I heard that the "bird" in "The Book of Songs" flew back to Henan!

"The orioles are singing on the island in the river." "The reeds are green and the white dew turns to frost."

The "Book of Songs" written more than 2,000 years ago describes the beautiful environment and poetic living environment with plants, insects, animals, birds singing and flowers blooming.

Every winter, the birds in the Book of Songs fly back to Henan, where they roost, forage, live and overwinter.

Ducks and geese, storks and gulls, mandarin ducks and wild cranes, and birds of prey roaming the sky.

Henan Province spans four major river basins, has excellent climatic conditions, diverse biological types, and is located on an important channel for migratory birds from East Asia to Australasia.

An official from the Protection Department of the Henan Provincial Forestry Bureau said that there are a rich variety of migratory birds here, with hundreds of thousands of birds migrating through the area every year, creating a spectacular scene.

Confucius once said earnestly: "Why don't you learn poetry, my boy? Poetry can inspire, can be observed, can be used to gather people together, can be used to express grievances. Poetry can help you serve your father if you are near, and your ruler if you are far away. It can also help you learn the names of birds, beasts, plants and trees."

Let’s follow the Book of Songs and look at the wild birds flying out of the poems.

◎Cormorant

"The orioles are singing on the island in the river. The beautiful lady is the ideal match for the gentleman."

As the first chapter of "The Book of Songs", the sound of the 雎玖 (the dove) inspires endless reverie.

What kind of bird is the 雎玖? There have been many different opinions. One of them is that it is an osprey.

Common cormorant. Courtesy of the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland

Osprey is the common cormorant. It is said that cormorants have fixed mates, so it is used to describe the love between men and women.

The common cormorant is a species of bird belonging to the genus Phalacrocorax, family Phalacrocorax, order Cormorants.

In early winter, common cormorants fly to Henan and choose to overwinter in the Yellow River wetlands.

◎Wild duck

"The woman says cockcrow, the man says dawn. The man gets up and looks at the night. The stars are shining. He is ready to fly and hunt ducks and wild geese."

This poem from the Book of Songs, Zheng Feng, describes a heartwarming scene of a young couple talking in the early morning.

The woman said, "Get up quickly, the cocks are crowing." The man said, "It's not even day yet, the morning light is shining." The woman urged, "The birds are all out of their nests, get up quickly, and hunt some game for me to taste."

Times have changed. Hunting for wild game is now illegal.

Mallard duck. Courtesy of the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland

The "fu" in the poem refers to wild ducks. There are many kinds of wild ducks, but generally it refers to mallards.

The Minor Snow solar term is coming soon. Now in the wetlands of Henan Province, you can see all kinds of wild ducks flying here for the winter everywhere.

◎Black Stork

"I went to the East Mountain, and never came back. I came from the East, and it was drizzling. The stork was calling in the hut, and the woman was sighing in the house."

This poem from the Book of Songs - Bin Feng tells the feelings of a soldier on his way home.

I came back from Dongshan, and it was drizzling all over the sky. There were storks calling loudly on the hill, just like my wife sighing at home.

Black stork. Courtesy of the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland

Storks are similar in shape to cranes and herons, with long straight beaks and large short wings. Common species in my country include white storks and black storks.

Oriental white storks and black storks are both national treasures. Every winter, flocks of black storks can often be seen in places such as the Yellow River Wetland in Mengjin, Luoyang, and the Yellow River Wetland in Lingbao, Sanmenxia, ​​etc.

◎Mandarin Duck

"A mandarin duck is on the beam, tucking its left wing. A gentleman lives for ten thousand years, and he deserves to be blessed with a long life."

This chapter from "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya" is a poem of prayer.

Mandarin ducks snuggle on the fish weir, inserting their beaks into their left wings. I wish my friend a long life and a long and happy life.

Mandarin duck. Courtesy of the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland

Mandarin ducks later became love birds, and like the lotus, they describe the most beautiful form of love.

The mandarin duck has a beautiful appearance and looks like a painted boat. It is a national second-class protected animal and a typical migratory bird. Some of them fly to Henan to spend the winter.

◎Wild Goose

"The wild geese are flying, their feathers are rustling. The young men are on the march, toiling in the fields. I feel pity for the widows and widowers."

The poem "Hongyan" in "The Book of Songs" is about refugees on the road, and the tone is bleak. But the line "Hongyan" is quite beautiful.

Look at the wild geese in the sky, flying gracefully, flapping their wings to change direction, and their feathers fluttering, making whistling sounds.

