In June 2022, in the Daying River Basin of Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, the photographer captured a wonderful aerial anti-killing scene.
In order to protect the young birds, the small river terns fought with the black kites, a bird of prey three times larger than themselves, and finally drove away the black kites.
The river terns were weak against the strong, fearless, and finally succeeded in defending their territory. Scenes that look ordinary and mundane are actually not so simple. This counter-killing is a battle between the first-level protected animals of the mainland and the second-level protected animals, and the result is very gratifying, and the first-level protected animals win!
River terns are continental first-class protected animals and are extremely rare and rare. In recent years, there are only 10 birds left in the Dayingjiang area in the whole country.
The black kite is a continental second-class protected animal with a stable population trend and is a non-endangered species. The black kite is a medium-sized bird of prey, and a smaller bird than it is, which is its hunting target. The behavior of black kites preying on river terns is a natural law.
So the question is, if the river terns fail to drive away the black kites this time, can I help the first-level protected animals and defeat the second-level protected animals?
Let's start at the beginning.
The number of river terns has been greatly reduced
River terns are a species of bird in the genus Gullaceae, weighing 130 to 170 grams and about the size of a pigeon. It looks a bit like a seagull, but its tail is split into scissors like a swallow. Light grey feathers, white belly, yellow beak and red legs, wearing a black hat.
River terns live in freshwater rivers and lakes, nesting on sandy beaches and reefs. It is a water bird that dives into the water to catch fish to eat. Crustaceans, frogs, tadpoles and insects are also its food.
River terns were once common in Southeast Asia, but in the last 10 years, their numbers have declined dramatically. There are fewer than 50 adult birds in Cambodia and may have become extinct in Laos. It is also extremely rare in Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
On the mainland, river terns only appear in the Daying River basin of Yunnan. Birdwatchers observed only 14 in 2014, falling to 5 in 2018. In 2019, 7 adult birds and 3 nests were found, with a total of 6 eggs in the nests, adding up to a total of 13 river terns. There were 11 birds in 2020, and as of now in 2022, only 8 adult birds have been observed in the Daying River Basin.
River terns are the xiahou birds of the mainland and come to the Daying River basin every December. A pair of adult birds nest on the shore, the following spring lay eggs, usually a nest has 3 bird eggs, can successfully hatch 1, 2 birds, the birds grow up to follow their parents to leave daying river in July.
In June, when the adult birds are feeding the birds, photographers observing river terns in the Daying River Basin saw that this year's nest has successfully hatched a small bird.
River terns have a strong sense of territory, and adult birds in the incubation period are the most fierce, and any birds and animals that enter the territory will be driven away, including humans. The photographer also just stayed far away, using the telescope to observe the birds, and the timing was coincidental, just in time to capture the pictures of the birds fighting. When the river terns saw the black kites that had invaded the territory and circled in the air with bad intentions, they rushed directly into the sky and drove the black kites away.
Urban bird of prey black kite
The black kite, a species of bird in the genus Iris in the family Hawkaceae, is a continental second-class protected animal.
The members of the eagle family are complex, and often people refer to small eagles of the family of prey as eagles, such as eagles, and large birds of prey of the eagle family are called eagles, such as golden eagles. The black kite is the eagle we usually refer to.
The black kite weighs about 1 kg and can reach a wingspan of 1.5 meters. It is best at hovering in the air, using the hot air currents to rise into the air, hovering and soaring, waiting for opportunities to hunt. The black kites are active during the day and are common birds of prey in the city. When you are in the midst of a cluster of office buildings, look up and see the blackbird that spreads its wings in the air, does not flap a little, but can hover in the air for a long time, it is likely to be a black kite.
The black kite's diet is very complicated, it will catch small birds, bats, fish, rats to eat, but also turn over garbage to eat carrion. The city with the highest density of black kites in the world is Hong Kong, with a maximum of 2,000 birds. The Hong Kong black kite, somewhat similar to the crows in Beijing, feeds mainly on animal carcasses and human food scraps in dumpsters.
One last question, if the river terns lose, can I help?
Regardless of size or physical strength, river terns can't beat the black kites. This time the black kites conceded defeat, not necessarily next time. So, if the river tern can't beat the black kite, can I help?
This is an interesting question. Usually, biologists will tell you: don't interfere. But for endangered species, there is more than one answer.
Let's start with an example of reaching consensus. In 2021, in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, a crested ibis caught a baby fish, went to the water's edge to wash it, and then ate it. Both of them are rare animals in the mainland, the crested ibis is a national first-class protected animal, the baby fish is a second-class animal, and the crested ibis, which has a higher protection level. When the crested ibises normally prey on baby fish, everyone will not interfere.
To give another example, giant pandas and Siberian tigers are both first-class protected animals on the mainland, both are endangered animals, and even the number of Siberian tigers in the wild is even smaller than that of giant pandas. If you encounter a Siberian tiger hunting a giant panda in the wild, you cannot interfere with the normal hunting of the tiger.
Now back to the scene of the river tern and the black kite, the river tern is an endangered species, and the black kite is not. In addition to river terns, black kites can also prey on other prey without an existential crisis. Although it is natural that humans should not intervene, in this particular case, you should help.
Human intervention should be divided into circumstances, and if endangered animals are at risk of extinction, they should be interfered with. For example, in some rare crane protected areas on the mainland, if foxes or weasels are found to prey on small cranes, rangers will take the initiative to drive away the hunting animals, and will also take measures to prevent the hunting animals from entering the protected area, which is an effective protection for rare and vulnerable species.
Finally, the river terns who hope to defeat the strong with the weak and successfully defend their territory raise more birds!
Well, the secret of the river tern will be discussed here first.
Follow the French is Bacon and explain the secrets of nature to you, see you in the next issue.
Pictured above are river tern cubs.