What kind of mysterious bird is this that sings a song that stirs the heart?

A bird's eye view of science

Quanzhou Association for Science and Technology

Quanzhou Bird Watching Society

Editor's Note

The ecosystem is like a grand and exquisite symphony. In this song of nature, birds, with their agile posture, colorful feathers and pleasant singing, have become one of the most eye-catching notes. Popular science protects the green home. Quanzhou Association for Science and Technology, together with the Quanzhou Birdwatching Society, has launched a new special science column "Bird's Eye Science", which publishes bird science knowledge from time to time, selects and broadcasts student essays and paintings, guides the public to participate in ecological education, pays attention to bird protection and research, and jointly maintains ecological balance. There are carefully drawn bird paintings, which outline their beautiful contours with artistic brushstrokes; there are high-definition and realistic bird pictures, showing them flying, foraging, and playing in the forest, interpreting the vitality and agility of life. Let us walk into the bird world full of wonders and surprises and explore their unique value in the ecosystem.

White-crowned BulbulPhotographer: Cui Qiyan

White-crowned BulbulPhotographer: Cui Qiyan

White-crowned BulbulPhotographer: Cui Qiyan

White-crowned BulbulPhotographer: Cui Qiyan

Essay appreciation .**** " Feel the fun of birds and appreciate the beauty of life "

2023 Luojiang District Essay and Painting Competition

Author: Fan Wenyu

Quanzhou Experimental Primary School Luojiang Campus Class 507

/ Instructor Luo Lifang/

I live near Luoyang Bridge, so watching egrets has become a daily routine. Walking on Luoyang Bridge, the morning breeze blows on my cheeks, and a cool feeling comes over me. All around me are the rushing Luoyang River and the lush mangroves. The breeze blows, and the river ripples. Suddenly, a few white dots come into view, like white flowers blooming among the green trees. Why are the little flowers moving? I look closely, oh! It turns out to be a group of naughty egrets.

Birds are very familiar to everyone. We can see them everywhere in our lives: sometimes they fly over branches, sometimes they soar into the sky, sometimes they fly through the woods... They are agile and light.

———Inscription

Sitting by the lake, I quietly savored the sedimentation of life. The breeze blew, and the birds on the lake danced. My heart was like the ripples on the lake, gently rippling with the dance of the birds. Recalling the story between me and the birds, those beautiful experiences seemed to reappear before my eyes.

Enter the bird world and feel the beauty of nature

My fate with birds began at the hayfield in my hometown. The hayfield was vast and boundless, and the birds sang and laughed in this green paradise throughout the four seasons. Whenever I released colorful balloons to the distance, there were always birds with bright feathers circling in the blue sky, like a group of cheerful dancers, dancing lightly around the balloons, as if sharing their fun with me. I was still young at that time and didn't know what kind of tacit understanding this was. As I grew up, I began to learn to take photos with my mother. Whenever I held a camera in my hand and stepped into the park, I would look forward to finding the traces of birds and record the elegant moments of these beautiful little lives flying freely in the sky. In this way, I gradually established a preliminary emotional bond with the birds.

Watching the life of birds and the taste of life

There is a large orchard in my hometown. Every autumn, the branches are always filled with tangerines that look like small lanterns. When the autumn wind blows, the branches sway like drunkards, and "swing" out an interesting story between me and the birds. That day, I was playing by the river in Wushi Village. A group of birds flew over with their wings flapping, and dropped a few white "pebbles" on my head. I reached out to brush them away in surprise, but I didn't expect to be covered in sticky bird droppings. Since then, I have no good feelings towards these "hateful" birds. That day, it happened that the young fruits on the tangerine trees in the orchard were pecked by birds and were in a mess. My grandmother asked me to chase the birds away. I thought proudly that I could finally "retaliate" against these guys openly. I picked up a thin stick that was taller than me and waved it. Opposite me was the group of birds, they looked at me curiously, without any fear. I chased them to the east, and they flew to the west, and feasted on them wantonly. I glared at them, they stood on the tree with a calm face, but I was in a mess, like the fruit stump on the ground. "Chirp chirp..." They called excitedly, shaking their necks back and forth, and their beautiful feathers trembling. The next day, the group of birds did not appear. I wondered if my aggressive attitude yesterday scared them and made them dare not "visit" again. But I didn't feel any joy in my heart, instead I missed their liveliness and cuteness. The orchard was instantly no longer lively as before, and was replaced by coldness and loneliness. At this moment, I understood that birds are lively and agile, and they can add a beautiful touch to life.

Walking with the birds, realizing the beauty of life

All things have spirits, and plants and trees have hearts. This is true for animals and humans. On the weekend, when my mother and I went for a walk in the park, we found a baby bird. It was covered in mud and its wings were injured, as if it had just fallen from the nest. I immediately picked it up with my scarf, carefully wiped it clean with water, and then made a simple bird's nest with branches and placed it on it. As time went by, the bird gradually recovered its vitality, as if it had escaped from the clutches of death and could finally fly freely in the air. The crisp sound and the light figure made people feel extremely kind, pure, nurturing, and happy. And because of this experience, I love nature more, have a stronger sense of responsibility, and have a stronger sense of responsibility. This experience has made me more determined to protect nature and love animals.

In my story with birds, there are rescue and protection, filming and recording, hatred and love, and even silent communication between lives. These experiences made me understand the induction between lives and made me start to think about how people and nature can live in harmony. Birds, their lives are limited and beautiful, but their existence makes the world full of vitality and gives us more courage and strength to love.

Writer Lin Haiying once said that we grow up by eating, reading, and even more by love! The ancients said, "Do not do good deeds because they are small" and "Do not do evil deeds because they are small." If each of us gives a little love, the world will become extremely beautiful. Birds will multiply and sing the story of birds paying homage to the phoenix from generation to generation, bringing us a piece of spiritual pure land in this world full of "turbidity" and "restlessness". This will be the most beautiful chapter of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Let us protect this beautiful world together with the courage and strength of love, and let life bloom more brilliantly under the nourishment of love!

Painting . If Birds Could Talk

2023 Luojiang District Essay and Painting Competition

Author: Dai Yan, Class 402, Majia Second Central Primary School

/ Instructor Liu Huibin/

Popular Science Extension : White-crowned Bulbul

Scientific Name: Pycnonotus sinensis

Passeriformes Bulbulidae

The white-crowned bulbul, commonly known as the white-headed bulbul , is commonly seen in the Yangtze River basin and areas to its south in China.

The head is black, the eyebrows and nape are white, and the wings are olive green. The adult has a distinct head pattern, with a black top contrasting with the white eyebrows and nape, gray-brown mixed with olive upper body, white lower body, and light brown breast band. The Hainan subspecies has an almost completely black head, with only white ear feathers. Juveniles have dark brown upper body, slightly green wings, white lower body, and lack the head characteristics of adults. Males and females are similar, but the color of juveniles is duller.

The White-crowned Bulbul is active and fearless of humans , forming large flocks in winter. It prefers lightly wooded environments and is commonly found in towns, suburbs, and city parks. It has an omnivorous diet, feeding on a variety of berries, small figs, soft fruits, vegetables, and insects, including aerial predation of Diptera flies.