EASTERN CHINA IN WINTER TOUR REPORT 2026

11 - 26 January 2026

Mark Beaman

Does our Eastern China in Winter itinerary deliver the largest number of encounters with very spectacular birds of any Asian bird tour? I think it does! If you are in any doubt, just take a look at the Top Birds of the 2026 tour. Not only an amazing list of magnificent birds, but every single one seen up close and personal! I only need to list those great birds to make my point: Cabot’s Tragopan, Reeves’s and Elliot’s Pheasants, Brown Eared Pheasant, Siberian and White-naped Cranes, White-eared Night Heron, Scaly-sided Merganser, Crested Ibis, Relict Gull, Reed Parrotbill and the lovely ‘Chinese’ Long-tailed Rosefinch. And then there was the supporting cast of sought-after birds including Taiga Bean, Tundra Bean, Swan and Lesser White-fronted Geese, Baer’s Pochard, Hooded Crane, Great Bustard, Oriental Stork, Long-billed Plover, Saunders’s Gull, Chinese Barbet, Pied Falconet, Chinese Grey and Bull-headed Shrikes, Collared Crow, Marsh Grassbird, Chinese Penduline Tit, Japanese Waxwing, Red-throated, Naumann’s, Dusky and Grey-backed Thrushes, Siberian Accentor, Japanese Grosbeak, Pallas’s and Chinese Beautiful Rosefinches, Asian Rosy Finch, and Ochre-rumped, Pallas’s Reed, Yellow-browed and Tristram’s Buntings. And I have not even included all the specialities of this remarkable tour, as there are so many!

We had planned to head off directly to the coast, but with a waxwing invasion going on, there was no option but to head into the city of Beijing and visit Beihai Park. This proved a great move, with no fewer than 60 Japanese Waxwings and an unexpected bonus of 30 Bohemian Waxwings! We also had the chance to start off our East Asian specialities list with a bang, finding the smart Azure-winged Magpie, Oriental Magpie, Light-vented Bulbul, Red-billed and White-cheeked Starlings, Chinese Blackbird, wintering Red-throated and Naumann’s Thrushes, Chinese Grosbeak and Oriental Greenfinch. A glorious assemblage of 80 Mandarin Ducks added to the enjoyment.

From Beijing, we headed off to explore the coast and wetlands at the Gulf of Bohai, not far to the southeast of Beijing. Here, our major targets were two very special gulls: the localised Saunders’s Gull, which breeds along the east coast of China (and rarely in Korea), and the poorly-known Relict Gull, a bird that nests in just a few places from western Kazakhstan to Mongolia and northern China, and which winters along the coastline of northeast China. We enjoyed great encounters with both, finding a total of 110 Saunders’s Gulls and no fewer than 430 Relict Gulls! Small numbers of Pallas’s, Vega and Mongolian Gulls added to the interest.

The coastal wetlands, reedbeds and fields hosted large numbers of Tundra Bean Geese, Eastern Spot-billed Ducks and Common Cranes, as well as plenty of beautiful Smew, Eurasian Bittern, the very impressive Reed Parrotbill and both Pallas’s Reed and Ochre-rumped (or Japanese Reed) Buntings. One area of fields held many hundreds of ‘Oriental’ Rooks and Daurian Jackdaws, as well as a wintering Upland Buzzard.

From the coast, in dramatic contrast, we headed into the partly forested mountains situated to the west of the capital. Our first excursion, at Yangtai Shan, was very productive, turning up Silver-throated Bushtit, Beijing Babbler, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Plain (or Pere David’s) Laughingthrush, Chinese (or Snowy-browed) Nuthatch, plenty of wintering Siberian Accentors, Alpine Accentor, Meadow and Godlewski’s Buntings, and best of all, no fewer than 30 wintering Pallas’s Rosefinches!

