Recently, whether in Hanzhong, Shaanxi, Luoshan, Henan, or many places, netizens have photographed a rare "auspicious bird".
This small bird has brightly colored feathers and two particularly long tail feathers, which look fairy when flying through the forest, and is praised as the "fairy of the forest".
Some netizens who understand said that this kind of bird not only looks beautiful, but also has a very auspicious meaning, see the longevity and auspiciousness, blessings! Do you know what kind of bird he is?
Do you know how animals mate?
How many animals are prison-piercing beasts?
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>> "fairy in the forest" Chinese shou belt bird <<
Chinese shouband, a songbird of the passerine order and flycatcher (wēng). The body length (with tail) is generally about 20-30 cm, and the body shape is well-proportioned and flexible and slightly rounded.
The bird has striking and beautiful feathers, and the male is divided into two color types: chestnut and white. In old age, the whole body of the bird turns white.
The entire head of the maroon male shouband, with its crown feathers, pillow, neck and upper chest are covered with blue-black feathers, which take on a high-grade metallic sheen in sunlight, and gradually transition from blue to white from the chest to the abdomen. The feathers on the back , wings , waist to tail are maroon red , and the outer wing feathers are black.
The tail of the shou-belt bird is like a neat chestnut small fan, and the male bird has two tail feathers in the center of the tail that are extremely prominent, and the body is four or five times longer, which looks like a ribbon, hence the name "ribbon bird".
Maroon male banded bird, is this admiring his tail feathers?
The head of the white male is similar to the chestnut type and is also blue-black, but it is white from the upper chest and back of the neck downwards, and only the wings are occasionally distributed with black feathers.
The male shoujian bird also has two slender white tail feathers, dancing like silky satin, extremely elegant, and like the white flowers swaying between the forest leaves, the bird is a special color, so it also has the nickname "one flower". In addition, the male bird has a pair of blue eyes.
The white male shou-banded bird has a light and flexible posture, and its tail feathers are slender and flowing, full of fairy air
Females are generally the same as males, except that females have no pressure to compete for mates, so the luster of the feathers is relatively inferior, and there are no flowing long tail feathers to attract the opposite sex.
The so-called "rushing crown anger is red", male crown feathers are longer, female crown feathers are slightly shorter. The best way to judge the male and female of the birds is to see if they have two outstanding tail feathers.
The female bears a bird with a tail like a neat little fan
The male has two tail feathers in the middle of the tail
It is widely distributed in Cambodia, Indonesia, North Korea, Laos, Malaysia and several parts of Southeast Asia. In China, they can be seen in North China, East China, South China, Southwest China, Central China and Taiwan.
It usually inhabits ecological environments below 1200 meters above sea level, such as low hills, river valleys and urban parks. Forest edges, bushes, and bamboo forests are all frequent spots, and the birds like to find food, nest and rest in the canopy and low vegetation.
Fairies in the forest, white feathers dotted with greenery, this picture is really pleasing to the eye
Insects and insect larvae are the main food source for the Chinese Shou Ribbon bird.
Beetles, turtle shells, sword flies, dragonflies, cicadas, pink butterflies, lamp moths, locusts, etc. will all enter the food list of the Shou Dai bird, so the Shou Dai bird is an agricultural and forestry beneficial bird. Of course, occasionally they change their flavors and eat some plant seeds.
This shou belt bird caught a fluffy moth
Birds are usually solitary birds that appear in pairs after having mates and occasionally socialize in flocks.
They are sensitive and shy, and like to play among the lush branches, jumping from one branch to another, with a light and graceful posture, drawing graceful arcs in the air, as if showing a charming dance.
Shoudai birds don't just "dance", they are righteous songbirds, sometimes high-pitched and loud, sometimes gentle and melodious, usually in groups of 2 or 3 syllables.
However, the flight ability of the Shou belt bird is not high, and the flight speed is relatively slow, considering that they have to drag a large tail four or five times longer than themselves, this small "flaw" is understandable.
