers open fields and woodlands in low-lying areas near the sea, and flocks of birds in sandy areas during the breeding period.
This bird is mainly red, green and blue throughout, the top of the head and upper back are chestnut red or chocolate color, the eyeliner is black, the wings are blue, the waist and long tail are light blue, the lower body is light green, characterized by blue throat, which is of great ornamental value, so it is known as "the most beautiful bird in China".
After the courtship and pairing period, the blue-throated bee tiger starts punching holes in the sand in pairs - making nests to lay eggs. Since the nest of the blue-throated bee tiger is mostly a cave and has only one exit, in order to prevent predators from blocking the opening of the hole and endangering life, the bee tiger will generally take turns to incubate eggs, one in the tall trees around the nest, and the other incubating the birds in the hole. In the event of an emergency, the bee tiger that is sent out of the tree will emit a rapid warning sound, and the spouse will fly out of the sand hole to protect himself.
In mid-July, baby hummingbirds break out of their shells, and during their rapid growth and development, the demand for food is particularly large, and adult birds will constantly catch various insects to feed.
From August to September every year, it is the period when the young blue-throated humming tiger gradually develops and grows and flies, and the amount of food eaten by the young birds at this time increases, the daily predation of adult humming tigers also increases significantly, the size of the captured insects is gradually increased, and the difficulty of predation is correspondingly increased. Due to continuous labor, the color of adult bee tigers has become much less than the color of the courtship period, and the red and green feathers have gradually become dull.
In addition, the predation of the blue-throated bee tiger is also very special, if it catches a slightly larger insect such as the spring dragonfly, it will quickly fly above the dragonfly, use its long and pointed beak to break the dragonfly's wings, and when the dragonfly falls, it will dive and fly to "catch" the dragonfly's body, and then fly away.
For bird lovers, although this period is suitable for shooting, it is necessary to pay extra attention to not affecting the birds that feed their offspring.
There has been such a thing: a few ill-intentioned photographers, using the habit of bee tiger feeding to block the mouth of the cave, so that it can not be fed normally, the anxious bee tiger couple will mouth food near the mouth of the cave and fly non-stop, in order to shoot the flying bee tiger and take such a despicable approach, it is really disgusting. What's more, the hole is blocked for too long, causing the birds to suffocate or starve to death in the hole, causing the blue-throated bee tiger to abandon the nest directly. This practice of sacrificing the creatures of nature for their own purposes is not only despised by the majority of photography enthusiasts, but also spurned by everyone. Knowledge is power contribution
(Original title: "Blue-throated Bee Tiger" what exactly is)
Source: Beijing Evening News
EDIT: TF077
![Blue-throated bee tiger encyclopedia knowledge, one of the Chinese bee tiger family[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)