Jankowski’s Bunting discovered breeding in Mongolia
Two new colonies of the globally endangered Jankowski’s Bunting (Emberiza jankowskii) have been discovered on the Eastern Mongolian Steppes. The species was previously thought to be a vagrant to the country before the discovery and will give conservationists fresh hope that the species can be saved from extinction.
The discovery was made during a feasibility study for the World Heritage nomination of the Eastern Mongolian Steppes by a joint team from the Mongolian Bird Conservation Center and the Eastern Mongolian Protected Area Administration
The discovery was revealed in a Facebook post by the Mongolian Bird Conservation Center and was accompanied by images of the birds including a one of an adult Jankowski’s Bunting feeding a juvenile.
The text from the Facebook post is as follows:
“During the field survey of a feasibility study on World heritage nomination for Eastern Mongolian Steppes, a joint team of Mongolian Bird Conservation Center and Eastern Mongolian Protected Area Administration have discovered two sites of a breeding colony of Jankowski’s Bunting Emberiza jankowskii from southeastern Mongolia, 7 June 2020. The species believed to be vagrant in the country before. Both sites were mountain hills and dominated by Stipa grasses and shrubs. The first site locates within the Protected Area, where there is no human influence and no livestock grazing, and a second site found near the village where there both threats exist and no protection. A team collected data on habitat requirements and checked all valleys, especially for the first site. All the valleys were occupied by the breeding buntings and this site provides the best habitat for nesting buntings. We believe that there can be more potential breeding mountains in the east, especially east of the SPA, a team member said. More surveys needed to estimate the population distribution and determine the threats because there can be threats from livestock grazing in the areas where there is no protection. Therefore, a team is looking for collaborators to survey for this globally endangered bunting in the further. In addition, MBCC team is working on a publication of the bunting based on their findings at the moment.”
Jankowski’s Bunting is globally endangered after suffering a precipitous population decline in recent decades, thought to be due mainly to an increase in livestock and conversion of its traditional grassland habitat to agriculture. For background about this species and recent developments, see the Birding Beijing website.
Writing on his Birding Beijing blog Terry Townshend responded to the discovery: ”The discovery of breeding Jankowski’s Bunting in Mongolia is a shot in the arm, and some rare good news, for bird conservationists in East Asia. And whilst more needs to be done to survey this newly discovered population and establish its status, the finding opens up the possibility of collaboration between Mongolia’s southeast Dornod Province and adjacent Inner Mongolia, which hosts the bulk of China’s remaining population. For now, big congratulations to the team and I look forward to hearing more in due course.”
22 June 2020
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