On October 10, the purple water chicken, known as the "world's most beautiful water bird", appeared in Kunming. Unlike in the past, the purple water chickens found this time came in groups, conservatively estimated to be more than 20.
Wei Ming, head of the Kunming Suzaku Ornithological Research Institute, said: "This purple water chicken is actually very clever, after it catches the snail, it will use this claw to hold the snail, and then use its mouth to bite the snail's flesh." The snail here is its main food, the others will eat the young buds of these aquatic plants, it is the water bird that eats meat and vegetarians. Next to this is the young bird of the black water chicken, which is much smaller than it. ”
The flock of purple water chickens was found by the staff of the Suzaku Bird Research Institute in Kunming in a wetland along the Niulan River. Known as the world's most beautiful water bird, the purple water chicken is a bird of the genus Purple Water Chicken in the family Buzzard family, with a strong body, a large red beak, a red frontal armor on the head, and purple-blue feathers that glow metallic in the sun.
Wei Ming, head of the Kunming Suzaku Ornithological Research Institute, said: "Like us, the most common buzzard we see in the wetland is the black water chicken, the black water chicken is about this big, like the purple water chicken, its entire size is almost doubled, or a relatively large buzzard, and it is very beautiful, the top of the head is red, and the body is purple. ”
Purple water chicken is an omnivore that feeds mainly on plants, eating young branches, leaves, roots, stems, flowers and seeds of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants.
Wei Ming, head of the Kunming Suzaku Ornithological Research Institute, said: "The purple water chicken is a relatively rare bird species in Kunming, and then it is also a national second-level protected bird, at that time we saw one, and then we saw one and saw one, and there were three very small wetlands, and then there were several other wetlands along the way, all of which added up to a record of seeing at least 16, and the preliminary estimate is that because there are some of them that we can't see, it is estimated that there are more than 20 communities. ”
In recent years, Kunming has continuously increased the ecological protection of Dianchi Lake, the lakeside ecosystem of Dianchi Lake has been gradually protected and restored, and the surrounding wetlands have also ushered in more rare birds to inhabit and overwinter. Known as the "world's most beautiful water bird", the purple water chicken has been found many times in the Wetland of Dianchi Lake. And the appearance of such a group is the first time that there have been observation records in Kunming.
Wei Ming, head of the Kunming Suzaku Ornithological Research Institute, said: "We also feel very happy that we can see such beautiful birds in Kunming, right next to us. We also hope that these wetland environments around Kunming, including some other environments, will become better and better, and more birds will come to these habitats. We know that birds are one of the most important indicators of biodiversity, and the diversity of birds actually reflects a state of our entire urban construction. Good diversity must mean that the diversity of our urban ecological environment and the environment are healthy. ”
Reporter: Zhao Yunxia Gao Mintao
Editor: Dong Yanping