Next we visited Lingshan, one of the highest mountains in the region. There was not too much snow around, so most of us opted to climb up onto the mountain, our goal the pretty Asian Rosy Finch. We were not disappointed, eventually finding a flock of nine, while some of the group managed to see some Hill Pigeons and all of us enjoyed the beautiful ‘Chinese’ Long-tailed Rosefinches. During the afternoon we explored an area of fallow fields where a single Great Bustard was a surprise turn-up, and we also encountered another Upland Buzzard, a Chinese Grey Shrike and a lone Pine Bunting that soon made its getaway. A flock of Whooper Swans at a small lake were a bonus.

From Beijing we took the first of a number of high-speed train rides we were to experience during our journey through eastern China. China already has around 50,000 kilometres (30,000 miles) of high-speed tracks (here in Britain we still have none, which makes you think about how that could be possible). In what seemed no time flat, we were whisked at speeds of up to 300 kms per hour (around 180 mph) to Shanxi province and on our way up into the mountains, a journey that would have taken all day just 20 years ago!

By mid-afternoon we were already at a famous Brown Eared Pheasant hide (or blind) in the coniferous forest and waiting with great excitement for the birds to appear. As is often the case at China’s many bird hides, the owner called out to the birds as if he was calling in some errant chickens (indeed, the Chinese name for pheasant equates to ‘wild chicken’). At first nothing happened, but then he told us they were coming and we got ready. There they were, seven of these huge pheasants strutting around and showing off their magnificence. Most of us had cameras with us, and we were soon shooting away when the owner told us we could leave the hide and approach the pheasants as long as we moved slowly. And so we did, until we were just a few metres away from these extraordinary birds! How amazing this was. The birds wandered around, sometimes jumping up on rocks or low branches. One bird even displayed. They were almost fearless, continuing to feed even when we shuffled around to get a new angle. After what seemed an age, they headed back into the forest, and our magic encounter was over. It was time to enjoy a great Chinese meal back at our cosy and hospitable guesthouse.

After a frustrating session trying to see, as opposed to hear, some unusually shy Himalayan Owls, we enjoyed some noisy Southern Nutcrackers as well as a pair of Grey-headed Bullfinches and some Little Buntings and smart Yellow-throated Buntings. Then it was time to head back to the high-speed rail line and head south to Xinyang in southern Henan province.

Dongzhai National Nature Reserve and its surroundings, which straddle the Henan/Hubei border, are famous as an important locality for both the rare and endangered Crested Ibis and the declining Reeves’s Pheasant.

During our time in the area, we visited two different pheasant hides in the forested hill country. The first one turned up a couple of females, which were pleasant to see but lacked the star quality of the male. The second hide turned up trumps, however, with not just another two females but a superb male with an incredibly long tail (they can be up to two metres long). We were surprised to watch it displaying ardently to one of the females, quivering with passion as it fluffed out its beautiful body feathers and spread out its glorious tail, even though it was still only January!

The other major highlight was visiting a hide specially positioned at a pool frequented by Crested Ibis. It was great to be so close to this still rare bird, but one that is now steadily increasing thanks to much-reduced persecution and reintroductions. The adults were a creamy white colour, the young birds pale grey, but in flight the salmon-coloured underwing coverts created a striking contrast. It was fun to watch them hunting for small fish in the shallows, raising their crests whenever they became excited, and sometimes chasing off Little Egrets that muscled in on their territory. Big Crested Kingfishers were also regular visitors to the pool.

We also found plenty of other good birds during our visit, most notably many Yellow-browed Buntings. Central China in winter is just about the only accessible area for seeing this migrant that breeds in Central Siberia. Other notable finds included numerous Collared Crows (now an increasingly rare bird in much of China), flocks of Yellow-bellied Tits and Japanese Grosbeaks, Bull-headed Shrike, Collared Finchbill, Brown-breasted and Chestnut Bulbuls, Masked Laughingthrush, Chinese Hwamei, and both Dusky and Grey-backed Thrushes.

