"Panda Bird" - What's in a name ?

Here's a photo of a Black-throated Tit, taken in Yunnan Province, China, in October last year. Does the name really matter ? It looks like a panda to me, although I admit that it's a LOT smaller than a panda. I first saw this species in Fujian Province, China, in 1986. The more experienced birders on the trip - everyone else, basically - used the English name "Red-headed Tit", after Prof.

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"Forrest species"

To demonstrate the broad wildlife scope of this blog, (and because I haven't been out with the camera for a day or two) here are couple of creatures from our recent trip to Yunnan. Golden-breasted Fulvetta - Alcippe chrysotis forrestiANDForrest's Rock Squirrel - Sciurotamias forrestiBoth were named after the famous plant hunter, George Forrest, who made several long expeditions to Yunnan

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"Cloudy Tourist Walk" Cangshan, Dali

By 13th and 14th April we had moved on to Dali, and a few hours on the Cloudy Tourist Walk near Zhonghe Temple produced a few birds. They all seemed to be nestbuilding and/or territorial.Slaty-blue FlycatcherWhite-browed FulvettaStripe-throated YuhinaGould's SunbirdRufous-bellied NiltavaAll taken with the 800mm - worthwhile to carry it such a long way !

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Liuku-Pianma Road, Yunnan Part III

A few more shots from the roadside...Short-billed MinivetBlack Eagle - as usual, checking the tree canopiesWallcreeperWallcreeper (same bird)My favourite....Gold-naped Finch

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Liuku-Pianma Road, Yunnan Part II

On the 3rd, 4th and 5th April we went back over the pass. Despite what some locals had said the habitat was actually pretty good on the western side, despite some recent damage caused by road "upgrading".View of Liuku-Pianma Road, KM 67.All the birds were paired and nest-building, it seemed.Ladies and Gentlemen, we present "The Four Chestnuts"Chestnut-crowned WarblerChestnut-tailed

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Liuku-Pianma Road, Yunnan Province

We met "Maicha" and KC LI (along with Sven R. of Birdlife Int'l) on the evening of the 28th March, and proceed to the Nujiang (Salween) Valley with "Maicha" and KC the following day. The 30th was spent birding the east side of the pass in some pretty grim weather....Quite misty when it wasn't actually rainingStripe-throated YuhinaYellow-browed TitAshy-throated Warbler - now here's a "phyllosc" I

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Tengchong, SW Yunnan

On the 27th March we flew into Tengchong airport. Opened only since February 2009 and imaginatively carved from the hills to the west of town.If you've wondered what an Aircraft Carrier landing might be like, this is the airport for you !Above town, at Laifeng Park, we met a few old friends...Red-tailed MinlaLittle Pied FlycatcherPerny's Long-nosed SquirrelLarge Niltava

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"South of the Clouds"

is the title of Gerald Reitlinger's very readable account of a journey he made in Yunnan Province in the late 1930s. They journeyed from Kunming to Dali, Lijiang and Shigu, on the upper Yangtze river.We're off to Yunnan tomorrow. All being well, we should be back in mid-April.

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Back from breezy yunnan Province

Back last week from the wilds of Yunnan Province, where we saw almost 300 bird species. If we were better birders, perhaps we'd have seen more...Some of the pics we took are still on the laptop.... so here's a chance to trot out a couple of pics from our 2006 trip !I especially like the fag ends behind the Maroon-backed Accentor. Human rubbish attracts birds...

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Summer Indolence

There are lots of things more tiresome than people who don't update their blogs, but in the "blergershere" who needs a sense of proportion ?Here are a couple of pics about a place we saw (I think) a Gentian "Gentiana sino-ornata" Discovered by George Forrest in NW Yunnan province in 1904 and described as "one of his finest introductions... exquisite beauty...late and prolonged flowering in

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