A nest of a native bird to southern China, the gray-backed myna, has been discovered in Jeju for the first time.
Researchers believe global warming is responsible for bringing the species’ habitat northward, like other birds including the pheasant-tailed jacana and the Japanese night heron.
Todd Thacker reports.
A small but very special bird uses a roadside signboard for shelter.
This is a rare migratory bird called a gray-backed myna. It is identified by its black tail and distinctive white wings and wing bows.
This species is between 18 and 20 centimeters in length and is mostly found in southern China and Vietnam.
The myna is sometimes spotted in Jeju as well as the south and west coasts of the mainland in spring and autumn.
The National Migratory Bird Research Center of the National Institute of Biological Resources and the Jeju Wildlife Research Center jointly study such migratory birds.
This is the first time they have discovered a gray-backed myna's nest in Jeju. This means that the bird laid eggs and raised its hatchlings here.
Researchers have monitored the nest for three weeks, including when the mother bird feeds her offspring.
Four baby birds have been observed leaving the nest.
Researchers are paying close attention to this nesting myna because it may be proof of a northward extension of its breeding territory.
Jeju is 880 kilometers northeast and six degrees higher in latitude than Fujian, China, the known breeding place of the species.
Specialists see this as an indicator of environmental changes, including global warming.
With global warming impacting all aspects of life on the planet, Jeju researchers see the appearance of migratory birds like the gray-backed myna, the Japanese night heron, and the red-billed starling as proverbial "canaries in the coalmine" of climate change.
Todd Thacker, KCTV