Chinese Birds 

About: Chinese Birds is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Population & Brood parasite. It has an ISSN identifier of 1674-7674. Over the lifetime, 125 publications have been published receiving 1039 citations.

A global overview of cranes: status, threats and conservation priorities

Abstract: This paper reviews the population trends and threats for the 15 species of cranes, and comments on conservation priorities for the family as a whole. Cranes occur on five continents, with greatest diversity in East Asia (nine species) and Sub-Saharan Africa (six species). Eleven crane species are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List, including one species Critically En- dangered, three species Endangered, and seven species Vulnerable. Of the four species of Least Con- cern, population sizes for the Demoiselle (Anthropoides virgo) and Brolga (Grus rubicunda) are not well known but these species are declining in some areas. The Sandhill (G. canadensis) and Eurasian Cranes (G. grus) are the most abundant cranes and have rapidly increased in part due to their flexible selection of foraging habitats and use of agriculture lands and waste grain as a food source. Status for six species — Grey Crowned (Balearica regulorum), Blue (Anthropoides paradise), Black-necked (G. nigricollis), Red-crowned (G. japonensis), Sandhill, and Siberian (G. leucogeranus) — are summarized in more detail to illustrate the diversity of population shifts and threats within the crane family. A crane threat matrix lists the major threats, rates each threat for each species, and scores each threat for the crane family as a whole. Four of the five greatest threats are to the ecosystems that cranes depend upon, while only one of the top threats (human disturbance) relates to human action directly impact- ing on cranes. Four major threats are discussed: dams and water diversions, agriculture development, crane trade, and climate change. Conservation efforts should be strongly science-based, reduce direct threats to the birds, safeguard or restore habitat, and strengthen awareness among decision makers and local communities for how to safeguard cranes and wetlands. Especially for the most severely threatened species, significantly stronger efforts will be needed to incorporate our understanding of the needs of cranes and the ecosystems they inhabit into decisions about agriculture, water manage- ment, energy development and other human activities.

Diversity of parasitic cuckoos and their hosts in China

Abstract: In this expose we provide the first review of host use by brood parasitic cuckoos in a multiple-cuckoo system in China, based on our own long-term field data and a compilation of observations obtained from the literature. In total, we found that 11 species of cuckoos utilized altogether 55 host species. These hosts belong to 15 families, in which Sylviidae, Turdidae and Timaliidae account for 22.6%, 20.8% and 17.0% of parasitism records, respectively. The Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) had the widest range of host species, accounting for 45.5% of the total number of parasitized species (25 in 10 families) of all parasitism records and is the most frequent brood parasite in the country. Cuckoo species differed in their egg coloration and the extent of egg polymorphism with most of them, e.g. the Common Cuckoo, the Lesser Cuckoo (C. poliocephalus) and the Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus) laying well mimetic eggs with respect to their hosts based on human being’s visual observations, while others such as the Large Hawk-cuckoo (C. sparverioides), the Himalayan Cuckoo (C. saturatus) and the Asian Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus) usually laid non-mimetic eggs. The use of cuckoo hosts and egg color variation in China are compared with those in other parts of their ranges in Asia.

The world status and population trends of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda): 2010 update

Abstract: The Great Bustard (Otis tarda) world population is estimated to be 44100-57000 indi- viduals in 2010, of which about 57-70% occur in Spain, 15-25% in European Russia, 4-10% in China, Mongolia and south-eastern Russia, 3-4% in Portugal, 3% in Hungary, 1-2% in Turkey, and smaller numbers in ten other countries. The reliability of current censuses and estimates may be described as high for a large fraction of the world population (67-75%), and low for the remain- ing 25-33% (including Russia, Mongolia, China, Turkey, Ukraine, Iran and Kazakhstan). In spite of continued declines reported for some countries (e.g., Turkey, Iran, China), the present survey suggests that total numbers have not significantly decreased worldwide during the last decade, as opposed to the globally declining trend currently assumed. This is due to a large fraction of the world total living in countries whose overall surveys are apparently stable (e.g., Spain, Portugal), after a noticeable recovery during the last few decades once the hunting ban was established. Only 6-10% of the world total is apparently still decreasing, mostly due to agricultural intensification, other causes of habitat degradation, and locally, also illegal hunting and collision with power lines. A small fraction of the world population (3-4%), is clearly (Germany, Austria) or apparently (Hun- gary) increasing, due to management and conservation measures. Finally, 19-22% of the world total has an uncertain status, due to inaccurate current or past censuses which prevent establishing reliable population trends. We recommend 1) keeping conservation efforts and the species' protec- tion status worldwide, and 2) carrying out urgently nation-wide surveys in countries with low qual- ity estimates, in order to confirm world numbers and trends.

Status, threats and conservation needs for the continental population of the Red-crowned Crane

Abstract: The Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) is a globally endangered species. Although this species has received much attention by scientists, conservationists and the general public, the continental population of the Red-crowned Crane continues to face serious threats which affect not only its population dynamics but also its breeding and wintering habitats. Habitat loss and deterioration are the main causes of the decline of its population. With the massive loss of habitats in all parts of its range ― breeding, stopover and wintering grounds ― the cranes have been forced into crops and farmlands where cranes are more vulnerable to human activities, such as poisoning the cranes and conflicts with farmers. From our review of studies done over 30 years, the eastern flyway subpopulation has been stable or slightly increasing and the western flyway subpopulation of the Red-crowned Crane has sharply declined in recent years. The wintering population for the western flyway has declined from over 1100 to less than 500 birds. Not only is the size of the population reduced to less than 50%, but most recently the decline has occurred with frightening speed, by 50- 150 birds per winter. The current wintering range for the west flyway is only about 8% of its extent in the 1980s. Urgent actions for habitat protection, law enforcement and education need to stop the declining trend for this species.

A review of the recent advances in the systematics of the avian superfamily Sylvioidea

Abstract: The systematics of the avian superfamily Sylvioidea are reviewed, focusing on studies of relationships among families and within genera, more superficially on taxonomic studies at the species level. For the families Bernieridae and Phylloscopidae, new analyses based on already published sequence data are presented. Our understanding of relationships has been vastly improved in recent years due to a large number of molecular studies. However, the relationships among the different families remain largely obscured, probably mainly as a result of rapid divergence of the different primary lineages (families). Also, species level taxonomy has been much improved in recent years due to a large number of studies applying molecular markers and/or vocalizations and other life-history data. It seems likely that the number of species will continue to increase, as new groups are being studied with modern integrative methods.