Birds Connect Us to the World

The Charlotte area is the home of an extremely diverse community – Blacks, Hispanic and Asian are probably the most abundant. We have specific months set aside to celebrate each of these communities: Black History – February; Hispanic – Ocotber; and Asian – May. Although a bit late, let’s take a to look at bird connections with our Asian community.

Whooping Crane Photo by Ron Clark

The crane is probably the most obvious connection. In China the crane is revered as the “Prince of All Feathered Creatures”. In Japan it symbolizes longevity, peace and noble wisdom. According to the International Crane Foundation, located in Wisconsin, there are 15 species of cranes with the majority of them occurring in Asia. Many of them are endangered including the Whooping Crane of North America. The Foundation has led the effort to bring this bird back from the edge of extinction. It still has a wait to go to be a stable population, but it is one of the bright spots in conservation efforts.

Sandhill Cranes Photo by Judy Walker

The other North American crane most people are familiar, especially the folks in Florida, is the Sandhill Crane. Birders from all over the world flock to the Rowe Sanctuary on the Platte River in Nebraska in March to see these birds congregate on the river during their migration north. Large wintering flocks can be seen close to Charlotte at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in eastern Tennessee. The nonmigratory population in Florida can be found almost anywhere wandering refuges, golf courses and even backyards. Imagine having that as a yard bird! Interestingly, there seems to be a Common Crane wandering around with a flock of Sandhill Cranes for several years now. It has been reported a few times in migrating flocks in the great plains and southwest.

Black-billed Magpie Photo by Steve Kline

In China and Korea magpies are thought to be harbingers of good news, happiness, and prosperity. The Chinese considered the bird divine due to its role in the creation myth of the Manchu people. There are two magpie species in the U.S.; the more abundant, Black-billed Magpie found throughout the western states and Canada, and the more localized, Yellow-billed Magpie confined to California. Native Americans considered them as an ally and helper of humans. Interestingly, some Europeans considered their magpie as unlucky.

Ring-necked Pheasant Photo by Steve Greenwood

The Vermillion Bird, a red bird resembling a pheasant, is one of the four symbols of the Chinese constellations and represents the element of fire. Although we don’t know exactly what bird inspired this mythical bird, we do have a pheasant in the states which comes from Asian, the Ring-necked

Pheasant. The ring-necked was introduced to the U.S. from Asia in the 1880s along with the Chukar for hunting and quickly became one of North America’s most popular game birds. It is primarily a bird of agricultural lands and old fields but can be found in a surprisingly wide variety of habits in the U.S. include at an elevation of 11,000 ft. in Hawaii. It is most common in the northern great plains and midwestern states as well as Pennsylvania and New York where they were introduced.

Gray-headed Swamphen Photo by Judy Walker

If you want to pick up some Asian species for your life list, you probably need to go to Alaska during migration or Hawaii, where there are quite a few introduced species that are now resident birds. But there are several other Asian species besides the Ring-necked Pheasant that have taken up residency a little closer to home – the Red-whiskered Bulbul, Gray-headed Swamphen and the Eurasian Tree Sparrow. One might find the bulbul in small numbers in southern Florida and Pasadena, CA. The same is true of the sparrow which has taken up residence around St. Louis, MO. The swamphen however has been expanding its range in Florida and is relatively easy to find in several of the refuges there.

We also share many species in common with Asia such as the Mallard, Barn Swallow, Black-crowned Night-heron, Great Egret, and others which have world-wide distribution. So, the next time you are out watching birds think about how they connect us to others around the world.