Experts and bird aficionados alike were in fine feather when an endangered bird appeared for the first time at a location in China.<\/p>\n
South App reported<\/a> that the “surprise guest” Chinese merganser showed off its pretty crested head and the dark-edged white feathers that earned its other name, the scaly-sided merganser, at Huguangyan Scenic Area in Zhanjiang, Guangdong.<\/p>\n Birdwatchers and naturalists flocked to the area to snap photos or take a gander at the bird, the first of its kind ever to appear in the area.<\/p>\n Although its numbers are estimated at around 2,500 to 4,500 worldwide, the merganser is still more common than other endangered birds that make China their habitat. Conservationists theorize<\/a> that there are fewer than 1,000 white-eared night herons left, according to ScienceDirect, and BirdLife International reports<\/a> that there are fewer than 150 Dalmatian pelicans left.<\/p>\n Though the sighting is cheering, the Chinese merganser is considered endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is on the Red List<\/a>, which compiles the touchstone data on species’ endangerment statuses.<\/p>\n BirdLife’s DataZone says<\/a> a major reason for the Chinese mergansers’ shrinking numbers is that “riverine forests throughout breeding habitat are still threatened by the construction of hydroelectric dams, dredging, and other human-induced disturbances, despite the strengthening of laws to prevent large-scale deforestation in Russia, China, and DPR Korea.” \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n There are real benefits to saving endangered species that go beyond offering birdwatchers a sight to see.<\/p>\n The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explains<\/a> that people thrive when species survive \u2014 they offer medicinal properties and protect agriculture and biodiversity, and more.<\/p>\n When species such as the vaquita porpoise flourish, fishing is more sustainable. Animals such as red squirrels draw tourists eager to see them. The return of the Ka Palupalu o Kanaloa Hui plant in Hawai\u02bbi preserves culture and tradition.<\/p>\n South App says<\/a> the Chinese merganser prefers to live in “minimally disturbed” areas with little human activity, adding that it is a “a reliable indicator of ecological health” and that its presence “highlights the city’s high-quality natural environment.”<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices \u2014 and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD’s exclusive Rewards Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Experts and bird aficionados alike were in fine feather when an endangered bird appeared for the first time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[185529,49,48,188335,9084,22402,66,323],"class_list":["post-460821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-birdlife-international","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chinese-merganser","tag-endangered","tag-endangered-bird","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}