Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

Field marks:  Green, wings and head, orange belly, blue back, long bill
Resident
普通翠鸟 – pǔtōng cuì-niǎo – ‘common cui bird’

The common kingfisher is one of the smallest and most common of the kingfisher family, “alcedinidae”. It is a widespread species, found across Europe and Asia, and in winter,  Africa and south Asia as far as Borneo and Java.

In China, it is a non-migratory species that will live year round in most places that can offer open fresh water from which the kingfisher can hunt for fish small aquatic animals. The common kingfisher will migrate from the northern part of its breeding range to southern points of the breeding range that offer unfrozen fresh water in winter.

The kingfisher gets its name from its mode of acquiring food-fishing. All kingfishers hunt for fish and small freshwater animals in lakes and ponds. All kingfishers are armed with long, dagger-like bills with which they grab or impale their prey. The birds will perch on rocks or branches of trees which overhang the surface of a lake or pond and wait until they spot their prey. They bob their heads while searching the water surface for prey. When a potential meal is spotted, they will leap from their perch and dive straight into the water to seize their prize. At other times, kingfishers hover above the water’s surface and dive when prey is spotted.

To sit quietly at a pond’s edge and watch the antics of kingfishers as they engage in their fishing soirtees is among the finest arrangements in birding.

The present species is particularly active in its fishing attempts diving frequently and flying about to find alternative perches. The common kingfisher flies low across the water and its wings make a noticeable whirring noise in flight.

Because the species’ survival is so closely linked to water, the common kingfisher nests in holes found on riverbanks or the sides of ponds. This close proximity to their hunting grounds helps to ensure the survival of young chicks.

Young kingfishers must learn quickly to fish and must be afforded enough time to observe the parents fishing skills. Often, young kingfishers do not acquire these skills fast enough are forced to fend for themselves before they are ready. Inevitably, many young kingfishers do not survive their year. Also, many young kingfishers do not survive their first few attempts at diving. Some drown when they fail to exit the water fast enough and their feathers become waterlogged.

Photo by Brian Westland

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

(19 cm.) Long tail; grey upperparts; grey head; white throat; yellow underparts; white eye line

The Grey Wagtail is a member of a small family of long, slender birds with long tails, the wagtails, “moticillidae”. These birds get their English names from their constant habit of “wagging” their tails. The Grey Wagtail is one of the most attractive members of the family with its lovely combination of grey head and back, black wings and yellow under parts.

This bird’s range within China makes up the eastern half of the country with the breeding range in the “dongbei” region. In winter, it can be found throughout much of the southeast.

The Grey Wagtail is almost always found near water, especially rivers and streams. In summer in the north part of its range, it will nest very close to fast running rivers and streams, allowing the parent birds close proximity to their hunting grounds and growing chicks. This close proximity to both a food source and their nest helps ensure the survival of their chicks

This species is fond of small aquatic animals as food including flies, mayflies, crustaceans and mollusks. In winter, these birds have been known to return to exactly the same urban garden as past years.

This species, along with other wagtails are shy and difficult to approach if one wishes to observe this species it is often best to find a suitable location such as a park with a stream and wait quietly and inconspicuously for the birds to come to you.

Photo by Brian Westland

Great Tit (Parus major)

Field marks: head and throat black, white cheek, black band through breast
(14 cm.)
大山雀 – dà shān-què – ‘large mountain finch’

The Great Tit is another widely distributed species that is found throughout Europe and Asia. It is also a very common species throughout its range and familiar to many people. The Great Tit was once considered a single species with several subspecies throughout its range, but recent scientific studies have suggested that the bird we see in Asia should be referred to as the “Japanese Tit” and that the birds found in Europe should be referred to as the “Cinerous Tit”. Ornithologists are still arguing about this new division of the species, so the name “Great Tit” will suffice for our purposes.

