China News Agency, Beijing, August 15th, question: Flying over the "Belt and Road" every year, why is Beijing Swift worthy of being an "ecological ambassador"?
——Interview with Shi Yang, Senior Engineer of Beijing Wildlife Rescue Center
Author Xu Jing and Du Yan
Beijing Swift is the only wild migratory bird named after "Beijing" in the world. This subspecies was first collected and named by British ornithologist Robert Swinhou in Beijing in 1870.
Every spring, they fly from southern Africa to Beijing, where they build their nests and breed their offspring on tall and magnificent ancient buildings with layers of terraces.
From July to August, they departed from Beijing and flew back to Africa via the Eurasian continent.
Most of the countries that Swifts pass through are located along the "Belt and Road", and are called "ecological ambassadors" on the "Belt and Road".
From the prototype of the Fuwa "Nini" in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, to the first digital image of Beijing's central axis in 2022, and the "Beijing Swift" that has passed through hundreds of years of wind, rain and sunshine, it can be described as a historical Beijing, a cultural Beijing, and an ecological Beijing. one of the representatives.
Shi Yang, a senior engineer at the Beijing Wildlife Rescue Center, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "Dongxiwen", telling the story of "Beijing Swift" traveling thousands of miles back and forth, and explaining Beijing's plans and actions for biodiversity conservation.
A summary of the interview transcript is as follows:
China News Agency reporter: Where does the name "Beijing Swift" come from? Does it have its kind in other cities in China and other countries and regions in the world?
Shi Yang:
Swifts are widely distributed all over the world. China's Swifts are mostly found in the northeast, north and northwest regions, and can be distributed southward to northern Sichuan, western Hubei and northern Jiangsu.
Speaking of "Beijing Swift", the official Chinese name is the common Swift Beijing subspecies.
British ornithologist Robert Swinhou first collected this subspecies in Beijing in 1870, and named it Apus apus pekinensis, from which the Beijing Swift was named.
Beijing Swift.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Tomita
We often sing: "Little Swallow, wear flower clothes, come here every spring", the swallow here is the barn swallow.
In fact, Beijing Swift and Jia Yan are not "close relatives".
Swifts are nighthawks and belong to climbing birds, while barn swallows and golden-rumped swallows belong to songbirds.
In terms of body structure, the swift is not like the barn swallow with three toes in front and one toe behind. Its tarsus is very short, and the four toes of the toes are all forward, which makes it difficult for them to support their bodies after they land, and cannot sit on a flat surface. Walking on the ground, it can't take off with the help of the kicking force of the legs like other birds.
Therefore, Swift tried her best not to land.
It is only when feeding young birds that swifts dwell briefly on cliffs or on the branches of giant trees.
Usually, during the flight, the swift's two feet will be retracted and hidden in the feathers, as if a bird without feet is flying freely in the air.
The swift, known as the "footless bird", generally has its narrow and long wings fully unfolded when flying, forming an arc, and the speed can exceed 100 kilometers per hour.
Swift's beak is very short, unlike other birds that use their beaks to "catch" bugs, but during flight, their large beaks allow flying insects to "cast themselves into the net".
Even if he drinks water, he swipes across the water with his beak open.
Studies have shown that swifts hardly land in their entire lives, and even mate and rest in the air.
China News Agency reporter: Why does Beijing Swift like tall ancient buildings? How are they living in a modern metropolis like Beijing?
Shi Yang:
Every spring, Beijing swifts fly back to Beijing from Africa to inhabit and breed.
Citizens and tourists can often see swifts passing by in Zhengyangmen Gate Tower, Summer Palace Kuoru Pavilion, Beihai Park Jiulong Pavilion and other places. Old Beijingers call Swift "louyan".
Beijing Swift flying over Beihai Park in Beijing.
Photo courtesy of China News Service Beijing Wildlife Rescue Center
To say that Swift likes ancient buildings, we have to start from its "nature".
On the one hand, Beijing has many tall and magnificent ancient buildings with raised eaves, and beams, purlins and rafters criss-cross, forming wooden "artificial caves", which provide ideal breeding places for swifts and can effectively prevent Predation by natural enemies; on the other hand, they choose to build nests in tall buildings to reproduce. For the "footless bird" swift, during the natural fall of the body from a high altitude, it can fly by spreading its wings.
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were basically no modern high-rise buildings in Beijing. Swifts mainly chose royal buildings, ancient temples and pagodas to build their nests. Swift's small and flexible figure and exquisite ancient buildings complemented each other and became the ecological symbol of the ancient capital Beijing.
In particular, the swifts flying in clusters in the evening have become an iconic landscape.
Surveys in recent years have found that as cities grow taller, swifts, which originally only nested in ancient buildings, have gradually adapted to the development of urbanization and began to choose to live in tall modern buildings such as bridges, caves, and voids in modern cities.
From the current survey data, the number of swifts living in modern buildings is more than that in ancient buildings.
For example, in last year's survey, the maximum number of swifts at a single point was 1,400, and this data came from Baiziwan Bridge and Tianningsi Bridge.
Beijing Swift near Tianning Temple Bridge in Beijing.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Tomita
In addition to seeing swifts near tall buildings in the city, in recent years, citizens often see swifts flying in the sky in the suburbs.
