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Basics of Birding in Qingdao, China by Brian Westland

Tuesday, 05 December 2006

As Michael Scirocco pointed out in a recent article on this site Birding in Qingdao with Brian Westland, birding is North America’s and perhaps western world’s most popular participant sport.  Birding is a healthy and inexpensive pursuit that one can do for one’s whole life.  Birding is not the exclusive realm of weirdoes or little old ladies in running shoes.  During my 30x years as a birder and guide, I have met fellow birders of every possible description, age group, and walk of life. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the world birding, I will attempt to provide you with the basics of bird identification in the following lines. Back in North America it is possible to purchase a decent “field guide”, a book that provides depictions and descriptions of all the birds in a given area for the purposes of the identification in any local bookstore.  In China, however, these guides are not readily available-thus our desire to post an online guide for Qingdao birds on this site.  Possession of a field guide allows the novice the novice birder the opportunity to study the illustrations of birds and become familiar with characteristics of various groups of birds and ultimately individual species.  Without the use of a good guide, learning to identify different species of birds will be difficult indeed.  A good field guide is organized and presented in evolutionary order with the earliest birds shown first (loons, grebes, ducks, geese and other water birds like the Robin) shown last.  With the aid of a good field guide the beginning birder will be able to study and learn a variety of factors and features that makes bird identification possible.  Below, are the most important factors that one needs to consider in order to identify birds: A.  Bill/Beak: A bird’s bill is extremely useful for the purpose of identification.  The shape, length, and colors of the bill is often a diagnostic tool for identification.  For example a sparrow has a short conical bill which is powerful enough to crack seeds, whereas a hawk has a sharp, hooked bill for tearing meat.  Birds of any given group, or “family” usually have exactly the same beak, and often beaks of one family is dissimilar from another family.  As a result a specific bill shape can often identify which family a bird belongs to. B.  Shape:  the familiar Black Billed Magpie has a long body with a very long tail. The equally familiar European Tree Sparrow has a fat body with a short tail.  There is no confusing these two common Qingdao species even if they are seen as silhouettes.  As with bills, birds of a given family usually have the same shape. C.  Posture:  A good birder can distinguish different birds sitting on a branch based upon the bird’s posture.  For example a warbler will stand with its body nearly horizontally, while a while flycatcher sits on a perch vertically on an almost 90 degree angle. D.  Field Marks:  These are markings on a bird’s body that are important for identifying specific species of birds.  Common field marks are wing bars, head stripes, colors of feathers, etc.  Various species of Warblers have the same bill and shape, but only one Qingdao species of Warbler has two equally long bars crossing the width of the wing, the aptly-named Two-barred Warbler. E.  Voice:  The sound a bird makes is often the only reliable means to make a 100 % positive species identification. At times, birds are often more easily heard than seen and some birders, including myself, make most of their identifications by voice alone.  In North America, the Eastern and Western Meadowlarks are two species that are nearly identical in appearance.  However, they make completely different noises.  In places where the Eastern Meadow Lark and the Western Meadow Lark coexist, voice is the only way to distinguish them. F.  Habitat:  Where a bird is can usually provide a clue to its identity.  Especially during the breeding season in summer, birds will only be found in the places where they can find a living.  A woodpecker needs trees in which to nest and find food, so it almost impossible that the strange bird can’t identify at the beach is a woodpecker.  Likewise, the Great Egret that needs water in which it can hunt for fish will not be seen in a desert. G:  Range:  The blue Jay is a common bird of Eastern North America, but it will not be seen in Qingdao because it just does not exist here.  The Black-billed Magpie can be seen in Qingdao and North America-It is an almost cosmopolitan species.  While I was in Shenzhen last February, I saw a masked, hook-billed bird that looked like a Shrike.  When I got closer look I saw that it was a shrike, but which one?  When I checked my “Field Guide to the Birds of China” I saw that the Long-tailed Shrike was the only Shrike found in Shenzhen.  Identify revealed!  In this case, a range map in a field guide was positively diagnostic.   As you can see, there are many factors to consider when trying to identify birds.  All of these factors and features can be employed in an attempt of Identification.  Bird Identification is not always possible,  I see many birds for a fleeting moment and cannot be sure what they are despite having been at the birding game for 30 years.  Mckinnon and Philips’ “Bird of China” is indispensable for anyone wanting to do serious birding in China.  Hopefully, That’s Qingdao’s up and coming Online Guide for Birds of Qingdao will suffice for those who want to identify the frequently seen species in Qingdao, Shandong PRC. Original Text Submitted by B. Westland November 26, 2006