The scientific name of this species, “Parus major” means large tit, and indeed this species is the largest member of its group. All tits, however, are small songbirds. They are all active omnivores that feed primarily on insects during the spring and summer months and seeds during the winter. In Europe and North America tits are frequent visitors to feeding stations maintained by bird-lovers and are very popular with people due to their friendly natures. They often eat from the hands of people patient enough to earn their trust. Their engaging personalities and comfort with people have made them one of the best-studied group of birds in the world.

The Great Tit inhabits a large variety of habitats including deciduous and coniferous forests as well as “mixed woodland”. It will also be found in city parks and university campuses throughout much of China.

It is a non-migratory bird that can remain in the same place during summer and winter by switching its diet from insects in summer to seeds in winter. Only in the event of food shortages in winter will the Great Tit undertake large food-searching movements. Often, the Great Tit will join “mixed flocks” of other bird species such as finches and nuthatches harsh winter to forage for food in the harsh winter months.

Great Tits are early spring breeders that use tree cavities as nests. They will also readily use man-made boxes for nesting purposes making them good subjects for study. The female lays a large clutch of eggs, often up to 18. The female alone will incubate the eggs and she will be fed by the male during her incubation duties. Young tit chicks are fed by both parents.

Great Tit (European race) by Luc Viatour

Chinese Pond Heron (Ardeola Bacchus)

(47 cm.) Breeding season: Small heron; white wings; head, neck and breast dark brown; white underparts Winter: Heavily streaked brown heron; white with brown back in flight

The Chinese Pond Heron is one of a large family of mostly freshwater birds, “Ardeidae”, that includes many long-legged species such as herons, egrets and bitterns that stalk fish and other aquatic species in rivers, ponds, and lakes. All members of this family are closely related and share similar habits of living despite often being called “herons” or “egrets” or “bitterns”. All these birds are equipped with adaptations that allow them to be successful hunters in their watery habitats such as long necks and long sharp bills that they use to spear fish, frogs, lizards and other species of vertebrate and invertebrate prey.

Herons can easily be confused with other long-legged bird species such as cranes, ibises, and storks, but they do have generally sharper, more dagger-like bills, and in flight, herons pull their necks in towards their bodies, while these other birds fly with necks stretched out.

The Chinese Pond Heron, although large, is a medium-sized bird of its family. Some members of the family such as the Grey Heron is 92 cm. long. It is called a “pond heron”  due to its particular fondness for ponds as hunting grounds. In China, it is often found in the rice fields of the south.

The Chinese Pond Heron is a striking bird in the breeding season with a dark brown head and neck contrasting with its white breast and belly and blue back.

This bird will frequent both fresh and salt water ponds and wetlands. This species' diet consists of the fish, insects and crustaceans.

This species, like other herons, is a community nester in the breeding season. It forms loose colonies of nesting birds often including other species of herons. These community nesting places are often called, “heronries” The female Chinese Pond Heron usually lays a clutch of 3-6 blue-green eggs. The breeding range consists of the eastern half of China from approximately Jilin Province in the north to around Fujian Province in the south and extending westwards to Sichuan Province

Photo by Brian Westland

Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) Song ya

(35 cm.) Pinkish color; white throat; black “mustache”; blue and black pattered wings; white rump

The Eurasian Jay, like other jays found in the world, is part of the “Corvidae” family which includes crows and magpies. The Eurasian Jay shares many characteristics of these birds including a harsh voice,  exceptional intelligence and a somewhat dark reputation for aggressive and predatory behavior.

This species shares the Black-billed Magpie’s love of eggs, and it will actively seek out the nests of other bird species to steal eggs and even chicks. Its aggressive nature is most often directed at birds larger than itself, however. The Eurasian Jay is known as a fierce rival of several birds of prey. It will harass owls and hawks during the day in an attempt to protect its own kind. During its attacks on the Tawny Owl, the Eurasian Jay will mimic the call of the owl. This bird has a great gift of mimicry, and its imitations of the sounds of other birds are difficult to distinguish from the real calls of the species it imitates.

