SICHUAN
Birding in China’s ‘Heavenly Kingdom’

22 April – 18 May 2006

Golden Parrotbill

 

A TROPICAL BIRDING custom tour

 

Leaders:  Sam Woods & Nick Athanas

Report written by Sam Woods


China has some truly fascinating birding areas complete with a great set of awe-inspiring birds.  The great thing about birding Sichuan is you get access to some of the very best of Chinese birding and with it the chance to sample the most internationally famous of all Chinese cuisine.  It is no coincidence that some Chinese people refer to Sichuan as the ‘heavenly kingdom’.  Great food and great birds - is there anymore a birder can ask for?!

 

The pheasants are always a fascination for birders visiting Asia, and luckily Sichuan has a whole bunch of them.  We were very happy on this tour to get really satisfying views of all the most highly-prized of these birds, including great views of both male Golden Pheasants & Temminck’s Tragopans in Wolong in addition to stunning views of the frequently difficult endemic Chinese Monal; multiple sightings of the unforgettable Lady Amherst’s Pheasant at Wawu Shan (including several extravagantly adorned males); and a pair of the near endemic White-eared Pheasants in a snowy clearing near Balang Shan will be difficult to forget. However it was not all about Pheasants and huge groups of indigo male Grandalas feeding in snow-covered alpine pastures was also an undoubted highlight; along with a great set of 10 species of Parrotbills including the endemics Grey-hooded, Spectacled & Three-toed Parrotbills, and the just plain awesome Golden & Fulvous Parrotbills at Wawu Shan.  Although the 'star' passerine encountered must go to the beautiful male Rufous-headed Robin that was watched singing at close range in its only known regular haunt, Jiuzhaigou National Park.  Many other less obvious highlights included the recently described Sichuan Treecreeper at several sites and a whole mass of interesting warblers (including the unique White-browed & Crested Tit-Warblers); and a good number of striking laughingthrushes including the distinctive endemics Grey-faced (Emei) Liocichla and a number of huge Giant Laughingthrushes.  Aside from the forest birds, the birding up on the Tibetan Plateau was just great and the comical Hume's Groundpeckers (Ground Tit) were an undoubted highlight, along with a number of regal-looking Black-necked Cranes watched feeding on the snow-covered plains up there. It was a great inaugural tour for us to the region, and one we are looking forward to doing again…

 

22nd April

With an early morning arrival in Chengdu, we decided to start with some light birding around Sichuan’s capital.  We began by visiting the Panda breeding center, where besides the captive Giant and Red Pandas, we got our first taste of some Chinese bird families like Parrotbills, a family  that would feature heavily on this trip.  Immediately on arrival we had really great looks at ‘cute’ chattering Vinous-throated Parrotbills, that are outrageously  approachable and tame in some of Chengdu’s parks. Soon after we found our first Oriental (Grey-capped) Greenfinch of the trip, and a singing Forest Wagtail seemed to have set up territory conveniently by the café.  The loud distinctive calls of Large Hawk-Cuckoo were heard for the first time there and we soon enjoyed good views of this often frustrating bird, although best of all was a smart Rufous-faced Warbler that we watched at length, all the while giving it distinctive trembling call. 

 

Rufous-faced Warbler

We also had our first Laughingthrushes of the trip, a subfamily that is infamous in China for being skulking and quite frankly low down and dirty, although the White-browed Laughingthrushes there were anything but, and we watched them feeding brazenly in the open on the well-trimmed lawns!  We then moved on to Du Fu’s Thatched Cottage, the former home of a famous Tang dynasty poet.    The main target here was Yellow-billed (Chinese) Grosbeak that were found in their usual hang-out with little effort, thankfully, and there were also many Chinese (Light-vented) Bulbuls around the park.  A migrant seen  during the day included a really nice Yellow-rumped Flycatcher.   We then retired to a really comfortable hotel in Chengdu to prepare for the birding ahead…

 

