Birding, Conservation

Fairy Pitta at Nanhui, Shanghai

September 5, 2019 by Kai Pflug No Comments

September and October are probably the best two months in Shanghai – it is warm but not unbearably hot, and it does not rain much. And of course, it is the autumn migration season, which I like more than the spring one. The birds seem to be more relaxed, and there are more of them as well. Best of all, this year the migration seems to have started fairly early and with some fantastic birds. In particular, in Shanghai, every birder is waiting for Fairy Pitta to show up, and on Aug 31, the bird actually did (next three photos).

Call me biased, but the Fairy Pitta is certainly one of the most attractive birds even among the Pittas, a crowded field in which standing out is not easy. The Chinese name, Xianbasedong, literally translates eight-color fairy thrush – I usually only count 7 different colors on the bird but I am sure that is my own fault.

 

The Fairy Pitta is classified as Vulnerable – being a migrant bird in China does not help. Hopefully the efforts of some younger Chinese in trying to protect important areas, destroying nets used for bird trapping, etc. will be successful.

Three years ago, a Fairy Pitta stayed in a very small forest on the Shanghai coast for almost two weeks and gradually became a small-scale tourist attraction on its own before it decided to move on. The photos below were taken then.


 

Written by Kai Pflug
Kai has lived in Shanghai for 21 years. He only started birding after moving to China, so he is far more familiar with Chinese birds than the ones back in his native Germany. As a birder, he considers himself strictly average and tries to make up for it with photography, which he shares on a separate website. Alas, most of the photos are pretty average as well.He hopes that few clients of his consulting firm—focused on China’s chemical industry—ever find this blog, as it might raise questions about his professional priorities. Much of his time is spent either editing posts for 10,000 Birds or cleaning the litter boxes of his numerous indoor cats. He occasionally considers writing a piece comparing the two activities.