Fuzhou, April 25 (Chen Xueling) Since the end of April, some citizens have continuously called the Fujian Bird Watching Association, saying that at night in the community often hear a continuous and urgent sound similar to "clicking and clicking", originally thought to be an electric vehicle alarm, but the movement came from the roof or corner, making people feel terrible. What exactly is making this sound?
Ordinary Nighthawk. Netizens love butterfly people photo
Yang Jin, president of the Fujian Bird Watching Association, introduced on the 25th that what makes this sound is actually a bird called an ordinary nighthawk. This bird begins to be active after nightfall, mainly for courtship, and sometimes in the middle of the night it will be like a machine gun shooting, so that many residents of the community mistakenly think that the electric car downstairs is calling the police.
It is understood that the common nighthawk in Fujian is a summer migratory bird, which breeds here in summer and migrates south to overwinter in winter. It is about 28 cm long, wearing a bark pattern "camouflage suit" covered with insect beetle spots, and the silhouette of the front half of the body is a bit like a swift, with a wide mouth and extremely short legs. It has a low stature, but dexterous and fast flight, often hunting insects in the air and eating pests. Mosquitoes, ants, nocturnal moths, celestial bulls and beetles are all on its diet list, and are well-known agricultural and forestry birds, as well as the "three animals" protected by the state (beneficial and terrestrial wild animals with important economic and scientific research value).
Although it is called "Ordinary Nighthawk", it is not easy to see its dignity. During the day they prefer to lie on the ground, on branches, or on top of buildings. During the breeding season from March to May, it often chirps at dusk and at night, making repetitive, rapid and loud sounds, about 6 times per second. "They sleep with protective colors during the day and are like night owls at night, foraging for food with full spirits. Often only hear his voice, not see his body. Yang Jin said.
At sunset, walking on the gradually quiet park trail in Fuzhou, many people may suddenly hear a series of rhythmic "clicking" sounds not far away, stop and listen to the ear, and you will find that there are still many sound sources near and far. "Butterfly Lover", a senior member of the Fujian Provincial Bird Watching Association, introduced that ordinary birds are very sensitive to sound, and they will be afraid when they hear a little sound, but ordinary nighthawks can be called "calm brothers". In 2013, two ordinary nighthawks flew from the school where he taught, camped in the courtyard of the teaching building for several months, and their sleeping palm trees and corridors were only 2 or 3 meters away, and the bells of class and the noise of classmates did not disturb its dreams.
"Nighthawk" and "Nightingale" are often confused. The latter, which often appears in Western literature, is another name for the Xinjiang Singing Plover, a species of bird in the genus Grebe in the family Finches. The common nighthawk, on the other hand, belongs to the nighthawk genus of the nighthawk family In taxonomy, which is very different in appearance and has a very different singing voice.
Ordinary Nighthawk. Photo by Sheffield
Although it does not appear frequently in literary works, the ancients have observed the nighthawk (not necessarily the ordinary nighthawk). The "mosquito mother bird" recorded in the ancient books that "the summer is night singing, spitting mosquitoes among the grass" is believed to refer to the night eagle, of course, the "spitting mosquito" is a pure misunderstanding. Although the nighthawk's cry is not as sweet as that of the nightingale, it can also give inspiration to the literati, and the short animal literature work "Dusk Nighthawk" written by mongolian writer Gezhilqimuge Black Crane expresses the thinking on the relationship between man and nature in the new era with a story related to the nighthawk as a medium. (End)