We stopped off in the Jiujiang area on our way south to famous Poyang Hu (Poyang Lake), primarily to see the rare and endangered Baer’s Pochard. A concentration of 90 had been seen just a couple of days earlier, but despite much searching, they seemed to have moved temporarily, so we had to make do with decent views of a small number of individuals. Huge numbers of Tundra Swans, geese, and ducks were present, including over 4000 Falcated Ducks, and a single Black-faced Spoonbill flying with a Eurasian Spoonbill was very unexpected so far inland. We also came across our first White-browed Laughingthrushes and Siberian Pipits.

By the time we reached the vast Poyang wetland complex, the weather had turned much windier and colder; indeed, this was to be the coldest of my many visits. With light breezes, sunshine and a southerly airflow, it can be very mild at Poyang even in mid-winter, but not this time with a big cold front arriving. Low grey clouds and a biting wind persisted during our first couple of days, although by our third day things were rapidly improving with sunshine and blue skies replacing the grey murk.

Poyang is all about sheer numbers of birds plus its status as the last remaining haunt of the beautiful but endangered Siberian Crane. We explored a series of areas around the western and southern shores during our visit and came across many thousands of waterbirds. Flocks of geese, both large and small, were everywhere we went. The endangered Swan Goose and Tundra Bean Goose were the most numerous: we had many thousands of each. Taiga Bean Geese were also numerous, and there were smaller numbers of Greylag and Greater White-fronted Geese. A lot of painstaking searching finally turned up around 30 rare Lesser White-fronted Geese on our final day. Tundra Swans were everywhere and in large numbers, but ducks, while comprising many species, were generally not as numerous. Great Cormorants and Eurasian Spoonbills were present in large numbers.

The Siberian Cranes ‘stole the show’, needless to say. We had up to 1100 each day, and estimated we had recorded over 2000 in total by the end of our visit, after allowing for potential overlap. Their beautiful cries echoed across the wild ‘wastelands’ of Poyang, and one can only hope this last population on Earth continues to survive. Certainly, the Chinese authorities and conservationists have worked hard to protect their environment for the future. In recent years, an extensive feeding station has been developed for the cranes and, naturally, as the views that can be obtained are very close and simply stunning, we paid it a visit. Over a thousand Siberian Cranes were present, alongside large numbers of Swan Geese and both bean geese. The area is very well laid out, with walkways and low-level hides. It is extraordinary how close the cranes come, just a few metres away at times, and we all enjoyed the amazing spectacle.

The number of other crane species in the Poyang region is much lower, however. Our maximum daily count for the elegant White-naped Cranes was 104, while for Hooded Cranes it was 43. The striking Oriental Stork was significantly fewer in number at Poyang than the Siberian Crane even two decades ago, but it seems to be increasing, with our group recording up to 2100 in a single day and probably around 3000 individuals in total.

Other birds of note included Black Stork, Greater Spotted Eagle, a series of Brown Crakes, Greater Painted-snipe, three Long-billed Plovers, Chinese Penduline Tit, Marsh Grassbird, ‘Amur’ Stonechat and Chestnut-eared Bunting. Mammals were inconspicuous, as always, but we had really close views of Chinese Water Deer and could even see its small ‘tusks’.

From Poyang Hu we headed eastward to the town of Wuyuan, set amidst attractive partly forested country in eastern Jiangxi province and famous for its wintering Scaly-sided Mergansers.

Yet another great bird hide featured in our quest to see Scaly-sided Mergansers up close, this time, naturally enough, by the edge of a wide river with gravel islands. Here we waited for the mergansers to come close. Ten individuals could be counted from the hide, and before long the first individuals had steamed up close in front of the hide and had started to fish. The weather was perfect! Hardly any wind and hazy sunshine. I had seen many Scaly-sided Mergansers before, but nothing like this. Just a few metres away, their plumage glowing in the late afternoon sun and water droplets scattered across their heads after every shallow dive. Every so often one caught a small fish, and it was fun to watch them struggling to gulp it down before a rival merganser or an opportunistic Little Egret stole it from them! We couldn’t get enough of this spectacle, but after a time the mergansers drifted away, and it was time to leave.

