Beijing News (reporter Wu Linshu) On January 21, a reporter from the Beijing News learned from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Xishuangbanna Botanical Garden) that a staff member of the botanical garden observed and photographed 3 Geopelia striata in the staff apartment on the 17th, a new record for Chinese birds.
Dr. Zhao Jiangbo, the discoverer of the Spotted Dove and a senior engineer at the Xishuangbanna Botanical Garden, told the Beijing News, "Considering that the Spotted Dove has been recorded in northern Thailand and central Laos for many years, after communicating with other bird experts, it can be speculated that these 3 are naturally spreading." ”
On the afternoon of January 7, Zhao Jiangbo photographed a spotted dove in the Man'an Apartment of Xishuangbanna Botanical Garden. Courtesy of respondents
Finder: 1 final photograph of a papaya tree
On the morning of January 21, Dr. Zhao Jiangbo, the discoverer of the Spotted Dove and a senior engineer of the Xishuangbanna Botanical Garden, said in an interview with the Beijing News reporter that at about 16:00 on the 17th, when he was walking the baby in the Man'an apartment across the river from the park, he found 3 small pigeons resembling the Spotted Dove foraging on the ground.
According to Zhao Jiangbo's observation, the upper body of the bird is mainly brownish gray, with several black stripes, a light gray beak and face, and a slender tail. As he approached, 3 birds flew away, one of them flew away and the other 2 flew onto a nearby papaya tree.
"When I pulled out my phone, 1 more bird flew away from the papaya tree, and only 1 was photographed." Zhao Jiangbo said that the shooting time of the photo was 16:25.
With more than 10 years of bird watching experience, Zhao Jiangbo has previously seen the spotted dove in thailand and Cambodia, "In Southeast Asia, this is a very popular caged bird, especially in Indonesia. ”
Zhao Jiangbo, after consulting the Field Manual of Chinese Birds, the Ornithology of Yunnan, the Taxonomy and Distribution of Birds in China (Third Edition) and the latest version of the Annual Report on Bird Watching in China - List of Birds of China 8.0, determined that the three birds he saw were different from any bird species previously recorded in China.
Subsequently, he exchanged with associate professor Liu Yang of the School of Ecology of Sun Yat-sen University, Dr. Zhu Lei of chengdu bird watching society, Zeng Xiangle of Yunnan Yingjiang Bird Society, and Wei Qian, editor of "China Bird Watch", combined with the characteristics of Geopelia striata recorded in the "Handbook of Birds of the World", and found that the morphological characteristics of the three birds were highly consistent with the spotted dove, "it can be confirmed that it is the spotted dove." ”
On December 19, 2016, Zhao Jiangbo photographed the spotted dove in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Courtesy of respondents
The newly recorded 3 doves can be speculated to have spread naturally
It is worth mentioning that the bird was artificially introduced to Taiwan Province, but it was not included in the "Taiwan Ornithology", but was defined as an exotic bird with potential threat. Therefore, bird records in Taiwan Province cannot be counted. Zhao Jiangbo said that this means that the 3 spotted doves he found are indeed a new record for Chinese birds.
According to Zhao Jiangbo, the xishuangbanna village and flower and bird market area has not seen the breeding and sale of this species, and the observed 3 spotted doves have complete feathers and normal mental state, so the possibility of pet trade and cage escape is excluded, "Considering that the spotted dove has been recorded in northern Thailand and central Laos many years ago, after communicating with other bird experts, it can be speculated that these 3 are naturally spreading." ”
"This is the fourth new record of Chinese birds to be found in our botanical gardens, with the brown-throated honeyeater found in 2009, the long-tailed parrot in 2014, and the white-browed yellow-rumped plover in 2019." Zhao Jiangbo added, "In the past 20 years, China has recorded an average of about 3 to 4 birds per year. ”
According to public information, the spotted dove is native to the Malay Peninsula, the Great Sunda Islands to the Philippine Islands, due to the pet trade, human introduction and natural spread, it has been found or formed in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Hawaii, Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar and other places.
Proofreading Li Lijun
Source: Beijing News