These are all reflected from the side, the habitat of swifts in Beijing is constantly expanding, which is inseparable from the continuous enrichment of biodiversity in the entire city of Beijing.
China News Agency reporter: How did the migration route of Beijing Swift "decipher"? Where do they travel along the way?
Shi Yang:
Beijing Swift's "travel mystery" was only revealed in recent years.
In 2014, Chinese and foreign ornithologists and people from all over the world hid a batch of mini photosensitive locators on the backs of dozens of Beijing swifts, and they carried "small schoolbags" on their backs to climb over mountains and mountains.
According to monitoring data, it was found that Beijing Swift flew about 30,000 kilometers long-distance, flew over Inner Mongolia, crossed the Tianshan Mountains and the Red Sea, crossed 37 countries, arrived in southern Africa to spend the winter, and returned to Beijing the following spring.
The above path shows that most of the countries that swifts pass through are located along the "Belt and Road", and they can be called "ecological ambassadors" on the "Belt and Road".
The flight path of Beijing Swift monitored in 2014.
Photo courtesy of China News Service Beijing Wildlife Rescue Center
The monitoring also found that swifts migrate mainly on the mainland and rarely cross the ocean. They will choose a few places for a short rest. The main resting places are the Congo Basin, the southwestern coast of the Red Sea and the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.
They also adjust flight times based on food availability during the migration process. For example, the overall time of the swift southward migration in autumn is longer, and the overall time of the northward migration in spring is shorter.
In order to find out the distribution of swifts in Beijing and protect the swift population in Beijing, in 2017, Beijing Wildlife Rescue Center, Beijing Wildlife Conservation Association and Beijing Xuanwu Youth Science and Technology Museum launched the Beijing Swift Scientific Survey Project. Swift distribution locations were investigated.
Many volunteers participating in the survey are recruited voluntarily by the public.
As a wildlife protection department, we hope to learn more about Swift's "travel route" and foraging range, and also hope to know where the Swifts that circle in groups in the evening go down at night.
With the advancement of science and technology, we will be able to accurately observe swifts through more advanced technological means, such as using lighter locators and artificial nests that are more attractive to swifts, so as to carry out analysis and research, from biodiversity conservation From the perspective of reducing the survival risk of swifts, do a good job in protection work.
China News Service: In recent years, Beijing Swift has attracted much attention. Beijing Swift is the prototype of one of the mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the first digital image created by Beijing's central axis application, and even "flyed" into this year's college entrance examination questions. In your opinion, what is the demonstration significance of the protection of Beijing Swift?
Shi Yang:
Birds are the elves of nature, the best friends of human beings, and the portrayal of social civilization.
There are many species of birds in the world.
In Beijing alone, if the bird with the word "Swallow" is limited to the two categories of Yanidae and Swiftidae, there are nine species, including the common Louyan (ie, Beijing Swift).
In China, "Yan" and people live under the same roof.
"Several early warblers compete to warm the tree, and whose new swallow is pecking at the spring mud" "I can't help but the flowers fall, and it seems that I know the swallow back." Birds can see a thing or two from ancient poems.
In recent years, Beijing Swift has received more and more attention, but it is not a popular research species, and Beijing Swift is not an endangered species.
Ecologically, though, common species are just as important.
It is speculated that the current population of swifts in Beijing has reached more than 10,000, a significant increase from more than ten years ago.
Over the years, Beijing has built large-scale ecological plates, forming diverse vegetation and ecological environments, and promoting the connectivity and integrity of ecosystems by connecting ecological corridors.
At the same time, Beijing has built a number of urban forests, and successively built 79 nature reserves of various levels and types, with a total area of 368,000 hectares, effectively protecting more than 90% of the city's national and local key wildlife and habitats.
"Beijing Terrestrial Wildlife Catalog (2021)" shows that 596 species of wild animals have thrived on the 16,400 square kilometers of land in Beijing, including more than 500 species of wild birds.
These data prove that Beijing has become one of the most biodiverse metropolises in the world.
Today, Beijing Swift has become the first digital image created by Beijing's central axis application for World Heritage status, which is well-deserved.
As the only bird named after "Beijing" in the world, Beijing Swift has built its nest on Zhengyangmen for more than 600 years. It is the "Old Beijing" on the central axis of Beijing, and one of the representatives of historical Beijing, cultural Beijing and ecological Beijing. one.
Beijing Swift near Zhengyangmen in Beijing.
Photo courtesy of China News Service Beijing Wildlife Rescue Center
As a wildlife researcher, we hope that Beijing Swift will not only become a messenger of the ancient capital's cultural context, but also drive the public to pay attention to more wild birds and wild animals, and further promote Beijing's construction as a biodiversity capital.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Photo by China News Agency reporter Du Yan
Shi Yang, senior engineer of Beijing Wildlife Rescue Center, and head of Beijing Swift Survey Project.
Engaged in wildlife rescue work for nearly 20 years, especially good at bird rescue.
The main work of the Beijing Swift Survey Project is to investigate the nest sites, numbers and other information of swifts in more than 20 locations in the urban area of Beijing. It is carried out from April to August every year. Up to now, according to the survey data, it is estimated that the population of swifts in Beijing is The scale is more than 10,000.