Visiting Wuyuan is not just about mergansers, however, so we spent some time exploring the partly wooded valleys in the area. Most notably, a traditional site for the rare and localised Pied Falconet. It was great fun to watch these tiny falcons emerge from their communal roost hole in a large tree, although we ended up going back in the late afternoon to successfully watch them perching in treetops in the local area before swooping down to their roosting hole and disappearing. Three species of forktail, Slaty-backed, White-crowned and even Little, inhabited the nearby river. Elsewhere we came across a magnificent Black Eagle, a group of Chinese Bamboo Partridges, and the endemic Grey-sided Scimitar Babbler and Huet’s Fulvetta.

The last province on our itinerary from north to south was Fujian in southeast China, and it was to prove one of the most memorable.

Lishan has long been famous for its beautiful Cabot’s Tragopans, and we were all hoping for a close encounter as we climbed high on the mountain before a short but steep hike up to the hide. We waited for some time, watching the sun descending into the west and enjoying the antics of the Pallas’s Squirrels and tiny Maritime Striped Squirrels that jumped from the trees to the rocks and helped themselves to the hide owner’s supplies of grain.

Then, all of a sudden, tragopans appeared, but not the hoped-for adult male! First a young male with darker plumage and red areas showing on its head, and then two attractive females with very cryptic and intricate grey, buff and white plumage. And finally, in all its creamy glory, a male emerged from the forest and started to feed right in front of us! Over the course of the next 50 minutes or so, it showed us every angle of its glorious body, from its dark tail to its red facial wattle. Sometimes the cylindrical blue ‘horns’ above its eyes revealed themselves. As the sun began to set, the light turned a lovely orange-yellow and the male tragopan simply glowed, as if it was experiencing some inner illumination. What an amazing end to the day!

Other finds at Lishan paled in comparison to this spectacle, but included the localised endemic Chinese Barbet, the near-endemic Fork-tailed Sunbird and some Tristram’s Buntings that skedaddled before most could see them (sometimes they come to the tragopan hide to feed, but not this time).

Our last port of call was the hill country of Mingxi district, where we were hoping for an encounter with the lovely but shy Elliot’s Pheasant. But before we took our chance at the inevitable hide, we had something else that was very important to try for. In just the last year, it had been discovered that the rare and endangered White-eared Night Heron was wintering and perhaps nesting at a lake in the district, so we decided to try for an encounter by taking a nocturnal boat trip. After dinner, we set out, our local guide armed with a thermal imager. And indeed, we had barely been ten minutes into the trip before the first White-eared Night Heron was sighted. We enjoyed wonderful close views of this rarity, which is one of the most sought-after Asian birds, and then, after it flew away, several more close sightings. There was some controversy over the number involved; was it one or two adult individuals? Hard to say, as not every encounter resulted in checkable photos. Either way, it was an amazing encounter! Oh yes, and I must not forget to mention the Red Giant Flying Squirrels and the Reeves’s Muntjac that both added to the experience.

The next morning we were out at the Elliot’s Pheasant hide quite early. Perhaps too early, as it took a bit of time before a female descended a steep slope among the giant bamboos and then fed right in front of us. Before long, a stunning male joined her. It was so very beautiful, with its strong patterning and great combination of colours, that it was voted the second-best bird of the tour, coming in just behind Cabot’s Tragopan in the number one slot!

Before leaving, we did try unsuccessfully along the local river for a Blyth’s Kingfisher, but for most of the year the birds wander over long distances. Our final new birds included Rufous-faced Warbler, White-bellied Erpornis and a few lowland extras as we passed through Fuzhou city on our way to the airport. What a truly great birding experience it had been!

