It is obviously our national treasure, why is the name of other countries written?

Review expert: Ran Hao, a well-known popular science writer

There is a kind of bird, whose species was born in the early Eocene more than 50 million years ago; after entering the human era, the footprints of this bird were spread all over Northeast Asia; and due to various threats, when they were closest to extinction, there were only 7 birds left in the entire wild population; and, although it is our national treasure, the meaning of its scientific name is "Japan".

Seeing this, some of you may have guessed that the bird we are going to talk about today is the Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon).

Crested Ibis resting by the water

Source: Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Bureau Author: Zhang Yueming

Now is the breeding season for crested ibis, and the topic #Crescent ibis changes color for love and waits for a new marriage# has also become a hot search. As for why they change color? We will know later~

What kind of bird is the Crested Ibis?

The crested ibis, also known as the crested ibis, red flamingo or red-faced ibis, belongs to the genus Ibis of the family Ibis in the order Pelecaniformes and is the only existing species in the genus.

The ibis family first appeared in the early Eocene about 53.5 million years ago, and is a type of bird with a very long history. There are about 34 species in the ibis family, which can be divided into two subfamilies, the ibis family and the spoonbill family. The birds of the ibis family can be collectively referred to as "certain ibis". Similarly, the birds of the spoonbill family can also be collectively referred to as "certain spoonbills".

Source: Wikipedia

The crested ibis is about 75 centimeters long and has a wingspan of up to 1.3 meters. Its feathers are mainly white, with red on its head, face, and feet, and the red on its face is particularly bright. The feathers on the top of its head are specialized and extended to form a long, drooping crest. Because the feather shafts of its body feathers and flight feathers are pink, the whole body feathers of the crested ibis look slightly pink.

Because of this, when they stop to rest, we can only see that this is a bird with a red face and a slightly pink body.

So, where is the "red" of the crested ibis? The answer can only be seen after it flies.

Source: CGTN

When the crested ibis spreads its wings and flies, its pink flight feathers are fully exposed in the air. The crested ibis got its name perhaps because of the blush on its wings. In addition, when the breeding season comes, the crested ibis will use its beak to smear the secretions from its neck on its body, and then take a "water bath" to paint itself black and gray to attract the attention of the opposite sex.

So, when you see a big orange-red bird in the zoo, don’t blurt out “This is a crested ibis” because the real crested ibis is not that red.

Crested Ibis paints itself black and gray during the breeding season

Source: CGTN

In 1835, Dutch biologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck named the bird "Japanese ibis" (Ibis nippon) based on a specimen brought back from Japan by a German doctor. Later, German ornithologist Reichenbach separated the classification of the crested ibis into a new genus, Nipponia, after research, but the specific nickname was changed to Nipponia temmincki in memory of Temminck. Later ornithologist Edward Grey of the United Kingdom believed that the crested ibis should be a new genus, but according to the species naming regulations, the specific nickname given by Temminck should not be changed, so the scientific name of the crested ibis eventually became Nipponia nippon, which refers to Japan in both the genus name and the specific nickname, and has been retained ever since.

Although it is very red, it is the American scarlet ibis, not the crested ibis. Source: Wikipedia Author: J. Patrick Fischer

Unfortunate Crested Ibis

While the scientific name of the crested ibis was still being discussed by ornithologists, misfortune had quietly befallen the crested ibis and many other wild animals.

The crested ibis, which is widely distributed in Northeast Asia, was once regarded as a pest in the fields by farmers during the Edo period due to Japan's hunting ban. The excessive number of crested ibis even harmed local agriculture, and some farmers applied to the shogunate to drive away and hunt the crested ibis.

In fact, the crested ibis mainly feeds on shrimps, crabs, frogs, snails, various insects and small fish, and occasionally eats rice ears and grass seeds to change their taste. The reason why they are regarded as "pest birds" may be that they appear too frequently in paddy fields to "show their presence", or it may be because they eat too many frogs that prey on pests.

