‘Bird Panda’ Tibetan Pica Settles in Miying Yellow River Ancient Causeway Wetland Park
This news (Zhang Zengfeng)
On March 1st, bird photography enthusiast Zhang Tianyi was surveying and photographing at the Miying Yellow River Ancient Causeway National Wetland Park when he captured a global endangered bird, the 'Bird Panda,' the Tibetan Pica, and recorded approximately 10 individuals on-site.
‘I was crouching in the reeds when I heard a series of crisp, pleasant chirping sounds and saw about fifteen very beautiful little birds flipping and jumping around in the reeds, so I quickly captured it with my camera.’ Obsessed with bird photography, Zhang Tianyi said that after capturing this group of Tibetan Picas, he first compared the birds he froze in the lens with pictures on the internet, then contacted bird experts for verification, and finally confirmed that it was indeed a Tibetan Pica.
It is understood that the Tibetan Pica is a bird species unique to China. Due to its rarity, it has been listed in the IUCN Red List, and people call it the ‘Bird Panda.’ Tibetan Picas only live in large patches of reed marshes with original ecology, demanding strict survival environment, eating reed surfaces or insect larvae in reed stalks, often jumping and flipping around in reeds, they use hard beaks to crack open reed stalks, bringing out the insects inside to eat, thus they are also called ‘woodpeckers in reeds’ and ‘maidens in reed clumps.’
In February 2013, it was approved by the National Forestry and Grassland Bureau and the Grassland Bureau to establish the Miying Yellow River Ancient Causeway National Wetland Park. The park’s water surface is wide and the water level is stable, with clear, transparent and pollution-free water quality, attracting a large number of birds. Large flocks of migratory birds have settled and stopped here, and more than 100 species of birds have been discovered, including the Tibetan Pica, which has a population of less than 1000 worldwide and is listed as Critically Endangered by the World Conservation Union, with about 160 individuals residing and breeding here.
On February 2nd of this year, it was the 24th World Wetlands Day. China has newly designated 7 international important wetlands, and the Miying Yellow River Ancient Causeway wetland is among them, also becoming the first provincial international important wetland.”