SPECIES VOTED THE TOP BIRDS OF THIS EXTRAORDINARY TOUR

(We had to go for a full ‘Top 10’ as there were too many superb candidates)

1st  CABOT’S TRAGOPAN

2nd  ELLIOT’S PHEASANT

3rd  SIBERIAN CRANE

4th  REEVES’S PHEASANT

5th  WHITE-EARED NIGHT HERON

6th  SCALY-SIDED MERGANSER

7th  BROWN EARED PHEASANT

8th  CRESTED IBIS

9th=  RELICT GULL

9th=  WHITE-NAPED CRANE

9th=  REED PARROTBILL

9th=  ‘CHINESE’ LONG-TAILED ROSEFINCH

SYSTEMATIC LIST OF SPECIES RECORDED

Species marked with the diamond symbol (◊) are either endemic to the country or local region or considered ‘special’ for some other reason, including being seen on only a few tours.

BIRDS

Tundra Swan ◊ (Bewick’s Swan)  Cygnus [columbianus] bewickii

Whooper Swan ◊  Cygnus cygnus

Bar-headed Goose ◊  Anser indicus

Greylag Goose  Anser anser

Swan Goose ◊  Anser cygnoides

Lesser White-fronted Goose ◊  Anser erythropus

Greater White-fronted Goose  Anser albifrons

Tundra Bean Goose ◊  Anser serrirostris

Taiga Bean Goose ◊  Anser fabalis

Mandarin Duck ◊  Aix galericulata

Common Shelduck  Tadorna tadorna

Ruddy Shelduck  Tadorna ferruginea

Common Goldeneye  Bucephala clangula

Smew ◊  Mergellus albellus

Red-breasted Merganser  Mergus serrator

Scaly-sided Merganser ◊  Mergus squamatus

Common Merganser (or Goosander)  Mergus merganser

Ferruginous Duck (or Ferruginous Pochard)  Aythya nyroca

Baer’s Pochard ◊  Aythya baeri

Common Pochard  Aythya ferina

Tufted Duck  Aythya fuligula

Greater Scaup  Aythya marila

Northern Shoveler  Spatula clypeata

Falcated Duck ◊  Mareca falcata

Gadwall  Mareca strepera

Eurasian Wigeon  Mareca penelope

Eastern (or Chinese) Spot-billed Duck ◊  Anas zonorhyncha

Mallard  Anas platyrhynchos

Northern Pintail  Anas acuta

Green-winged (or Common) Teal  Anas crecca

White-necklaced Partridge ◊  Arborophila gingica  (heard only)

Cabot’s Tragopan ◊  Tragopan caboti

Reeves’s Pheasant ◊  Syrmaticus reevesii

Elliot’s Pheasant ◊  Syrmaticus ellioti

Common (or Ring-necked) Pheasant  Phasianus colchicus

Brown Eared Pheasant ◊  Crossoptilon mantchuricum

Chinese Bamboo Partridge ◊  Bambusicola thoracicus

Little Grebe  Tachybaptus ruficollis

Great Crested Grebe  Podiceps cristatus

Black-necked (or Eared) Grebe  Podiceps nigricollis

Great Bustard ◊  Otis tarda

Spotted Dove  Spilopelia chinensis

Oriental (or Rufous) Turtle Dove  Streptopelia orientalis

Eurasian Collared Dove  Streptopelia decaocto

Hill Pigeon ◊  Columba rupestris

Rock Dove (introduced) (Feral Pigeon)  Columba [livia] var_domestica

Siberian Crane ◊  Leucogeranus leucogeranus

White-naped Crane ◊  Antigone vipio

Common Crane  Grus grus

Hooded Crane ◊  Grus monacha

Brown-cheeked (or Eastern Water) Rail ◊  Rallus indicus  (heard only)