23rd April

We departed Chengdu early for the drive to Wolong, Sichuan’s most famous Panda reserve. After arrival at our rather grand hotel (towering over the surrounding town!), we enjoyed a great lunch comprising of many local dishes, and it soon became obvious to us why Sichuan cuisine rightfully has an international reputation for great food. (We were truly spoiled by our agents on this trip, who ensured we tried all the very best of Sichuan’s varied foods).  We then ventured into the nearby hills above Sawan town, to search for the first of Sichuan’s true avian treasures – the awesome Golden Pheasant.  With a little effort we were  soon enjoying incredible  views of no less than 4 different males, including one that just sat there completely in the open watching us.  No matter how much you study photos and pictures of this bird quite simply nothing can prepare you for the vivid, brilliant colors and mind blowing appearance of this bird, that for many was the undoubted highlight of the trip.  A stunning bird and also a Chinese endemic-birds just do not get better than that!  Another specialty that was surprisingly easy to see at the time was the strange Slaty Bunting, an endemic monotypic genus of bunting, that looks more like an American Junco than an Old World Bunting. Some nice birds made an appearance around our hotel including a migrant male Citrine Wagtail, a Little Bunting and a gorgeous male Gould’s Sunbird feeding on the blooming flowers in our attractive hotel garden.

 

24th April

The morning activity involved a fairly strenuous hike up to Wuyipeng research station at a height of around 2500m, in another area of Wolong Reserve.  The station was first set up by the famous panda researcher George Schaller in the 1980s and has lately become renowned amongst visiting birders as a great place for some key Chinese birds.   Although the walk up is a little tough the rewards in terms of stunning birds and the storybook, Tolkein-like forest landscape are great at the other end, and everyone was clearly happy that we had made the effort for some of the experiences there. Not least among these were the 4 Temminck’s Tragopans seen over the two days, including 3 incredible males (2 of which were seen within a few hours of arriving making life a little easier!).  Tragopans are part of the genus of ‘horned pheasants’, all of which are highly-prized amongst birders visiting Asia, partly due to their shy nature that makes them a challenge to see, but more than anything because they are big, bright red, hugely attractive Pheasants.  It is fair to say that this species was also a contender for bird of the trip.   The Pheasants continued to come thick and fast for us and we also had our first trip views of Blood Pheasant as we walked along Wuyipeng’s picturesque trails for the first time.   Good birds were even encountered on the climb up there with an active tit flock holding a bunch of endemic Sooty Tits amongst others; a Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler was more attractive for it’s unique song than it’s appearance; and Streak-throated Fulvettas and a Green Shrike-Babbler were much more appealing than their dowdy illustrations in the field guide.  Other interesting birds seen included the gaudy Golden-breasted Fulvetta and the tail-less Scaly-breasted Wren-Babbler that did a good impression of a football on legs! Although for me one of the highlights of the afternoon was catching up with the enormous Great Parrotbill, that for its sheer size is always impressive and one persons incredulous reaction to the bird said it all, when on seeing it he exclaimed “That’s a Parrotbill!!!”  It had been a really good day and it was strange at the end of the day to be in the middle of the forest, where we felt far from civilization, although still able to enjoy some interesting Sichuan cuisine, thanks to Wuyipeng’s resident cook.

 

25th April

The day was spent walking in the ‘fairy-like’ landscape along the trails around Wuyipeng.  Although the first bird of the day was a special one right by the station, as a superb male Indian Blue Robin posed nicely there for us, and ‘the set’ was completed for the day with both Orange-flanked Bush-Robin (Red-flanked Bluetail) & White-browed Bush-Robins later on. A very obliging, boldly-patterned Spotted Laughingthrush sat out in the open for us right outside the kitchen shortly after breakfast.  Closely searching the bamboo along the trail eventually paid off with great views of another Wuyipeng specialty-the endemic Three-toed Parrotbill, along with further very welcome views of Great Parrotbills.  Many tit flocks were encountered along the trails, as in many other areas in Sichuan, that has high tit diversity, seemingly with one for everyone’s tastes!  Within these flocks we found Yellow-browed, Coal Tits (of the strange crested aeomodious race looking nothing like they normally do in Europe), Green-backed Tits, and best of all the attractive endemic Pere David’s (Rusty-breasted) Tit; in addition to a lone pair of Fire-capped Tits (including a stunning breeding plumage male complete with flame-red cap).  Woodpeckers were also much in evidence on this day with Darjeeling, White-backed, Bay and Grey-headed Woodpeckers all seen within a stone’s throw of the research station.  A tit-like descending trill heard along the trail had us excitedly scanning the nearby tree trunks and we soon found the owner of the song-the newly described endemic Sichuan Treecreeper.  This species was first described only 3 years ago from southern Sichuan, although has now be found at a further 7 or so sites since then.  The bird is most common at the type locality further south that we were visiting later in the trip, so it was a nice surprise to get this so easily early on for the tour. Eurasian (Spotted) Nutcrackers were calling all around and eventually one gave us great views perched in their preferred conifer trees.  What with further views of another male Temminck’s Tragopan it certainly had been a bird-packed, really enjoyable day walking within some really great Chinese forests, with the snow-capped peaks that we would be visiting later in the trip visible through the tree in the distance.

