Wild Beijing

My #birdoftheday (finches) - a winter Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla 燕雀 Yàn què) in central Beijing. #birds #beijing #china

I have been told by Singaporean naturalists that this is most likely a larvae of one of the Psychidae (Bagworm) moths.

Can anyone help me identify this incredible tiny creature? On a wooden table in Singapore. #singapore #insects

Some cool snakes from Singapore today - Wagler’s Pit Viper (first and last images), Oriental Whipsnake and Kopstein's Bronzeback. #snakes #herps #singapore

Tso-hsin Cheng: The Father of Chinese Ornithology This article is the fourth in a series about “The Pioneers”, the naturalists in 19th and early 20th century China who shone a light on China’s natural heritage.   ===== …

A short biography of “the father of Chinese ornithology”, Tso-hsin Cheng, one of the so-called “pioneers” who introduced China’s natural heritage to the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. wildbeijing.org/2026/02/16/t... #birds #china

Looks like a Zappey's to me. On my screen it looks to have a dark blue, not black throat. Zappey's is known to breed at Xiaolongmen, the location given by the photographer. Blue-and-white is rare in Beijing on passage.

This presumed Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca 白眼潜鸭 Bái yǎn qián yā) x Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri 青头潜鸭 Qīng tóu qián yā) hybrid was on the Wenyu River during our monthly biodiversity survey with Beijing Forestry University. #hybrids #beijing #birds

Excited to see a new mammal in Beijing - my first ever Short-faced mole (Scaptochirus moschatus), sadly deceased. This creature is the only species in the genus Scaptochirus and is endemic to China. Just look at those feet! #Beijing #Mammals #China

It seems quite common for them to be in pairs… but not always.

You are right - it’s a Leopard Cat at the end.

Some winter highlights from an infrared camera in #Beijing. Can you identify the #birds and #mammals?

great day hiking up Lingshan, a ~2300m mountain near Beijing, with @wild-beijing.bsky.social & two Swedes!

Lucky to find Beijing's 6th White-crowned Penduline Tit (Remiz coronatus 白冠攀雀 Bái guān pān què) - not a bad #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #Beijing

There are few Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa 花脸鸭 Huāliǎn yā) wintering at the Yellow River estuary in Shandong Province. Photo by "菜小hua". #birds #china #yellowriver

A stunning Naumann's Thrush (Turdus naumanni 红尾鸫 Hóng wěi dōng) in the Temple of Heaven Park yesterday afternoon. One of the four 'winter thrushes' we see in Beijing (with Dusky, Red-throated and Black-throated). #birds #beijing #china

A Japanese Waxwing (Bombycilla japonica 小太平鸟 Xiǎo tài píng niǎo) from Beihai Park in Beijing. One of a mixed flock (with Bohemian Waxwings) that is regularly coming to drink near the north gate. #birds #beijing #china

Lucky to find this Ibisbill close to the Ming Tombs in Beijing last week. Formerly a common breeder in suitable habitat, it is now probably functionally extinct due to a loss of habitat (the 'taming' of the capital's fast-flowing stony rivers). This is the 1st record for a few years. #birds #beijing

Lucky to find a drake Baer's Pochard (Aythya baeri 青头潜鸭 Qīng tóu qián yā) near the Ming Tombs in Beijing. This critically endangered species seems to be recovering after the dramatic decline in the 1990s and early 2000s. #birds #ConservationWorks #Beijing #China #WildlifeConservation

Beijing Nocturnal Flight Call Library This page provides examples of nocturnal flight calls (NFCs), including spectograms and audio files, all of which have been recorded in Beijing.  Dates and recording location are given for eac…

A library of nocturnal flight calls from Beijing, including many eastern species that could be recorded in Europe. See wildbeijing.org/beijing-noct... #nocmig #china #beijing #migration #birds

What a lovely surprise in the post today - cute biscuits of migratory waterbirds from Jiangsu (Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Black-faced Spoonbill, Dalmatian Pelican and Chinese Crested Tern) - a new year gift from a Chinese NGO! #birds #china

Some pages from Edward Sheldon Wilkinson. Shanghai Birds. A Study of Bird Life in Shanghai and the Surrounding Districts. Shanghai: North-China Daily News & Herald Limited, 1929

An incredible close encounter with a male Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus 白尾鹞 Bái wěi yào) yesterday at ShaCheng Wetlands in Hebei. Something made me look around and I saw this stunning bird heading directly towards me. Fortunately the camera focused! Breathtakingly beautiful. #Birds #China #HenHarrier

Thank you!

Latest watercolour - Blue Sheep (Bharal, Pseudois nayaur) making their way up a sunlit mountain in the Himalayas. #watercolour #blueskyart #himalayas

A male Chinese Long-tailed Rosefinch (Uragus sibiricus lepidus 长尾雀 Cháng wěi què) at Lingshan yesterday. #birds #beijing #china

Three typically confiding Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris 领岩鹨 Lǐng yán liù) at the peak of Lingshan, Beijing's highest mountain (2,303m asl) yesterday. #birds #beijing #china

During the reign of Emp. Gaozong (649 to 683), a flock of Pallas's Sandgrouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus) flew across the border. Li Shizhen wrote "According to the Tang Shu the border guards were alarmed and said, 'If the quails fly south, the nomads will surely invade.' And indeed, it happened." #Birds

Four bunting species on the local patch: Yellow-browed (Emberiza chrysophrys 黄眉鹀), Yellow-throated (Emberiza elegans 黄喉鹀) with a deformed bill, Little (Emberiza pusilla 小鹀) and Pallas's Reed (Emberiza pallasi 苇鹀). #birds #beijing #china #migrants

Latest watercolour - a typical view of a migrant autumn Siberian Rubythroat (Luscinia calliope 红喉歌鸲 Hóng hóu gē qú). A common passage migrant in Beijing but usually skulky. Much sought after by bird-trappers - a pristine male can fetch up to GBP 8,000 on the black market! #birds #beijing #migrants

Latest watercolour: Rook (Corvus frugilegus 秃鼻乌鸦 tūbíwūyā). In the UK rook is resident, with breeding colonies (“rookeries”) a common sight. In Beijing it’s migratory. In early Oct groups can be seen heading south, using thermals to gain height before continuing their journey. #birds #blueskyart