In addition to eggs, the Eurasian Jay eats seeds, berries and other fruits. It is especially fond of acorns, and it seeks out oak forests as habitat to give it a steady supply of this food. Various animals such as small animals, insects, and other birds constitute a significant part of its diet.

This is a widespread species which is found throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. In China, this species is found in most of the eastern half of the country. Like most members of the Corvidae family, it is a non-migratory resident species within its range. Its varied diet allows it to consume foods in any season within its range.

Perhaps due to the destruction of the mixed oak forests which it favors, this species is moving into the cities where urban parkland can offer it the conditions it needs to survive.

The Eurasian Jay nests in a large shrub or a tree, and the female lays 4-6 eggs in an untidy stick nest. Both parents will feed the chicks after the eggs have hatched.

Despite its aggressive personality, or perhaps due to it, this species can end up being a prey item at night for the species of raptors which it bullies during the day

Photo by Pawel Kuzniar

Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)

(16 cm.) Small; small bill; single thick dark band across chest; yellow legs; conspicuous yellow eye-ring; no wing bars

The Little Ringed Plover is a member of a large subfamily of small wading birds with straight bills which are notched at the tip, the plovers. The plover family is known according to scientific classification as the “Charadriinae” family. Plovers are found feeding for small invertebrates at the water edge’s and on open land.

This species is one of the smallest of its family. Like many plovers, it has a black mask and a ring around its neck. The Common Ringed Plover looks very similar but the Little Ringed Plover’s completely black bill, thinner neck ring, and conspicuous eye-ring distinguish it from this bird.

The Little Ringed Plover is a widespread species that is found in North Africa in winter and most of Europe and Asia throughout the year. In China, this species breeds throughout the eastern and central parts of the country. It winters in the southeast of China and Southeast Asia.

The diet of this species consists mostly of worms and insects of various species.

This species is usually found in marshes, mudflats, and along the sandy banks of rivers and streams.

The Little Ringed Plover is a widespread and common species in eastern China, and it is likely to be encountered by anyone who seeks it out.

Little Ringed Plover (Photo by Marek Szczepanek)

Great Tit (Parus major)

(14 cm.) head and throat black, white cheek, black band through breast.


The Great Tit is another widely-distributed bird species that is found throughout Europe and Asia. It is also a very common species throughout its range and is familiar to many people. The Great Tit was once considered a single species with several subspecies throughout its range, but recent scientific studies have suggested that the bird we see in Asia should be referred to as the “Japanese Tit” and that the birds found in Europe should be referred to as the “Cinerous Tit”. Ornithologists are still arguing about this new division of the species, so the name “Great Tit” will suffice for our purposes.

The scientific name of this species, “Parus major,” means “large tit,” and certainly this species is the largest member of its family. All tits, however, are small songbirds. They are all active omnivores that feed primarily on insects during the spring and summer months and seeds during the winter.

In Europe and North America tits are frequent visitors to feeding stations maintained by bird-lovers and are well-loved by all people for their tameness and willingness to trust humans. They often eat from the hands of people patient enough to earn their trust. Their high level of comfort with people has made them one of the best-studied group of birds in the world.

The Great Tit inhabits a large variety of habitats including deciduous and coniferous forests as well as “mixed woodland.” The bird can also be found in city parks and university campuses throughout much of China.

The Great Tit is a non-migratory bird that can remain in the same place during summer and winter by switching its diet from insects in summer to seeds in winter. Only in the event of food shortages in winter will the Great Tit undertake large food-searching migrations. Often, the Great Tit will join “mixed flocks” of other bird species such as finches and nuthatches to forage for food during harsh winter months.

Great Tits are early spring breeders that use tree cavities as nests. They will also readily use man-made boxes for nesting purposes making them good subjects for study. The female produces a large clutch of eggs, often up to 18 in number. The female alone will incubate the eggs and she will be fed by the male during her incubation duties. Young tit chicks are fed by both parents.

Great Tit (Photo by Luc Viatour-www.Lucnix.be)