 

26th April

The morning was spent having some final birding around Wuyipeng where we still continued to pick up new birds like the endemic Barred Laughingthrush, yet another tit with the cute Grey-crested Tit, Purple-backed Starling that seemed quite out of place up there, in addition to some birds we had encountered previously including Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher, Long-tailed Minivets and a whole load of Phylloscopus warblers. 

 

Grey-crested Tit

Virtually anywhere you go in China you come across small flocks of hyper-active Phylloscopus warblers-challenging to identify yes, but the sheer number of them encountered in China leaves you with a greater understanding of these delightful warblers by the time you leave and is certainly one of the many ‘pleasures’ of birding in Sichuan.  Wuyipeng is no different and we encountered a bunch of them there including the common Blyth’s Leaf-Warbler, Large-billed Leaf-Warbler, the newly described Sichuan Leaf-Warbler (a recent split from the Pallas’s/Lemon-rumped group) and many Buff-barred Warblers.

 

For the afternoon we decided to drive up to Bei Mu Ping, below the mighty Balang Shan pass, to get a head start on some of the higher elevation birds we would be searching for over the coming few days.  The planned seemed to work well and we soon added two more Chinese specialties – Chinese Fulvetta and the awesome, well-named Giant Laughingthrush. 

 

Giant Laughingthrush

We also saw some of the more widespread highland birds including several Himalayan Griffon Vultures, many bright-colored Blue-fronted Redstarts and a White-browed Rosefinch (sometimes split off as Chinese White-browed Rosefinch).

 

27th April

Today was spent at the heady heights around Balang Shan pass (altitude = 4500m), searching for some of my favorite species in the area – the enigmatic birds of the high mountains.   Aside from a Blood Pheasant sitting in the road on the way up, a Tibetan Partridge that followed not long after and a few more Giant Laughingthrushes jumping out of the road, virtually one of the first birds seen for the day was one of Balang Shan’s most highly sought-after species-the rare endemic Chinese Monal.  Normally many people have to be satisfied with distant views of this giant, iridescent Pheasant although we were truly blessed on this day as a male cruised in and perched in the open right by the road allowing us great views and plenty of (dodgy) photos!  Frustratingly as better views were being obtained and the opportunities for photography improved the fog swept in, engulfing the bird with it!  With that we headed for the higher elevations around the pass, climbing out of the fog with it.   The scenery around the pass is phenomenal, and the sprinkling of snow on the high peaks added to the atmosphere.  The snows higher up had lent us a hand on this day forcing some good birds down lower.  The most memorable of these were large reeling flocks of Grandalas that had come down in groups of hundreds – a definite highlight for the trip was being treated to the sight of hundreds of these awesome birds alighting on the ground nearby.  Although the flocks at first appeared to be dominated by duller grey females, every now and then a vivid blue male would sail by, landing where it simply glowed  purple in the snow scape – an unforgettable bird that for me has never successfully been illustrated in a way that truly conveys the amazing colors of the male – what a great sight!

 

Grandalas

Another great sound around the pass was the haunting, eerie calls of Tibetan Snowcocks and we managed to get sightings of 6 different birds seemingly always crawling around on the most dangerous looking cliff faces, as only snowcocks seem able to do!  A pallid flock of Snow Pigeons was a welcome sight feeding on the ground over the other side of the pass as were several Alpine Accentors at the pass itself, while beautiful male Dark-breasted & Red-fronted Rosefinches added some color to proceedings.  We then carried on down to the lower areas on the far side of the pass, moving below the snow as we did so where we searched some unattractive scrub for the enchanting White-browed Tit-Warbler, and soon after located  several small parties of these pretty little warblers – a bird that on any other day would have surely stolen the show, but on this day had some real competition for bird of the day.  Later in the afternoon we birded our way back to our hotel, picking up some new birds in the lower stretches of woodland including Crimson-breasted Woodpecker and another Chinese endemic that we saw a number of times later in the trip – Yellow-bellied Tit.

