first! The national first-class protected animal painted ibis appeared in the stone lion

A painted ibis forages in a lotus field (Courtesy of Qiu Jianfeng)

The day before yesterday, Shishi Wetland Park welcomed an uninvited guest, a colored ibis (huán) foraging in the lotus field, which was recorded by photographers and tourists, leaving precious images. It is reported that this is the first time that the colored ibises have been recorded in Shishi Wetland Park, and it is also after the white crane that Shishi has once again ushered in the national Level I protected animals.

It is reported that the painted ibises were extinct in China, and they were not seen in China until 2009. In April this year, the colored ibis was first recorded in Fujian, when it appeared in Funing Bay, Xiapu County, and this time in Shishi Wetland Park, which was the second time that the figure of the colored ibis was captured in Fujian.

The painted ibis is a medium-sized wader, often inhabiting shallow water to prey on fish and shrimp, slender body shape, chestnut purple feathers, shining green metallic luster in the sunlight, the luster changes with the movement of the painted ibis, the beak is slender and curved downwards, like an upside-down sickle. There are about 20 species of ibises worldwide, and like the crested ibis, because of habitat loss and environmental pollution problems, the painted ibis was once considered extinct in China, because of its rare number, the colored ibis is also known as the "bird giant panda". On February 5, 2021, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs jointly released the newly adjusted "List of Wild Animals under National Key Protection", and the painted ibis was upgraded from the original national level II protected animal to a national level I protected animal.

Wu Kechao, president of the Quanzhou Bird Watching Society, introduced that the painted ibis, which appears in Shishi, should be a juvenile sub-adult bird. The adult painted ibis is about 60 cm long, while this painted ibis is more than 40 cm long, and there are some white feathers on the top of the head and anterior throat, so it is not excluded that earlier, the painted ibises have appeared in the Shishi or Quanzhou range.

Source: SoutheastErvision Morning Post