The tail feathers of the white ribbon bird seem to be longer than those of its kind
The breeding period of the shou-banded bird is from May to July, the male will chirp to the female, show off his tail feathers for the opportunity to mate, and there will be fierce fights between the same sex for the female, and the male will attack the other's tail feathers to deprive the rival of the possibility of competition with himself. In terms of scheming, the male shoujian bird still has something.
The long streamer-like tail is a winning weapon for male birds to court
Once a mate is decided, the couple will start nesting in late May.
The so-called male and female matching, work is not tired, only 5 or 6 days they will build a rather exquisite nest, the nest is usually built on the branches, inverted conical, the inside is composed of bark fibers, grass stems, grass leaves, the outside will be dotted with petals, feathers and cobwebs, it seems that the Shou Dai bird is a bird that attaches great importance to the quality of life.
A male skulling bird is about to feed the chicks when white spider silk can be seen wrapped around the outside of the nest
In June, females begin to lay eggs, usually one egg a day, or 3-4 in a clutch. The eggs are white or pink, with brownish-red spots on the surface, and generally weigh about 2.4 grams.
After the husband and wife hatch together for more than ten days, the chicks break out of their shells, and the couples take turns feeding the cubs during the brooding period.
The male bird is flying towards his wife and children at home, and the picture is warm
A family of four, birds waiting to be fed
The Shou Belt Bird has a strong sense of territory during the breeding period, and the male bird also bears a heavier guardianship responsibility, if there is an invasion of natural enemies, the Shou Belt Bird will put up its crown feathers, make a chirp, full of warning, and will not drive the other party out of their territory.
The current population of the Chinese Shoudai bird is good, it is not threatened in the Red List of Endangered Species, and it is listed as one of the three national protected animals in the mainland.
>> The bird is also an auspicious bird <<
The Shoudai bird has a very beautiful cultural image in Chinese history, and it is regarded as a symbol of good luck, happiness and longevity. Its meaning is closely related to its appearance characteristics and living habits, and it is deeply loved by mainland people.
Maroon shou with bird
First of all, the name of the shoudai bird has two meanings, "shoudai" and "ribbon".
If we talk about the order, I think people should first give the name "ribbon bird" according to the morphological characteristics of the bird, and then find that "silk" sounds the same as "life", which is even more direct to the psychology of Chinese's pursuit of longevity, so it is called "life belt, life belt".
A ribbon is a silk ribbon that was usually tied to official seals in ancient times. Therefore, the Shou Dai bird is not only endowed with a beautiful symbol of peace and longevity, but also has the good meaning of adding officials to the knighthood and prosperous luck.
Ribbons of printed silk, printed letters and tied letters
The bird is often depicted as an auspicious object in paintings, calligraphy, costumes and utensils. It is believed that the images and symbols associated with the bird bring good luck and blessings, and fill one's life with happiness and health.
During the Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang dynasties, ribbon bird patterns began to prevail. Archaeologists have found that this pattern was distributed along the Silk Road and spread from Xinjiang to the Central Plains. Moreover, the ribbon bird pattern artifacts of the Tang Dynasty are tributes, and most of them are used by people with distinguished status.
Late Tang - Five Dynasties Gilded flower bird pattern five-curved silver bowl
A bird-shaped artifact of the Shou Dai unearthed from the imperial tomb of the Jin Dynasty in Beijing
"Eyebrow Birthday Celebration" is a classic traditional pattern in the mainland, which is mostly found in clothing and paintings. In terms of content, plum blossoms, bamboo, and ribbon birds usually appear, "plum" with "eyebrows", "bamboo" with "zhu", and "silk" with "longevity", which means that the husband and wife raise their eyebrows together and live a long and healthy life.
Classic eyebrow birthday pattern
In addition, it is believed that the ribbon bird is a beautiful embodiment of "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai".