Crested Ibis foraging in the fields Source: CGTN

Since the mid-19th century, the population of crested ibises in Japan has begun to decline due to factors such as hunting by humans, pesticide and fertilizer pollution caused by industrial and agricultural development, and habitat reduction . At the same time, the crested ibises living in Eurasia are also facing various threats.

In 1963, the last crested ibis in the Soviet Far East died; in 1978, the last crested ibis on the Korean Peninsula closed its eyes; at that time, the academic community generally believed that the only dozens of crested ibis left in Japan were the last bloodline of this bird.

In early 1981, Japan captured the only five remaining wild crested ibises and raised them in captivity, hoping to continue the crested ibise population in an artificial environment. However, these crested ibises raised in an artificial environment did not successfully reproduce the next generation as people hoped. At the same time, capturing all wild individuals meant that the crested ibises in Japan had fallen into a state of extinction in the wild (Extinct in the Wild, or EW) at that time.

Seven Hopes

The Japanese crested ibis is extinct in the wild, but what about China, which was once home to the crested ibis? In fact, there have been no reports of crested ibis sightings in my country for more than a decade since the first crested ibis specimen was collected in Gansu in 1964.

However, the absence of sightings does not mean complete extinction. At the request of the Japanese government, under the personal instruction of Comrade Deng Xiaoping, the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was ordered to set up an investigation team in September 1978. Led by ornithologist Liu Yinzeng, the team traveled from Heilongjiang in the north to Hainan Island in the south, from Gansu in the west to coastal provinces in the east, covering the 12 provinces where the Crested Ibis was historically distributed in three years.

Finally, in May 1981, Liu Yinzeng and his research team discovered what was then the world's last wild population of crested ibis in Yangxian County, Qinling Mountains: two pairs of adult birds and three chicks, a total of seven. This was the last hope for the crested ibis.

For a bird that once flourished throughout Northeast Asia, a population of only seven individuals was too fragile. Fortunately, from this point on, the fate of the crested ibis took a turn for the better.

Source of the Crested Ibis Special Stamps丨Baidu Encyclopedia

On March 14, 1983, the Yangxian Crested Ibis Protection and Observation Station was officially established;

In 1984, my country's postal department issued a set of special stamps for the Crested Ibis, which made more people across the country aware of this beautiful bird.

In 1986, the Shaanxi Provincial Government approved the establishment of the Shaanxi Crested Ibis Protection and Observation Station based on the original Yangxian Crested Ibis Station;

In 2005, with the approval of the State Council, the Crested Ibis National Reserve in Hanzhong, Shaanxi was established...

After more than 40 years of conservation efforts, the number of crested ibises in the world has grown from the original 7 to more than 9,000 today. A certain scale of artificial breeding and reintroduction populations have also been established, and crested ibises have been exported to countries such as South Korea and Japan. Up to now, we can boldly say that crested ibises have basically escaped the danger of "extinction in the wild".

Source: Weibo screenshot

As the number of crested ibis continues to increase, today my country's crested ibis protection work is also recognized by the international community as a model for endangered species protection.

In the process of protecting the crested ibis, people and birds have not always lived in harmony. As mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons for the extinction of the crested ibis population is the pollution caused by pesticides and fertilizers. In order to protect the crested ibis, in the 1980s, Yang County restricted local farmers from using pesticides, which aroused opposition from farmers. After all, not using pesticides at that time meant a reduction in crop yields. In order to protect this beautiful bird, the local economy has also paid a considerable price.

However, what many people did not expect was that after eliminating pesticides and using insect traps and other means to kill pests, Yang County unexpectedly took the lead in organic agricultural products. Today, "Crescent-crowned Ibis Organic Products" has become a "golden signboard" of Yang County agriculture.

"Green water and green mountains are invaluable assets." In the future, this bird known as the "Oriental Gem" will continue to spread its wings and soar.