Beautiful China: Migratory Birds Return North | What Will Simulant Birds Encounter When They Sneak into Their Habitats?

April 1 is "International Bird Lover's Day". In order to learn more about the behavior of rare gulls during their northward migration, the CCTV News Channel reporting team tried to use 3D printing technology to create a simulated bird. So, do you know how many steps are needed to create a simulated bird?

Li Hongwei, associate professor of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Xi'an Jiaotong University: We searched a lot of information and found that it has similarities with pigeons in form and posture. We used the pigeon as the prototype for the first modeling attempt, and after more than ten iterations, we obtained a very similar three-dimensional digital model.

The digital modeling was successful, and 3D printing began. After 48 hours of uninterrupted printing, the prototype of the simulated bird was finally ready! To make the simulated bird look lifelike, it had to be covered with a "sweater".

Li Dege, inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Li's flower and bird craftsmanship in Puyang City, Henan Province: A total of seven kinds of feathers are needed, about 600 pieces. It takes at least four hours for a skilled worker to glue it well.

The mission was accomplished. The simulated bird followed the filming team, taking the train, subway, car, and ship, and finally arrived at the habitat of the black-headed gull, a migratory bird returning to the north.

There are abundant delicacies on the narrow mudflats where the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea meet. Right next to the mudflats, there are natural beds built by people for migrating black-headed gulls, and the "sleep mode" is immediately turned on. However, the "new bed" is occupied by a simulated bird. Will the black-headed gulls agree?

Faced with this uninvited guest, the black-headed gulls began to collectively and in turns to drive it away. In one hour, there were more than ten dive attacks. In addition to driving away the simulated bird, the black-headed gulls were also very alert to the arrival of other birds in the habitat. Faced with the heron, which was dozens of times larger than them, the black-headed gulls were still domineering and protected their territory. In the end, the big heron had to flee in disgrace.

As the saying goes, "The early bird catches the worm", and black-headed gulls also get up early to take a bath. At 6:30 in the morning, by the small river in their habitat, black-headed gulls began to gather in the "bathtub", and our simulated bird had already sneaked in early. In the early morning for more than an hour, two black-headed gulls tried to approach the simulated bird. One of them came up to observe it closely, and after finding nothing unusual, it left calmly. Noon is the time for black-headed gulls to date in pairs. Sometimes they raise their heads to the sky and yawn, and sometimes they pace back and forth, shaking their heads, in order to attract the attention of the opposite sex.

After being driven away a few days ago, our simulated bird was finally recognized as a fellow bird by the black-headed gulls. Some of them looked at it from afar on the ground, some slowly flew up to greet it, and some just kept guarding it silently, waiting for its heart.

(CCTV reporter Ma Li)