Bean goose. Courtesy of the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland

The arrival of wild geese is a symbol of autumn and a childhood memory for many people. Wild geese is a general term for birds of the genus Anseriformes.

Bean goose is one of them. There are many of them and they are the main force of migrating geese every year.

Every winter, they can often be seen gathering to rest or flying in groups in the Yellow River beach areas, wetlands, sandbanks and fields in our province.

Great Bustard

"The bustards are gathering in their nests. The king is too busy with his work to grow millet. To whom can our parents turn? The vast heavens! What can they do?"

This poem from the Book of Songs, National Songs, Tang Songs, Bustard Feathers, is a peasant's complaint against the endless corvee labor. The poem begins with a bird.

Flap, flutter, listen and look! It's the great bustards flapping their wings. They are standing on the oak tree, looking happy and sunny.

Great Bustard. Provided by Zhengzhou Nature Reserve Affairs Center

Like the wild geese, the great bustard is a relatively docile, quiet and alert bird. It feeds on young leaves, buds and seeds of plants, and sometimes eats small insects. It generally chooses to rest in fields and open grasslands.

The Great Bustard is a national first-class protected animal. According to statistics, there are about 1,600 Great Bustards in China. Every year, a quarter of them come to Changyuan, Henan to spend the winter.

In addition, traces of great bustards were also found in the Zhengzhou urban section and Zhongmu section of the Yellow River floodplain.

◎Grey Crane

"The cranes are calling in the Nine Hills, and their voices are heard in the wild. The fish are hiding in the deep or on the islets."

This sentence comes from "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Hongyanzhishi". All kinds of creatures are free, and the picture is clear and beautiful.

Cranes are calling in the swamps near the water, and fish are swimming in the deep pools. Sometimes, the fish even swim to the water's edge, as if interacting with people.

Gray crane. Provided by the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland

The crane has a small head, a long neck, beak and legs, large wings and is good at flying. Its feathers are white, gray or gray-black.

There are many species in my country, such as red-crowned crane, white crane, grey crane, and hooded crane. The red-crowned crane was called the fairy crane in ancient times.

In winter, large numbers of grey cranes can be seen in the Yellow River wetlands and beaches in our province. They live in groups and feed on small animals and plants.

◎Falcon

"The kite flies to the sky, and the fish leaps in the deep."

This line from the Book of Songs, Daya, Hanlu, can be regarded as a classical version of "eagles fly in the sky, fish swim in the shallows". In the Book of Songs, there is also the line "I am the teacher of my father, and I am the eagle of the time".

White-tailed harrier. Courtesy of the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland

The kite in it is the eagle. Eagle is a general term. Falcons, harriers, eagles, kites and other birds of prey are all eagles in the eyes of ordinary people.

When migratory birds migrate, raptors often move first. As carnivores, they face food shortages earlier than other birds. Therefore, they start to fly south in autumn.

Unlike geese and ducks, hawks and falcons often act alone and soar in the blue sky. In the Yellow River wetlands of our province, hawks and falcons fly in the sky and stand at the top of the food chain.

◎Gull

"The ducks and herons are in Jing, and the male corpse is in Yan Lai Ning. Your wine is clear, and your food is delicious. The male corpse is in Yan and drinks, and good fortune and luck will come."

"The Book of Songs·Da Ya·Sheng Min Zhi Shi·Fu Yu" tells the story of the King of Zhou thanking the corpses (people who receive sacrifices on behalf of the dead) who played the role of the King of Zhou's gods during the sacrificial ceremony.

Wild ducks and seagulls are eating in the water, and the corpses are attending the banquet of King Zhou, feeling happy and blessed. Oh, your wine is so pure and mellow, and your food is so delicious. We are drinking happily, and good fortune and luck are coming.

Red-billed gull. Provided by the Mengjin Management Center of the Yellow River Wetland

Gulls refer to all gulls, which mostly feed on fish, shrimps and aquatic insects.

Ancient people often said that gulls are oblivious to all worldly affairs, which shows that the relationship between gulls and humans is relatively harmonious. Henan poet Du Fu wrote the line "The swallows on the hall come and go as they please, and the gulls in the water stay close to each other", which also describes the harmonious relationship between humans and birds.

In winter, a large number of gulls come to our province to spend the winter. Among them, red-billed gulls are more common, and some live in wetlands along the Yellow River. Pingdingshan Baigui Lake Wetland has become one of the collective wintering sites for red-billed gulls, with the number reaching more than 5,000 in the past few years.