Bulletin 313 - China #13 - Pheasants, Hoopoe, wagtails, shrikes, woodpeckers and minivet

I had an 8 day birding to trip in eastern China with a wonderful guide Lin Zhang based in Shanghai. He is perfectly fluent in English. We visited 5 different locales. His website is here. FYI making contact within China by email is a problem as the government blocks some email accounts coming in including gmail.  So I had to contact him using MS Outlook. His email is zhanglinas@hotmail.com.

The pheasants are all native to Asia. In the east Asia field guide, there are 9 species. The Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) has been introduced widely as a game bird including USA. It is known here as the Ring-necked Pheasant. it was nice to see in his native area.

Common Pheasant - male
AKA Ring-necked Pheasant

The other pheasant I saw, was the bird of the trip. The 82" male Reeve's Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) has the longest tail of any pheasant species (62"). We has a pair of males right beside the car. They have a black and white face and golden body feathers. It is listed as vulnerable. They have a reserve for them and a captive breeding program.

Reeve's Pheasant - male

As they walked further away, I was finally able to get the whole bird in the photo.

Reeve's Pheasant - male

The 3 species of new woodpeckers were also a treat on the trip. The males all have some red on the head, but the photos are not oriented in a way that I can distinguish the sex of the 3 species. 

The smallest (6")  is the Gray-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos canicapillus)

Gray-capped Pygmy Woodpecker

In the same genus is the 8" Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major). It has a red belly.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

The largest was the 12" Gray-headed Woodpecker (Picus canis) . It is a green woodpecker with a gray head.

Gray-headed Woodpecker

The most unusual bird on the trip is the 13" Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops). It is one of 3 living hoopoe species. I knew this bird from looking at the guide book before the trip. It seems to be a common bird and I saw perhaps a dozen during the week. It is beige bodied with black and white wings, black tail, large crest and a long bill. It is an easy ID even for me who had never seen it before. The long crest is only elevated when the bird lands. I did not know that and missed the chance to see it raised.

Eurasian Hoopoe

And a few songbirds to finish up all the China birds from the trip. The 8.5" Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach) has a gray crown, black mask, wings and tail and rusty back.

Long-tailed Shrike

The 7.5" Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus) is a brown bird with a gray mask.

Bull-headed Shrike

The 7" male Gray-chinned Minivet (Pericrocotus solaris) is the second member of the cuckooshrike family I have see. The male is black and orange.

Gray-chinned Minivet - male

The female is yellow and gray

Gray-chinned Minivet - female

The last 3 birds are all in the same family..wagtails and pipits. The 6" Buff-bellied Pipit (Anthus rubescens) is a brown bird with streaked chest and buffy belly. It is the same bird as the American Pipit here in North America but a likely future split according to the guide.

Buff-bellied Pipit
AKA American Pipit

The 6" Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) is streaked and olive coloration.

Olive-backed Pipit

The 7" White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a dapper black and white bird.

White Wagtail

I have put the different bird families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 12 of the 182 species of pheasants, turkeys and partridges.

I have photos of 48 of the 234 species of woodpeckers

I have photos of 4 of the 34 species of shrikes

I have photos of 2 of the 92 species of cuckooshrikes

I have photos of 5 of the 34 species of wagtails and pipits

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2018 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe