Beijing: The Capital Of White Wagtails?
The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a familiar bird across Eurasia. Most authorities recognise 9 subspecies from the dark and distinctive Motacilla alba yarrelli in the western part of its range in the UK, to Motacilla alba lugens in Japan in the east.
Growing up on the east coast of the UK, I was familiar with the yarrelli ssp, a common breeder, and was excited to see a few of the continental subspecies M.a. alba in early Spring, often associating with flocks of Yellow Wagtails (Motacilla flava).
On arrival in Beijing I soon became familiar with the local breeder known as 'Amur Wagtail', ssp leucopsis, and saw ssp ocularis and ssp baicalensis on migration in spring and autumn.
In April 2012 I was lucky enough to find a 'Masked Wagtail' (ssp personata) at Ma Chang, Wild Duck Lake, the first record of this subspecies in Beijing. And in winter 2013/2014 I saw my first 'Black-backed Wagtail' (ssp lugens), a subspecies that breeds in Japan and is an annual, but scarce, winter visitor to the capital.
Just last week, Shi Jin found a stunning, and Beijing’s second, 'Masked Wagtail' (ssp personata) along the Wenyu River amongst a flock of 200+ White Wagtails. This find came a day after strong northwesterly winds that brought Beijing’s first dust storm of the Spring. It is probably no coincidence that, on Sunday, young local birder Luo Qingqing found the first record of eastern alba for the capital. In fact it seems that this latter sighting is not just a first for Beijing but for all of eastern China! An incredible record.
‘Eastern’ alba was formerly known as ssp dukhunensis but was subsumed into alba by Per Alström and Krister Mild in their excellent and groundbreaking 'Pipits and Wagtails' book (2003). This treatment has been almost universally accepted and so dukhunensis no longer exists as a subspecies.
‘Eastern’ alba has been recorded in west China, in Xinjiang (where it is locally common) and is a regular but scarce migrant in Qinghai. It has also occurred in Ningxia and, possibly, Sichuan (Paul Holt, pers comm). Sunday’s sighting is the first that we are aware of in all of east China.
Having already recorded lugens, leucopsis, ocularis and baicalensis, the sightings of personata and now alba bring the total number of subspecies seen in Beijing so far this year to 6! Is there anywhere in the world that can beat that?
And finally on Friday 3 April Shi Jin found a second, and Beijing’s third, personata along the Wenyu River.
Terry Townshend
Birding Beijing
14 April 2015
(1) L. Shyamal, based on; Nakamura, Kazue (1985). 'Historical change of the geographical distribution of two closely related species of the genus Motacilla in the Japanese Archipelago: a preliminary note'. Bulletin of the Kanagawa prefecture Museum of Natural Science No.16.
Birding Beijing
Birding Beijing was launched in August 2010 by Terry Townshend, a British birder living and working in Beijing. Through this blog he celebrates the birds that can be found in and around China’s vibrant capital city. He is indebted to the growing number of birders in Beijing, both Chinese and expat, who contribute a huge amount to the content found on this site.
A passionate conservationist, Terry has spearheaded efforts to save some of China’s most endangered birds, in particular the Jankowski’s Bunting, a poorly known bird living in remote northeast China with a known population of under 100 pairs. In 2012 he became a Species Champion with BirdLife International.
Terry is dedicated to encouraging young people to learn, and care, about the environment and loves nothing more than showing students, children and visitors to Beijing the wonders of the birds that can be found here. He has a prominent media profile, often being asked to comment on environmental issues and featuring on mainstream TV, lifestyle magazines and in national and international newspapers.
Terry has found several new birds for Beijing, including the capital’s first Tree Pipit in the UK Ambassador’s garden (!). He is a regular contributor to the Beijing Birdwatching Society’s lecture series and, earlier this year, was honoured to deliver the keynote lecture at the National Zoological Museum to celebrate China’s National Bird Day.
He is a co-author on Europe’s leading birding blog, Birding Frontiers and, since 2014, he has been a Brand Ambassador for Swarovski Optik.