Common Moorhen  Gallinula chloropus

Eurasian Coot  Fulica atra

White-breasted Waterhen  Amaurornis phoenicurus

Brown Crake ◊  Zapornia akool

Pied Avocet  Recurvirostra avosetta

Black-winged Stilt  Himantopus himantopus

Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva

Grey (or Black-bellied) Plover  Pluvialis squatarola

Long-billed Plover ◊  Thinornis placidus

Little Ringed Plover  Thinornis dubius

Northern Lapwing  Vanellus vanellus

Kentish Plover  Anarhynchus alexandrinus

Greater Painted-snipe  Rostratula benghalensis

Eurasian Curlew  Numenius arquata

Black-tailed Godwit (Eastern Black-tailed Godwit)  Limosa [limosa] melanuroides

Common Snipe  Gallinago gallinago

Common Sandpiper  Actitis hypoleucos

Green Sandpiper  Tringa ochropus

Wood Sandpiper  Tringa glareola

Spotted Redshank  Tringa erythropus

Common Greenshank  Tringa nebularia

Ruff  Calidris pugnax

Dunlin  Calidris alpina

Whiskered Tern  Chlidonias hybrida

Saunders’s Gull ◊  Saundersilarus saundersi

Black-headed Gull  Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Pallas’s (or Great Black-headed) Gull ◊  Larus ichthyaetus

Relict Gull ◊  Ichthyaetus relictus

Common Gull ◊  Larus canus

Vega (or East Siberian)Gull ◊  Larus vegae

Mongolian Gull ◊  Larus mongolicus

Black Stork  Ciconia nigra

Oriental Stork ◊  Ciconia boyciana

Great Cormorant  Phalacrocorax carbo

Crested Ibis ◊  Nipponia nippon

Eurasian Spoonbill  Platalea leucorodia

Eurasian Spoonbill ◊  Platalea minor

Eurasian (or Great) Bittern  Botaurus stellaris

White-eared Night Heron ◊  Oroanassa magnifica

Little Egret  Egretta garzetta

Black-crowned Night Heron  Nycticorax nycticorax

Chinese Pond Heron  Ardeola bacchus

Great Egret (Eastern Great Egret)  Ardea [alba] modesta

Grey Heron  Ardea cinerea

House Swift  Apus nipalensis

Collared Owlet  Taenioptynx brodiei

Little Owl  Athene noctua

Asian Barred Owlet  Glaucidium cuculoides

Himalayan (Wood) Owl  Strix nivicolum  (heard only)

Black-winged Kite  Elanus caeruleus

Crested Serpent Eagle  Spilornis cheela

Mountain Hawk-Eagle  Nisaetus nipalensis

Black Eagle  Ictinaetus malaiensis

Greater Spotted Eagle  Clanga clanga

Eurasian Sparrowhawk  Accipiter nisus

Eurasian Goshawk  Astur gentilis

Hen Harrier  Circus cyaneus

Eastern Marsh Harrier  Circus spilonotus

Black Kite (Black-eared Kite)  Milvus [migrans] lineatus

Rough-legged Buzzard ◊  Buteo lagopus

Upland Buzzard ◊  Buteo hemilasius  (Edward only)

Eastern (or Japanese) Buzzard  Buteo [japonicus] japonicus

Common Hoopoe  Upupa epops

Common Kingfisher  Alcedo atthis

Crested Kingfisher  Megaceryle lugubris

Pied Kingfisher  Ceryle rudis

White-throated Kingfisher  Halcyon smyrnensis

Great Barbet  Psilopogon virens

Chinese Barbet ◊  Psilopogon faber

Grey-headed Woodpecker  Picus canus

Bay Woodpecker  Blythipicus pyrrhotis  (heard only)

Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker  Yungipicus canicapillus

