Figure
1.
The Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus)(Photo by Hong Guo)
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Ziyou Yang, Jing Li, Yongxiang Han, Chris J. Hassell, Kar-Sin Katherine Leung, David S. Melville, Yat-tung Yu, Lin Zhang, Chi-Yeung Choi. 2021: Coastal wetlands in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China: probably the most important site globally for the Asian Dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus). Avian Research, 12(1): 38. DOI: 10.1186/s40657-021-00272-7
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Despite an increasing number of surveys and a growing interest in birdwatching, the population and distribution of Asian Dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus), a species endemic to the East Asian-Australasian and Central Asian Flyways, remains poorly understood, and published information about the species is largely outdated. In boreal spring 2019, over 22, 432 Asian Dowitchers were recorded in a coastal wetland at Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, constituting 97.5% of its estimated global population.
In 2019 and 2020, we conducted field surveys at Lianyungang to determine the numbers of Asian Dowitchers using the area during both southward and northward migrations. We also assessed the distribution and abundance of Asian Dowitchers elsewhere along the China coast by searching literature and consulting expert opinion.
The coastal wetlands of Lianyungang are the most important stopover site for Asian Dowitchers during both northward and southward migrations; they supported over 90% of the estimated global population during northward migration in two consecutive years (May 2019 and 2020). This area also supported at least 15.83% and 28.42% (or 30.74% and 53.51% using modelled estimates) of the global population during southward migration in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Coastal wetlands in the west and north of Bohai Bay also have been important stopover sites for the species since the 1990s. Although comprehensive, long-term monitoring data are lacking, available evidence suggests that the population of the species may have declined.
The high concentration of Asian Dowitchers at Lianyungang during migration means the species is highly susceptible to human disturbances and natural stochastic events. The coastal wetlands of Lianyungang should be protected and potentially qualify for inclusion in China's forthcoming nomination for World Heritage listing of Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase Ⅱ) in 2023. Additional research is needed to understand Asian Dowitchers' distribution and ecology, as well as why such a high proportion of their population rely on the Lianyungang coast.
In 2 April 2012 a birdwatcher, Mr. Hong Guo, found a strange white bird near a garbage dump in Wuqia County, (39°55′N, 75°15′E), at an elevation of 2100 m. This location is approximately 80 km west of Kaxgar. After experts checked the photographs, it was identified as an adult Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), also known as the White Vulture (Fig. 1). This is the first time a Chinese bird-watcher photographed this vulture.
The point of record, Wuqia County, is about 110–130 km distance from the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Egyptian Vulture is found in southwestern Europe, northern Africa, south and west Asia, as well as some countries neighboring China, i.e., India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. This bird likes to live in groups and use old nests. This species is genetically relatively close to the Bearded Vulture or Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus).
The Egyptian Vulture is a medium to large bird (length 56–64 cm); its entire body is white but its flight feathers are black, it has a small head with a narrow and long bill and a wedge-shaped tail (Fig. 2). They sometimes crack eggs by using a stone, a rare example in the case raptors of knowing how to use tools.
Actually, this was not the first record in Xinjiang. About eleven years ago in the Ili River Region (43°37′N, 82°25′E), Jesper Hornskov reported a bird watching record of this species (Hornskov, unpublished; Ma, 2001). However, it was reported as an observation but no photograph is available of the event and therefore no proof of its occurrence at the time. Apparently, this is then the first record for China for this bird (not listed by Cheng, 1987, 2000; Ma, 1995; Yan et al., 1995; MacKinnon et al., 2000; Zheng, 2011), although de Schauensee (1984) noted that "[the species] possibly occurs in W Sinkiang in the Tien Shan region." Flint et al. (1984) listed the species in Kazakhstan and mapped it as occurring right up to the Xinjiang border at about 45°N. Mr. Hong Guo took about 40 clear photos of the event, providing strong evidence of a new record for Chinese birds. It is initially identified as the subspecies Neophron percnopterus percnopterus (Fig. 2).
The program is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30970340, 31272291).
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