Rise in sightings of rare Chinese bird
Print Edition
AN increasing number of Chinese mergansers, an endangered species of bird under state protection, have been spotted in China over the past three years.
Some 1,084 were spotted across the country in the winter of 2016, according to a survey by the Chinese Bird Watching Societies Network in Chongqing.
The figure was 441 and 634 in 2014 and 2015. The organization said the increases could be due to better public awareness about protecting the species and environmental improvements.
However, human activities such as illegal fishing and sand mining still pose a risk to their winter habitat.
“The species is very picky about the water environment and the survey can also be used to monitor water quality,” said He Fenqi, an ornithology expert with the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
For example, more than 10 years ago the birds lived mainly near rivers and clear creeks. Now they are often spotted in areas surrounding reservoirs.
“This is the result of river degradation,” He said.
Chinese mergansers are known as “the giant pandas of birds,” with Russia’s far east and northeast China their major breeding grounds.
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