Great Spotted Woodpecker  Dendrocopos major

Pied Falconet ◊  Microhierax melanoleucos

Common Kestrel  Falco tinnunculus

Merlin  Falco columbarius

Peregrine Falcon  Falco peregrinus

White-bellied Erpornis  Erpylognathus zantholeuca

Chinese Grey Shrike ◊  Lanius sphenocercus

Long-tailed Shrike  Lanius schach

Bull-headed Shrike ◊  Lanius bucephalus

Grey Treepie  Dendrocitta formosae

Red-billed Blue Magpie  Urocissa erythroryncha

(Asian) Azure-winged Magpie ◊  Cyanopica cyanus

Eurasian Jay  Garrulus glandarius

Oriental Magpie ◊  Pica serica

Southern Nutcracker  Nucifraga hemispila

Daurian Jackdaw ◊  Coloeus dauuricus

Rook ◊ (Oriental Rook)  Corvus [frugilegus] pastinator

Collared Crow ◊  Corvus torquatus

Carrion Crow (Oriental Crow)  Corvus [corone] orientalis

Large-billed Crow  Corvus macrorhynchos

Chinese Penduline Tit ◊  Remiz consobrinus

Cinereous (or Asian) Tit  Parus cinereus

Yellow-bellied Tit ◊  Periparus venustulus

Coal Tit  Periparus ater

Marsh Tit  Poecile palustris

Willow Tit ◊  Poecile montanus

Oriental Skylark  Alauda gulgula

Eurasian Skylark  Alauda arvensis

Yellow-bellied Prinia  Prinia flaviventris

Plain Prinia  Prinia inornata

Common Tailorbird  Orthotomus sutorius

Zitting Cisticola (Double Zitting Cisticola)  Cisticola [juncidis] tinnabulans

Marsh Grassbird ◊ (or Japanese Swamp Warbler, Japanese Marsh Warbler)  Helopsaltes pryeri

Silver-throated Bushtit ◊  Aegithalos glaucogularis

Black-throated Bushtit  Aegithalos concinnus

Rufous-faced Warbler  Abroscopus albogularis

Brown-flanked Bush Warbler ◊  Horornis fortipes

Yellow-browed Warbler  Phylloscopus inornatus

Pallas’s Leaf Warbler  Phylloscopus proregulus

Dusky Warbler  Phylloscopus fuscatus

Collared Finchbill ◊  Spizixos semitorques

Brown-breasted Bulbul ◊  Pycnonotus xanthorrhous

Light-vented (or Chinese) Bulbul ◊  Pycnonotus sinensis

Red-whiskered Bulbul  Pycnonotus jocosus

Sooty-headed Bulbul  Pycnonotus aurigaster

Chestnut Bulbul ◊  Hemixos castanonotus

Mountain Bulbul  Ixos mcclellandii

Black Bulbul  Hypsipetes leucocephalus

Beijing Babbler ◊  Rhopophilus pekinensis

Reed Parrotbill ◊  Paradoxornis heudei

Vinous-throated Parrotbill ◊  Suthora webbiana

Indochinese (or Chestnut-collared) Yuhina  Staphida torqueola

Swinhoe’s White-eye  Zosterops simplex

Rufous-capped Babbler  Cyanoderma ruficeps

Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler  Pomatorhinus ruficollis

Grey-sided Scimitar Babbler ◊  Erythrogenys swinhoei

Huet’s Fulvetta ◊  Alcippe hueti

Chinese Hwamei ◊  Garrulax canorus

Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush  Garrulax monileger  (heard only)

Moustached Laughingthrush ◊  Ianthocincla cineracea

Black-throated Laughingthrush  Pterorhinus chinensis

White-browed Laughingthrush ◊  Pterorhinus sannio

Masked Laughingthrush ◊  Pterorhinus perspicillatus

Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush  Pterorhinus pectoralis  (heard only)