Ming Pick the rhino eyebrows and wish the birthday chart long square plate
Ming fine copper cast silver ribbon bird floral pattern begonia-shaped copper mirror
In the Qing Dynasty, the official supplement of the Jiupin civil official was Lian Que pattern, "Lian" means white, and the Lian Que here refers to the Shou Dai bird.
Qing Dynasty civil official Jiupin practiced bird pattern beating seeds embroidered tonics
In addition, people have the most ardent pursuit of good things. The bird is not only beautiful, but it holds up its long tail and dances in the air like a divine bird phoenix. The so-called "hundred birds to the phoenix", there is no need to say what the status of the phoenix in China.
In people's fantasies, the phoenix has always had magnificent tail feathers, giving people a gorgeous and solemn feeling, and the shou belt bird coincides with this, so it is called "little phoenix".
Phoenix Seeking Phoenix Diagram
Henan Dongzhai ribbon bird playing in the water (Photo: Qiu Shaoqiang)
The bird plays an important cultural image in Chinese history, and this pure and free image coincides with people's yearning for a better life and spiritual pursuit, making the bird one of the symbols of people's pursuit of auspicious and better life.
>> How many kinds of birds are there in China? <<
The Chinese Shoudai bird, once a common subspecies of the Shoudai bird, emerged as a separate species in 2016. And in the country, there are still some of its close relatives.
Purple Shou Banded Bird: 20 cm long and weighing 19-25 grams, the male also has two slender and beautiful tail feathers.
Purple shou belt birds are mostly distributed in Japan, so they are also called Japanese shou belt birds. Unlike the Chinese Shou Belt Bird, the Purple Shou Belt Bird "Bird as its name suggests", has a luxurious purple color on its back, shining blue-purple in the sun.
Male purple shou banded bird
The purple shou band bird is a resident bird in Taiwan on the mainland, and a traveling bird in Shanxi, Liaoning, Fujian, Hainan, Guizhou, Hong Kong and other regions, and is only seen during the migration season. At the same time, the purple shou belt bird can also breed in North Korea and fly to Southeast Asia in winter.
The purple shou band bird is listed as vulnerable in the Red List of Endangered Species, and it is one of the three national protected animals in the mainland.
Female purple shou banded bird
Oriental Shoudai Bird: It was once a Malaysian subspecies of the Shoudai Bird, and later became a species on its own. It is widely distributed in the southern part of the continent, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, and is a wandering bird in the Maldives.
The appearance characteristics of the Oriental Shou Ribbon Bird and the Chinese Shou Ribbon Bird are very similar, but the individual is smaller, with a body length of 19-23 cm. Males have chestnut and white color types, females do not have long tail feathers and are well distinguished.
The female oriental shou with the bird and its litter of babies
A white male oriental shoujian nesting
In this season of flowers and birds, the appearance of Shoudai birds brings us endless surprises and good wishes. They carry long tails and flutter fairies, passing on the blessings of longevity, auspiciousness, good life and well-being to each of us.
Whenever we witness the dance of the birds, it is as if we see the beauty and continuation of life. Their existence tells us that no matter when and where, we should cherish life, return to the basics, and pursue peace and happiness.
Every encounter with the birds is a precious experience, let us admire these fascinating birds, feel the wonders of nature, and don't forget to protect the ecological environment so that these splendid lives can continue.
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Detective Spirit Bear
Take you to see the strangest and most interesting animal knowledge every day!
Bibliography:
1. Naturalism. Shoudai-Paradise Flycatcher[J].Language Xinpu,2005(06):23-24.)
2. CHEN Yuquan,ZHAO Tao. Study on breeding habits of Shoubandai[J].Shandong Forestry Science and Technology,1992(01):27-28.)
3. FU Yiqiang,LI Yong,HU Jinwei. Preliminary study on the vocal behavior of Shoubandai bird during the breeding period[J].Sichuan Zoology,2008(06):1079-1081+1090.)