Birds of Northern Xinjiang I

by Craig Brelsford
Founder, shanghaibirding.com

In this and the next post, posts 3 and 4 of our five-part series, I offer you an illustrated list of the interesting birds that I have recorded in Northern Xinjiang. The posts are divided into passerines and non-passerines, with this post showcasing the latter. The image above shows three of our key birds of Xinjiang 2017: clockwise from left, Long-legged Buzzard, Red-fronted Serin, and Eversmann’s Redstart. — Craig Brelsford

Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea

Mallard Anas platyrhynchos

Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina

White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala

On 21 June 2017 we scoped 2 at Baihu, the reservoir in the hills west of downtown Urumqi. We considered ourselves lucky to get the distant view, as there have been only a handful of records of this rare duck in Northern Xinjiang.

Himalayan Snowcock Tetraogallus himalayensis himalayensis

Chukar Partridge Alectoris chukar

Black Stork Ciconia nigra

Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus

Little Bittern is yet another species whose range across Eurasia is checked by the deserts of western China. The species occurs no further east than Xinjiang, where in 2017 we recorded it in reservoirs and lakes in the Jungar Basin.

Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca

On 22 July 2017 at Daquangou Reservoir, we found, distant but unmistakable through our scopes, an adult or sub-adult Eastern Imperial Eagle. The raptor was standing on a spit amid hundreds of wary gulls.

Shikra Accipiter badius cenchroides

At Hongyanglin on 23 July and 24 July 2017, we heard Shikra calling unseen from the dense poplar forest. Race cenchroides is a summer visitor to Xinjiang.

Shikra, Hongyanglin (46.123909, 85.652300), 23 July 2017 (00:04; 705 KB; Craig Brelsford)

Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis nipalensis

UPDATE, 16 Dec. 2018: I originally published here a set of three photos of a dark morph Buteo that I mistakenly ID’d as a Steppe Eagle. The photos have since been removed. The misidentified Buteo was photographed by me at Baiyanggou on 20 July 2017. Later, we noted but did not photograph Steppe Eagle at two locations in the Altai Mountains.

Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus

Black Kite Milvus migrans

White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla

Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus rufinus

Demoiselle Crane Grus virgo

Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus

Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus

Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata

Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa

Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans

Black Tern Chlidonias niger

On 29 July 2017 we recorded 2 Black Tern at Qinggeda Lake, a reservoir in the northern suburbs of Urumqi. This marsh tern is common in Europe but rare in China, breeding only in Xinjiang. Vagrants sometimes reach the coast.

Pallas’s Sandgrouse Syrrhaptes paradoxus

My only sandgrouse record in Xinjiang came 21 July 2017 at Baihu. The sandgrouse were calling unseen around sunset.

Stock Dove Columba oenas

European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur arenicola
Oriental Turtle Dove S. orientalis meena

Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus

European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus

European Roller Coracias garrulus

European Bee-eater Merops apiaster

White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos

White-winged Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucopterus

Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius

Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus

Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni

Saker Falcon Falco cherrug

This post is the third in a five-post series about birding in Northern Xinjiang.

Northern Xinjiang, July 2017: Introduction: In this first post, Craig Brelsford gives you an introduction to Northern Xinjiang and an overview of the expedition of July 2017. Bounded by the Tianshan to the south and the Altai to the north, and with the Jungar Basin at its heart, Northern Xinjiang is one of the premier birding areas in China.

Notes on Birding in Northern Xinjiang: Read Craig Brelsford’s notes on the “European” birds of Xinjiang as well as other observations recorded during the 2017 expedition. In Xinjiang, birders are saiwai (塞外), “beyond the (Great) Wall”—in China, but not in East Asia.

Photo Gallery of the Birds of Northern Xinjiang (Non-Passerines) (you are here)

Photo Gallery of the Birds of Northern Xinjiang (Passerines): This portion of the photo gallery covers the passerines of Northern Xinjiang. Many birds well-known to Europeans, such as Mistle Thrush, were photographed by Brelsford using his state-of-the-art Nikon setup.

The Landscapes and People of Northern Xinjiang: Photos and detailed captions by Craig Brelsford offer a window into the habitats and people of Northern Xinjiang.

Other shanghaibirding.com posts on Xinjiang:

John MacKinnon in the Altai Mountains of Xinjiang: The visit of the pioneering naturalist included an encounter with wolves and records of Willow Ptarmigan and Rock Ptarmigan. “We emerged on top of the world,” MacKinnon writes, “with views way into the distance across the Mongolian border.”

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