Plain (or Pere David’s) Laughingthrush ◊  Pterorhinus davidi

Japanese Waxwing ◊  Bombycilla japonica

Bohemian Waxwing ◊  Bombycilla garrulus

Chinese  (or Snowy-browed) Nuthatch ◊  Sitta villosa

Eurasian Nuthatch  Sitta europaea

Common (or Eurasian) Starling  Sturnus vulgaris

Black-collared Starling  Gracupica nigricollis

Red-billed Starling ◊  Spodiopsar sericeus

White-cheeked Starling ◊  Spodiopsar cineraceus

Crested Myna ◊  Acridotheres cristatellus

Brown Dipper  Cinclus pallasii

Chinese (or Mandarin) Blackbird ◊  Turdus mandarinus

Red-throated Thrush ◊  Turdus ruficollis

Naumann’s Thrush ◊  Turdus naumanni

Dusky Thrush ◊  Turdus eunomus

Grey-backed Thrush ◊  Turdus hortulorum

Oriental Magpie-Robin  Copsychus saularis

Little Forktail  Enicurus scouleri

White-crowned Forktail  Enicurus leschenaulti

Slaty-backed Forktail  Enicurus schistaceus

(Northern) Red-flanked Bluetail  Tarsiger cyanurus

Plumbeous Water Redstart  Phoenicurus fuliginosus

Daurian Redstart  Phoenicurus auroreus

Blue Rock Thrush  Monticola solitarius

Siberian Stonechat ◊ (Amur Stonechat)  Saxicola [maurus] stejnegeri

Fork-tailed Sunbird ◊  Aethopyga christinae

Orange-bellied Leafbird  Chloropsis hardwickii

Scaly-breasted Munia  Lonchura punctulata

White-rumped Munia  Lonchura striata

Alpine Accentor  Prunella collaris

Siberian Accentor ◊  Prunella montanella

Russet Sparrow  Passer cinnamomeus

Eurasian Tree Sparrow  Passer montanus

Grey Wagtail  Motacilla cinerea

Citrine Wagtail  Motacilla citreola

Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis

White Wagtail ◊ (East Siberian Wagtail)  Motacilla [alba] ocularis

White Wagtail (Amur or Chinese Wagtail)  Motacilla [alba] leucopsis

Richard’s Pipit  Anthus richardi

Olive-backed Pipit  Anthus hodgsoni

Red-throated Pipit  Anthus cervinus

Siberian Pipit ◊  Anthus japonicus

Water Pipit  Anthus spinoletta

Brambling ◊  Fringilla montifringilla

Hawfinch  Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Chinese (or Yellow-billed) Grosbeak ◊  Eophona migratoria

Japanese Grosbeak ◊  Eophona personata

Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch ◊  Carpodacus davidianus

Long-tailed Rosefinch ◊ (Chinese Long-tailed Rosefinch)  Carpodacus [sibiricus] lepidus

Pallas’s Rosefinch ◊  Carpodacus roseus

Grey-headed Bullfinch ◊  Pyrrhula erythaca

Asian Rosy Finch ◊  Leucosticte arctoa

Oriental (or Grey-capped) Greenfinch ◊  Chloris sinica

Eurasian Siskin  Spinus spinus

Yellow-throated Bunting ◊  Emberiza elegans

Ochre-rumped (or Japanese Reed) Bunting ◊  Emberiza yessoensis

Pallas’s Reed Bunting ◊  Emberiza pallasi

Yellow-browed Bunting ◊  Emberiza chrysophrys

Tristram’s Bunting ◊  Emberiza tristrami

Little Bunting  Emberiza pusilla

Black-faced Bunting  Emberiza spodocephala

Chestnut-eared Bunting ◊  Emberiza fucata

Meadow Bunting ◊  Emberiza cioides

Godlewski’s Bunting  Emberiza godlewskii

Pine Bunting ◊  Emberiza leucocephalos

MAMMALS

Reeves’s Muntjac  Muntiacus reevesi

Eastern (or Siberian) Roe Deer  Capreolus pygargus

Chinese Water Deer  Hydropotes inermis

Red Fox  Vulpes vulpes

Tolai Hare  Lepus tolai

Pallas’s (or Belly-banded) Squirrel  Callosciurus erythraeus

Pere David’s Rock Squirrel  Sciurotamias davidianus

Maritime (or Formosan) Striped Squirrel  Tamiops maritimus

Red Giant Flying Squirrel  Petaurista petaurista