 

28th April

Another day at the pass to search for some of the gaps on our list from the previous day, not least the distinctive White-eared Pheasant that the fog had managed to thwart us from seeing.  However on driving up through Bei Mu Ping we were dismayed to see snow everywhere-rarely this low down at this time of year, which would make looking for an all white bird particularly challenging!  Nick was having none of this however, and soon picked up a pair of White-eared Pheasants standing in an open snowy clearing.  The pheasant fest continued!  Although it did not end there, as a vocal Verreaux’s (Chestnut-throated) Monal-Partridge put in an appearance not long after and we all had good, if brief views as it scurried through the snow-laden scrub; while later that day we recorded our first Ring-necked (Common) Pheasants for the trip, looking a lot different than they do back in their ‘false’ home in the English countryside.  The scenery on this day was nothing short of spectacular – Hollywood could not have come up with anything better than this!  It was truly great to be birding with such an impressive backdrop…

Birding in Balang Shan (Sam Woods/Tropical Birding)

The Grandalas were again out in force with one amazing flock containing 200 birds, while colorful Rosy Pipits seemed to be everywhere!  Other birds that had ventured lower than their usual haunts included both Plain Mountain-Finch and it’s rarer cousin, the Black-headed (Brandt’s) Mountain-Finch.  A lone adult Lammergeier sailed over late in the morning; and both Red-billed & Yellow-billed Choughs were seen; as were a number of confiding Kessler’s (White-backed) Thrushes; and a very welcome sight was a small covey of Snow Partridges that was found hiding amongst the snow-covered boulders, at a lower area than they are more usually recorded.

 

Snow Partridge (Sam Woods/Tropical Birding)

More birds were added again on the drive back down with our first Rufous-vented Tits, Grey-backed Shrike and a very active Brown Dipper not far from our hotel.

 

29th April

Much of the morning was spent traveling from our former base at Wolong to the ‘Roof tile’ Mountain of Wawu Shan.  This mountain quickly became well-known to birders when a new species of Treecreeper, the endemic Sichuan Treecreeper, was described from the fir forests on its summit in 2003.  Since then it has emerged as one of Sichuan’s premier birding sites, and is a must for any visiting birders.  We would leave the summit for another day and began our birding in the woodland-fringed road to our hotel.  Our first stop was to check out some suitable looking forest for the recently described Emei Leaf-Warbler, that is generally only found in a very narrow elevational range.  As late April is the peak calling period for this species we were hoping to get lucky with this subtle warbler. On getting out of the car we immediately heard one calling close by and with a little coaxing got some great views.  Although similar in appearance to some other species we had already recorded on the tour the highly-distinctive song made this one stand out from the crowd, and we saw a number of them over the coming days and heard a whole bunch more.  Despite only a little time spent in the field that day we managed to see some of the specialties people travel far and wide to Wawu Shan for, including the localized Grey-faced (Emei) Liocichla and best of all was an exquisite male Lady Amherst’s Pheasant close to the road before we had even reached our hotel.  This was to be the first of 6 separate sightings we were to enjoy of this bird on the tour.  Along with Golden Pheasant this must be one of the most extravagantly adorned of all birds and one of the finest looking pheasants around.

 

Emei Leaf-Warbler 

30th April

This day was one of the most enjoyable on the tour as we spent the whole day birding the brilliant woodland bordering the quiet road up the mountain.  The day was simply packed with birds, many of them really, really interesting ones.  The day began with our first of two sightings of the unique Chinese Babax, a White-bellied Redstart calling agitatedly by the roadside, while Grey-faced (Emei) Liocichlas called all around us and we had several prolonged close views of this distinctive laughingthrush.  It turned out to be a good day for skulking babblers as we also recorded our first Red-winged Laughingthrushes and also got our first sightings of the beautiful near-endemic Rusty Laughingthrush, in addition to seeing our first Red-billed Leothrixes.  A brick-red blur that shot by soon proved to be a fine male Vinaceous Rosefinch; and a male Red-headed Trogon appeared out of place perched in a dense conifer grove; although perhaps the star bird for the day was the gorgeous Golden Parrotbill, and we were lucky to have multiple sightings of this tiny bird (including a pair carrying nesting material less than a meter from us).

 

1st May

This day was spent much a the previous one had been – birding various elevations along the ‘birdy’ road up the mountain, and although less active than the day before we continued to add new birds.  These included a male Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush very close to the road; our first Blue-throated Flycatchers of the endemic race that many consider a distinct species, Chinese Blue Flycatcher; and a singing male Snowy-browed Flycatcher.  Many other birds were seen again allowing those who had previously missed them to catch up with them such as a noisy pair of Chinese Babaxes and another view of a cracking male Lady Amherst’s Pheasant.

