Winged beauty jumps onto China's wildlife list

2008-06-19
BEIJING, June 19 -- It has a white crescent-shaped patch behind the ear and some grayish-brown spots on the white throat. Apart from that, it's dark brown all over.

It prefers to walk, flying only when frightened. It often feeds on worms and insects in the gaps between rocks.

Meet the new species of bird discovered by Chinese ornithologists on a small patch of limestone rainforest on the Sino-Vietnamese border.

No ornithologist had sighted the myna-sized bird before probably because of its plain looks and skulking habit.

Zhou Fang, of the College of Animal Sciences and Technology, and Jiang Aiwu, one of his graduate students, first saw it during a survey at the end of 2004. It took almost four years of studies and fieldwork to confirm it's a new species.

Zhou's college is affiliated to Guangxi University in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

"After seeing the birds a few times during our survey, Professor Zhou told me it's probably a new species," says Jiang.

"I have been studying birds in the region since the 1970s," the 59-year-old ornithologist says. "But I had never seen it before."

Zhou and Jiang caught two of birds on January 21, 2006, to conduct a thorough study.

As the bird is seen only in and around the Nonggang Natural Reserve of Guangxi, only 18 km southeast of the Vietnamese border, it has been named the Nonggang Babbler (Stachyris nonggangensis).

The global scientific community has confirmed their finding, and the Auk, the world's leading journal on ornithology, published their study in its 125th issue recently.

This is the second time Chinese scientists have found a new species of bird in the country. The first was in the 1930s. Zhou and his student have become the first Chinese authors in the US-based journal too.

"During the past two years, we had to face four tests set for us by Auk's expert teams," Zhou says.

It's easier to find a new species of plant or bug, he says. "But finding a new bird is once-in-a-lifetime achievement for even a leading ornithologist."

Though the bird has been seen only in and around the nature reserve, it could exist in the limestone region of Vietnam's northern highlands too, Zhou says. "Till it is seen there, it can be considered a species endemic to China."

About 100 pairs of the birds have been observed in Nonggang. "Their habitat in the reserve is protected," Zhou says. "But as they could also exist in the Karst rainforest outside the reserve, logging and burning wood to make charcoal pose a threat to their wider habitat."

It is very difficult to restore the biodiversity of a rainforest once its ecological is disturbed. "Given the bird's small number and its threatened habitat, it's important to include it in the State list of protected species," Zhou says.

(Source: China Daily)

Video : Mysterious mammal caught on film, a long-eared jerboa

Mysterious mammal caught on film

Last Updated: Monday, 10 December 2007, 00:36 GMT

By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC News First footage of a long-eared jerboa An "extraordinary" desert creature has been caught on camera for what scientists believe is the first time. The long-eared jerboa, a tiny nocturnal mammal that is dwarfed by its enormous ears, can be found in deserts in Mongolia and China. Zoological Society of London (ZSL) scientist Jonathan Baillie said the footage was helping researchers to learn more about the mysterious animal. The species is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red list. These creatures hop just like a kangaroo; it is amazing to watch Dr Jonathan Baillie, ZSL The unusual animals were filmed in the Gobi desert during an expedition led by Dr Baillie. Until now, the creatures had proven extremely difficult to study, thanks to their minuscule size, nocturnal nature and the harsh desert environment that they inhabit. Big ears Dr Baillie told BBC News that he was "ecstatic" to have tracked down the jerboas. "These creatures hop just like a kangaroo; it is amazing to watch. Little hairs on their feet, almost like snow shoes, allow them to jump along the sand," he explained. "And in terms of mammals, they have one of the biggest ear-to-body ratios out there." The footage revealed that the creatures spent daylight hours in underground tunnels beneath the sand, and that their diet was mostly made up of insects. "The long-eared jerboa is a bit like the Mickey Mouse of the desert, cute and comic in equal measure," Dr Baillie said. By setting pitfall traps, the researchers were also able to look at the rodents close-up and to begin to estimate their population. Dr Baillie added that although there was still much to learn about the rare rodent, it was already believed to be under threat from habitat disturbance. "We travelled to the Gobi to find out about the animal's status and learn more about it so we can develop a thorough long-term action plan." Desert bounties The expedition formed part of ZSL's Edge programme, which focuses its efforts on conservation plans for animals that are both endangered and evolutionarily distinctive. The long-eared jerboa is one of 10 species that the programme is looking at this year. "These amazing, remarkable creatures are on the verge of extinction and we know almost nothing about them," warned Dr Baillie. He added that it was important not to overlook desert habitats in conservation. "Everyone thinks the desert is a totally desolate area, void of biodiversity, and often when conservation planning is done, deserts are overlooked. "But there are some remarkable species in the desert, so we really need to start paying attention to this environment." An Edge scientist has now been appointed to further study the species.

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7130484.stm