Walking in Henan and understanding China丨The "Jiujiu" in the Book of Songs appeared in the heart of Taihang Mountains in Henan. The giant panda among birds was discovered

Dahe.com (Reporter Mo Shaohua) "Reporter, can you help find a bird expert to see if this is the black stork, the giant panda among birds?" At noon on July 23, Liang Hanqi, director of the Publicity Department of Henan Baoquan Scenic Area, sent a video to reporters.

In the video, a long-beaked bird with a graceful body and slender legs is seen standing alone on a rock high in the sky. Its feathers are shiny in the sunlight. When it raises its head, its neck stands upright, its eyes are bright and lively, and it looks quite spiritual.

Riddle: “There is a woman with long hair sitting on a hill 300 meters high”?

Liang Hanqi told Dahe.com that in the morning, he saw a good sky and wanted to find an angle to take a photo of the waterfall. "I flew the drone a little higher and found a woman with long hair sitting on an independent hilltop... But it was obviously impossible because it was more than 300 meters from the bottom of the valley and no one could go up there. After a while, it stood up and I saw through the drone that it was a bird with long legs and a long beak," Liang Hanqi said.

"It didn't seem to have any hostility after seeing the drone, so I took pictures nearby for more than ten minutes. At this time, a tourist nearby saw me taking pictures and came over. Just as I turned my head, it flew away." Liang Hanqi felt very sorry.

Liang Hanqi showed the video to Ding Guangyue, the reception supervisor of the Research Department who is well-versed in birds. After watching it, Ding Guangyue was very surprised and said: "Although it is impossible to see it clearly from a close distance, it looks very much like the black stork, which is known as the 'giant panda among birds'."

Answer: The 雎玖 appeared in the heart of Taihang Mountains

"This is the black stork, a national first-class protected animal. Its main food is small fish. It likes to live along rivers and near streams in swampy mountainous areas. It has been found in our province before along the Yellow River in Luoyang, on the Yellow River beach in Zhengzhou, and in Lushan County in Pingdingshan. However, they were all found when migratory birds passed by in September and October. We have not seen it this month." said Dong Chaowei, director of the Wildlife Rescue Station of the Zhengzhou Forestry Bureau.

"The storks are singing in the river" is a famous line in the Book of Songs that praises the beauty of love. The storks are black storks, which shows that the black storks were auspicious birds in the minds of the ancients. The black stork is also called the gentleman among birds. Because of its elegant and dignified posture, it is endowed with auspicious meanings by humans, implying lofty aspirations, solidarity and mutual assistance, love between husband and wife, and a noble nature. It will not live in places that are not auspicious and will not eat anything that is not clean.

The black stork is a large, alert wading bird that is agile and active. Adult birds are more than 1 meter long and weigh 2-3 kilograms. They have a long and strong beak, a long head, neck, and legs, and red beaks and legs. The chest and abdomen are pure white, and the rest of the feathers on the body are black. Under different angles of light, they can reflect a variety of colors. They build large nests on tall trees or rocks, and fly with their heads and necks stretched out. Because of their rarity, they are likened to "the giant panda among birds."

Reason: Either because they fell behind in migration or because they “set up camp” in the beautiful mountains and rivers

According to Dong Chaowei, the black stork's migration follows food. Generally, they fly from the wintering grounds south of the Yangtze River to their breeding grounds in Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and other places in February and March every year. In September and October, because the north begins to get cooler, the rivers freeze and there is a lack of food, they fly south again.

It is understood that most black storks are migratory birds, and only stay in Spain. Only a few pass through the Strait of Gibraltar to spend the winter in western Africa. In addition, the populations that breed in South Africa do not migrate, but only spread and wander to surrounding areas after the breeding season. It is the national bird of Belarus.

Black storks can be seen in many places in my country, but their numbers are generally small.

"Because the black stork's breeding season is from April to July, I think it is a very good phenomenon to find it in Henan during this season. One possibility is that it fell behind during migration and found that there was plenty of food and a quiet environment in Taihang Mountains with food and drink, so it naturally stayed. This is also closely related to the improvement of the ecological environment in Henan in recent years. Another possibility is that it stayed in Henan to breed, but because no second bird or baby bird has been found, it is impossible to judge." Dong Chaowei judged.

Protection: Only allowed to be viewed from a distance, no close-up photography

How should we protect them if they are so precious? Dong Chaowei appealed to tourists through Dahe.com to "only watch from a distance".

"Try not to take photos, and don't use drones to shoot. Because once wild animals are frightened, they are likely to have a stress response and abandon their nests and flee far away."

Liang Hanqi was very happy to hear the feedback from the Dahe.com reporter. As the publicity director of Baoquan Scenic Area, he particularly likes photography and often goes to the mountains to shoot. According to him, three or four years ago, he saw large birds in Baoquan Valley under Baoquan Shuanglong Waterfall, but he could not confirm it because he did not have time to shoot. Previously, he also photographed eagles, vultures, macaques, wild ducks, squirrels, pheasants and other animals.

It is understood that Baoquan Tourist Resort, located in Bobi, Huixian City, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, is backed by Taihang Mountain in the north and overlooks the Yellow River in the south. The scenic area is lush with forests and abundant with water resources. It is a place bestowed by Emperor Qianlong as "a place of springs and spiritual water". The scenic area has steep mountains and gullies, strange peaks and rocks in various shapes, and unpredictable clouds. It is a gathering place of all kinds of things and magnificent scenery. It has the magnificent wonders of Taihang's unique "Hundred Miles of Chibi and Ten Thousand Feet of Red Silk" geological landforms, and has many rare wild animals and plants.