 

2nd May

After seeing a skulking male White-tailed Robin lower down first thing, we made our way up to the flat-topped, 2600m-high summit of Wawu Shan, by way of a modern cable car that provides easy access to it.  The summit area is like walking into another world – huge, dense swathes of bamboo carpet the floor of the fir forests at the top and contribute to a very otherworldly feel to the place.  We may have only traveled up 1000m, by way of a short cable car ride, although it felt like we were worlds away from where we had been just that morning.  Of course with bamboo comes more parrotbills and Wawu Shan must be one of the premier parrotbill places in the World.  What with the Golden Parrotbills lower down, the summit can add a further 4 species and furthermore includes some highly-localized, really highly sought-after species.   One lucky birder recorded a pair of the distinctive Grey-headed Parrotbill from the comfort of the cable car on the way up. Not long after we had checked into our mountain-top hotel, we walked the nearby bamboo hoping to pick up one of these and soon found one of Sichuan’s finest birds when a busy, active group of chattering Fulvous Parrotbills came by to check us out.  Pretty pleased with ourselves that we had seen this one so soon after arriving we turned our attention to the other group that reaches unusually high diversity on the top of Wawu Shan – the cryptic Bush-Warblers, and soon added Aberrant & Brown-Bush-Warblers to the trip list.  However, our attention was soon drawn back towards Parrotbills when a close quivering spike of bamboo had us homing in on it, only to be surprised by a pair of Brown Parrotbills that climbed up the spike to feed on the bamboo buds on its exposed tip.  Three parrotbills down, just the one (rare) one to go!  We also had further sightings of the newly described Sichuan Treecreeper, and it was especially pleasing to see it at Wawu Shan as this was the site where it was first described from.

 

Brown Parrotbill

The day closed with a blast of color when a harsh call proved to be coming from a gaudy male Golden Bush-Robin that posed nicely in the flowering pink rhododendrons up there.

 

3rd May

The day was spent birding the scenic summit forest and rhododendron scrub for our final Wawu Shan parrotbill and searching for more of the 8 species of Bush-Warblers found in the area.  Virtually our first bird of the day was indeed a parrotbill, although one we had seen before – with a pair of Great Parrotbills close to the hotel.  A couple more Golden Bush-Robins appeared later, along with many chattering flocks of Fulvous Parrotbills that invariably appeared perched on top of a bamboo spike right beside the trail within a few feet of us.

 

Fulvous Parrotbill

Woodpeckers came in the form of Eurasian Three-toed & Darjeeling Woodpeckers up there (the former actually perched on the side of an abandoned hut), and we also added more Bush-Warblers with the hoped for Chestnut-crowned & Spotted Bush-Warblers (along with a load more Aberrant Bush-Warblers), found by listening for their extremely distinctive songs.  Pride of place for the morning however went to the pair of Grey-hooded Parrotbills that popped up in the midst of (yet another!) flock of Fulvous Parrotbills.  This bird is a globally threatened, restricted range species confined to just a few mountains in this part of China, so we were really pleased to get this one!

 

Grey-hooded Parrotbill

Other birds seen included Black-faced Laughingthrush, our second Scaly-breated Wren-Babbler, Slaty-Blue & Rufous-gorgeted Flycatchers and White-collared & Stripe-throated Yuhinas.

 

4th May

The morning was spent doing some further birding around the pine forest on Wawu’s summit.  Once again we came across more Parrotbills with exceptional views of Brown Parrotbills near our hotel.  Other birds seen included our first views of Eurasian Treecreeper and it was really good to compare them side-by-side with Sichuan Treecreepers, and especially to hear their very different songs at first hand.  More Golden Bush-Robins were welcome, as were a mixed flock of Yuhinas containing a number of Stripe-throated Yuhinas.  Brown & Aberrant and Spotted Bush-Warblers were recorded again as was a singing Buff-throated Warbler, before we descended down lower on the mountain, by way of the cable car once more.  Once down there we attempted birding the road although were unfortunately prematurely stopped in our attempt at this due to an unusually heavy bout of rain calling an end to the days birding.  However we did manage to add Pygmy Wren-Babbler to the trip list (somewhat belatedly!) before then and also enjoyed good views of a very vocal male Fujian Niltava.

