White-tailed eagle spotted in Baoshan park

The white-tailed eagle, a very large species of sea eagle under first-class state protection in China, was recently monitored in west Yunnan’s Baoshan city, according to the Qinghuahai national wetland park.

As the number of white-tailed eagles is quite small and they are rarely seen in the wilderness, the eagle has been included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, said Duan Honglian, a senior engineer at the park’s management.

White-tailed eagles are said to feed on fish, as well as birds and small mammals. They usually identify their prey by sliding or hovering in the sky.

Baoshao lies on a major bird-migration route in west China. As the vegetation coverage is growing, local ecology improved and the wetland park has become a paradise for birds. In a half-day monitoring, local ornithologists recorded 25 bird species, including the ruddy shelduck and the common shelduck.

Reporting by Zhang Wen (Xinhua); Trans-editing by Wang Shixue