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When you think of Tianshan, what comes to mind? Snow lotus, Tomur Peak, or the beautiful scenery of Xinjiang...
Today I am sharing with you a mysterious animal from the Tianshan Mountains, which has a unique shape, white head, blue beak, and black tail. Their whereabouts have always been mysterious, occasionally appearing and disappearing for a long time, and at one time some people thought that they had disappeared in China, until in recent years they have once again entered people's vision. They are the white-headed hard-tailed ducks, today is the white-headed hard-tailed duck day, let's get to know and pay attention to this mysterious Tianshan visitor!
White-headed hard-tailed duck Photo by Xing Rui
The white-headed hard-tailed duck is about the size of a normal duck and looks thick and stocky. The difference is that the white-headed hard-tailed duck has white cheeks and a hard-tailed tail that is upturned or sticks to the surface of the water. Male white-headed hard-tailed ducks have a mouth that turns striking blue during the breeding season, making them very recognizable. Females are mostly brown and have white cheeks, but are smaller than the male's white area, and have a black longitudinal stripe on their white cheeks, which is also easy to recognize.
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Panoramic view of Lake Shiratori
The white-headed hard-tailed duck breeds mainly in the southeastern part of The European part of Russia, western Siberia, and is scattered in northwestern Mongolia, northern Xinjiang, individual regions near the Black Sea in Europe, southern Italy and Spain, and northwestern Africa.
At present, the white-headed hard-tailed duck has a stable breeding ground in Xinjiang. They are migratory birds that return to some wetlands in Xinjiang in April each year to breed.
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Pose - Flap Wings - Photo: Malone
The white-headed hard-tailed duck is very good at swimming and diving, and the time to dive underwater is generally about 3-5 minutes. They often raise their tails high when swimming in the water, and often skim a considerable distance across the surface of the water to take off from the water to leave the water.
They are not picky, and their food is abundant, such as algae, aquatic plants, mollusks, crustaceans and worms.
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White-headed hard-tailed duck - female and juvenile - Photo: Malone
Beginning in 1994, the white-headed hard-tailed duck was listed as a "vulnerable" species by the IUCN International Red Book of Birds, and after 2000, it was listed as "endangered". In 1996, it was listed in the Red Book of Endangered Animals in China and is a globally endangered species. According to the latest statistics from the IUCN, the number of adult birds in the world is 5300-8700.
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According to verifiable records, the earliest record of the white-headed hard-tailed duck in China was in 1960 and 1965 when a male white-headed hard-tailed duck specimen was collected, and since then there have been no observations and specimen records of the white-headed hard-tailed duck.
It wasn't until October-November 2006 that foreign birdwatcher Paul M. Paul Holt found more than 10 bald-headed hard-tailed ducks in Xinjiang's Shihezi region and the Wuyi Reservoir (Bayi Reservoir - Wollongong Wetland).
On April 27, 2007, Ma Ming, a teacher of the Xinjiang Institute of Raw Land of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and others recorded two white-headed hard-tailed ducks in Jimsar County.
Since 2007, there have been uninterrupted bird watching records of white-headed hard-tailed ducks, mainly in Urumqi, Kuitun and Altay regions.
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On May 7, 2016, Wilderness Xinjiang, Bainiaohui (formerly wilderness Xinjiang Bainiao Lake Wetland Protection Project Group) and Xinjiang Youth Development Foundation jointly launched the Urumqi Bainiao Lake Wetland Ecological Protection Project. Under the joint protection of this project and many projects such as the White-headed Hard-tailed Duck Conservation Project and the White-headed Hard-tailed Duck Protection Network Project, and under the joint promotion of volunteers, all sectors of society and government authorities, the White-headed Hard-tailed Duck has received more and more attention and has become the most representative bird star species in Urumqi and even Xinjiang, and the White Bird Lake Wetland has gradually become an ecological business card of Urumqi City.
Volunteer patrol station painting
Since then, May 7 of each year, it has been set up as White-headed Hard-tailed Duck Day, which aims to promote the protection and publicity of white-headed hard-tailed ducks, guide the public to pay attention to endangered birds, participate in bird activities, and jointly protect the homes of white-headed hard-tailed ducks and more birds. At the same time, it is hoped that through the protection of endangered birds, the ecological situation of forests, grasses, rivers and lakes will be raised to promote the improvement of the overall ecological environment.
Pose-Alert-Photo: Malone
In February 2021, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration made the first major adjustment to the List of Wild Animals under National Key Protection based on the changes in wild resources and the latest research results. The white-headed hard-tailed duck is one of the 517 species (classes) added this time. The conservation level of the white-headed hard-tailed duck has directly jumped from the original autonomous region level to the national level, which is really gratifying for this endangered species.
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The endangered white-headed hard-tailed duck has an indissoluble relationship with the Beijing Museum of Natural History. On May 7, 2017, a white-headed hard-tailed duck was killed and killed with a slingshot. Birdway volunteers (formerly the Wilderness Xinjiang White Bird Lake Wetland Project Team) found its body during an inspection. In order not to let this white-headed hard-tailed duck die in vain, so that its life can be continued in another way, with the consent of the local authorities, this white-headed hard-tailed duck and an egg and a chick were made into specimens and donated to the Beijing Museum of Natural History for collection and display, continuing to play the role of social education.
In August 2017, the Beijing Museum of Natural History officially accepted the donation of these three precious specimens, which were properly stored in a professional specimen library with constant temperature and humidity, and regular feather maintenance and insect removal fumigation were carried out. The precious specimen of the bald-headed hard-tailed duck is very rare in museums in the country.
From October to December 2017, the museum specially planned the theme explanation "Mysterious Visitor from Tianshan Mountain", which solemnly welcomed the white-headed hard-tailed duck to the museum. In the past three months, the story of the white-headed hard-tailed duck has been continuously explained, and the audience has exceeded a thousand people, which has touched a large audience.
In October 2018, the specimen of the white-headed hard-tailed duck was invited by CCTV's "Animals Are Coming" program, and the Beijing Museum of Natural History shared the story of the white-headed hard-tailed duck to audience friends across the country; in the same year, the BTV literature and art "Let's Cheer Together" program of Beijing Television Station also introduced the story of the white-headed hard-tailed duck.
In the future, the white-headed hard-tailed duck will continue to bloom the immortal legend of life in the Beijing Museum of Natural History. I hope you remember that today is the "White-headed Hard-tailed Duck Day", and welcome you to have the opportunity to walk into the Beijing Museum of Natural History to see the visitors of the Tianshan Mountains, and pay attention to and protect the endangered white-headed hard-tailed duck together!
The scene of the 2021 White Head Hard Tail Day explanation activity
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