 

5th May

Today we birded our way down the road for the morning lunching in the nearby town, and then ending the day at Emei Shan, our next birding venue for the tour.  We concentrated on the lower section of the road searching for some species more typical of the lower elevations there, although on the descent we enjoyed some further views of some of our favorite Wawu birds including the charismatic Golden Parrotbill and small active groups of both Grey-faced (Emei) Liocichlas and Chinese Babaxes.  In addition to this we had frustratingly brief views of another Laughingthrush, when a small, skulking party of White-throated Laughingthrushes passed swiftly by.  As we had not  birded these altitudes before we encountered some new birds including the ‘cute’ near endemic Ashy-throated Parrotbill that was good compare to its ‘city’ relative, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, that we had seen in the heart of Chengdu right at the start of the tour.  Another addition in the same area was yet another Bush-Warbler (our seventh for the tour!), with a showy Russet Bush-Warbler discovered with the help of its unique call in scrub lower down on the mountain.  Perhaps the most enoyable additions to the list on this day were two very welcome members of that classic and most attractive Asian genus, the Forktails, with a pair of nesting Slaty-backed Forktails found first by Nick and later Sam opportunistically found a smart White-crowned Forktail from the confines of a restaurant restroom, although thankfully it could then be viewed from outside there!  We then picked up an out-of-range raptor when we had good close views of an unexpected Grey-faced Buzzard; and after hearing several in the morning without success we were happy to have nice tree-top views of 2 separate Lesser Cuckoos later in the day.  We ended the day by sampling some superb, genuine local Sichuan food with the Emei locals in a busy street in Emei city, rarely visited by tourists.  A really nice cultural experience to begin our exploration of this fascinating mountain.

 

6th May

Emei Shan is one of four Buddhist Holy Mountains in China (and the only one of these located in western China), and the mountain is sprinkled  with many scenic temples and shrines.  The mountain has much forest still remaining on its sacred, temple-strewn slopes, and we concentrated our time there by exploring some of the areas for species that we had missed or were not possible at nearby Wawu Shan.  We began by birding the lower altitudes around Fuhu and Baoguo temples, near the base of Emei (altitude around 500m).  With this came more views of the undeniably attractive Rufous-faced Warbler and a number of sightings for the day of Ashy-throated Parrotbills, chattering away  right by the trail; as well as some new additions like a pair of Tiger Shrikes, a pair of Dark-sided (Siberian) Flycatchers, Fire-breasted Flowerpeckers and Fork-tailed Sunbirds all performing well in local gardens, and White-rumped Munia feeding right by the entrance to our hotel.

 

Ashy-throated Parrotbill

The sudden ‘commoness’ of Hair-crested (Spangled) Drongos betrayed our subtropical location (as did the loud far-carrying calls of many Asian Koels), at much lower elevations than we had yet experienced on the tour.  A short cable car ride took us to some nice low forest around the temple of Wannian (altitude around 1000m), where we found the bright and distinctive Sulphur-breasted Warbler and the shy Dusky Fulvetta (much more skulking and difficult than other Fulvettas, although the bird gave itself up in the end!) Other new birds for the list included a vocal Mountain Bulbul and Black-chinned Yuhina right by the temple, an elusive Hodgson’s Hawk-Cuckoo and a group of three Black Bazas – surely one of the most attractive and instantly recognizable of all the Asian raptors; and we also had second views of the often hard to come by, Grey-capped (Oriental) Greenfinch.

 

7th May

The day began ominously with heavy bouts of rain, and the possibilities for birding initially looked bleak.  We drove up to Leidongping (2420m)  anyway and started our planned walk down in the direction of Wannian (1000m).  Thankfully the heavy mist and rain cleared remarkably quickly and we walked down birding the scenic, winding mountain trail through the boreal forests up there, passing a number of Emei’s temples and shrines hidden within the depths of the forest. Once the rain cleared early on, we soon began to see birds, including a good set of Emei's laughingthrushes including the endemic Emei (Grey-faced) Liocihla and Elliot's Laughingthrushes, in addition to a Spotted Laughingthrush  and a superb pair of strikingly-marked Red-winged Laughingthrushes, that sat out really nicely for us.  A Rufous-bellied Niltava that had frustrated us until then finally made it on to the list, while no-one was complaining about a dinky Golden Parrotbill carrying nesting material or the male Lady Amherst’s Pheasant that was watched slinking down the slope. 

 

Red-billed Leothrixes (sounding far more attractive by their old name – Peking Robin), were simply everywhere lending a splash of color to proceedings in the early morning gloom, as did a fine, peachy-breasted male Grey-headed Bullfinch.

 

Grey-headed Bullfinch (male)

 

Other birds seen included Wedge-tailed Pigeon giving its odd call from the tree tops; a lone White-backed Woodpecker; a small party of Black-chinned Yuhinas; another (slightly less skulking) Dusky Fulvetta; while Slaty-Blue & Rufous-gorgeted Flycatchers were seen a number of times flitting around in the bamboo understory.  We enjoyed some good looks at a few species from the recently split Golden-spectacled Warbler complex, with Bianchi’s Warblers being heard and seen on the higher sections of the trail; giving their characteristic “chu” calls and equally recognizable song, lacking the vocal variation of the Emei Spectacled Warbler, that was heard and seen a little lower down the path (otherwise known as Grey-crowned Warblers depending on whether the former species is considered valid!).

 

8th May

For our penultimate day at Emei Shan we ventured up to the 3000m+ Golden Summit by way of cable car, and from there took the short monorail ride to the Thousand Buddha Summit (3090m).  We were unexpectedly delayed in our departure for there however when the entrance gate failed to open on time, although as it turned out this was a blessing in disguise.  As we waited around (a little testily to be honest), for the gate to open, a nearby rustle in the undergrowth led us to unforgettable views of a Chinese Bamboo-Partridge that ran around in the conveniently short under layer, allowing us great views of a bird that is restricted to Southern China.  Before reaching the lower cable car station we were treated to nice eye-level views of a pair of Grey-headed Bullfinches feeding in the flowering rhododendrons and a male Daurian Redstart around the base at Jieyin Hall (2500m), that made up somewhat for the only other trip sighting-a drab female from our bedroom window in Sawan.  The stunted pines and bamboo that choked the summit played host to many resplendent Rufous-breasted Accentors; and Rufous-vented Tits frequently revealed themselves when singing from the top of the dwarf pines; while endemic Elliot's Laughingthrushes were again surprisingly obliging for a garrulax; although the best bird up there was a tricky Long-tailed Thrush that toyed with us for a while, before giving us all the views we craved.

 

Rufous-breasted Accentors

 

Also new for the trip on the summit was our eighth Bush-Warbler for the list - Grey-sided Bush-Warbler - that had strangely eluded us on Wawu's summit earlier on the tour, although were conspicuous on this day, with one heard and seen soon after alighting from the monorail and others heard singing all around.  While an Ashy-throated Warbler between Jieyin and the Golden Summit was also another new bird for us, and increased the trip count for Phylloscopus warblers to 12.

 

9th May

A final morning was spent on Emei Shan, birding around Xixiang Chi (or Elephant Bathing Pool).  On the way up we got our first looks (after hearing them for the last few days) of a Common Cuckoo.  Probably the highlight for the day was when playing a Collared Owlet recording to see what birds would come in to mock the owl, we found ourselves surrounded by laughingthrushes, including the striking Spotted, along with a pair of Red-winged Laughingthrushes and Grey-faced Liocichlas along with the ever-present endemic Elliot's Laughingthrush, while a skulking male White-bellied Redtart eventually came in really close.  A relaxing break around the temple itself produced a tree full of Speckled Wood-Pigeons (our first of the trip), sitting in the next tree from a small group of Wedge-tailed Pigeons.  We then relaxed in Chengdu for the evening and prepared for our journey into northern Sichuan...

 

Speckled Wood-Pigeon

 

10th May

We left our hotel early and headed once more in the direction of Wolong reserve, where we would be once again crossing the mighty Balang Shan pass.  However a rapid stop was called for when a falcon sat on a roadside wire proved to be a fine female Amur Falcon, an unexpected bonus for the journey north.  The day seemed to be dominated by raptors and a low Mountain Hawk-Eagle was added to the list as we approached Wolong town. Shortly before the pass many more raptors were in the air riding the thermals including the usual Himalayan Griffon Vultures along with a few Lammergeiers, and 2 Peregrine Falcons were new for the trip, while an interesting  dark morph Common Buzzard was found perched on a nearby wire.  Compared to our first few snow-bound trips around the pass, this time there was a feeling that winter had lifted and spring was in the air - the snow was now much reduced and limited to the pass and the large lost looking groups of passerines we experienced before must have moved higher up once again.   This feeling was confirmed when on stopping at a known area for them, over the far side of the pass we immediately heard the scratchy song of that most beautiful of Himalayan birds - the White-tailed Rubythroat, and shortly after we found an incredible male singing from the top of the stunted  alpine scrub. We were  well pleased with this as we had missed it before as we were a little too early in the season for them, although a the snows had lifted and the temperatures had increased it seems they had returned to their high mountain breeding areas once more.  That bird alone was enough for us, although another small party of superb White-browed Tit-Warblers a few bushes away from the Rubythroat was a nice addition for the day. Rufous-breasted Accentors singing nearby further contributed to the feeling that spring had finally come to the high mountains.  We continued our journey westwards moving into areas with a very different feel to them, where grazing domestic Yaks were frequently encountered by the roadside and grinning Tibetan children saluted us as we drove by. In the drier craggy valleys a few Blue Rock Thrushes were seen and we also saw our first Crag Martins, in addition to recording a few Hill Pigeons as we emerged into the Tibetan farmed hillsides beyond. Although the roadside male Tiger Shrike appeared a little out of place up at over 3000m compared to the pair we had seen in the humid lowlands at Emei Shan only a few days previously.  After passing through some distinctive Tibetan style housing on the edge of town (and seeing a huge Eurasian Eagle Owl perched nonchalantly by the road on the edge of town), we finally reached our modern hotel in the busy Tibetan town of Maerkang.

 

Tiger Shrike (male)

 

11th May

The pine forests around the town of Maerkang are really great for birding, and soon after dawn we found ourselves listening to the loud rasping calls of Koklass Pheasants.  Not long after a male angrily reacted to our recording by flying in and perching on an open hillside nearby where we got really cracking views.  Blood Pheasants were really vocal and conspicuous there and we experienced our best views yet as we observed three feeding on the same open slope we had just seen the Koklass on, where at one point we were able to watch a male Blood Pheasant standing completely in the open while calling from the top of a small rocky outcrop.  

 

Blood Pheasant (male)

 

This area was simply amazing and a short time later a nearby woodpecker calling had us frantically scanning the dead snags for the culprit - a fine red-capped Black Woodpecker.  We then turned our attention back to Pheasants for a White-eared Pheasant on a distant hillside, although an obliging group of a dozen or more were encountered at close range later that day. Another restricted range species - Songar Tit was also seen around there, as was an unexpected group of the endemic Three-toed Parrotbill, along with a pair of Golden Eagles, Mountain Hawk-eagle, and Goldcrests and Winter Wrens for the first time.  A lone roadside Yellow-streaked Warbler  added yet another Phyllosc to the list, although great views of a striking male Severtzov's (Chinese) Grouse was bird of the day for some.  However, perhaps not for beauty but for rarity value, the pair of Sichuan Jays may have given the grouse a close run for that title -  a globally threatened, Chinese endemic. Other birds on the day included Red-billed Chough, White-browed & Beautiful Rosefinches, a number of Daurian Redstarts and around a dozen sightings of Giant Laughingthrushes.

 

12th May 

On this day we headed up onto the Tibetan Plateau , where periods of unseasonal, inclement weather made birding 'challenging' at times.  Despite this, it was a memorable day as we emerged on to the grassy plains of the plateau into a very different world, leaving the trees behind we were soon viewing snow-covered grasslands stretching away far into the distance.  With this drastic change in habitat came a completely new set of birds.  This soon became apparent when we began to see Siberian Stonechats regularly by the roadside and Common Mergansers (Goosander) in the rivers up there.  Redstarts were out in force and we added two more species with the wonderful White-throated Redstart and a lone male Hodgson's Redstart, along with more Blue-fronted & White-capped Redstarts.  Bird of the day however had to go to a pair of the endemic White-browed Tits that were found hiding in low scrub on the edge of the plateau, with another Songar Tit close by.  Other new birds included a number of colorful Ruddy Shelducks feeding in the wetter areas, and larks were represented by striking Horned Larks feeding side-by-side with more subtle Oriental Skylarks.  Corvids were much in evidence on this day with 3 new species for the trip - handsome Azure-winged Magpies made their debut along with Eurasian (Black-billed) Magpies in open scrubby areas; huge Common Ravens were regularly seen perching on fenced areas where the Tibetan herders stow their Yak herds in the harsh winter months; while Daurian Jackdaws were found scavenging amongst the more spartan Tibetan settlements up there.  One of the finest finds for the day however (a little earlier on the plateau than we had expected), was a brilliant Black-necked Crane that even managed to look majestic while feeding in the most difficult of conditions, as driving snow began in earnest soon after, and we retreated to our warm hotel in the Tibetan town of Hongyuan. (Hongyuan  literally translates as 'Red grasslands', in reference to the Red Army settlements that were once there). 

 

Black-necked Crane

13th May

The day dawned with driving snow and low temperatures as we seemed to be caught in the middle of an extremely unseasonal cold front.  The outlook for birding looked bleak, however we decided to give it a go and it turned out to be one of the best days birding of the entire trip, as we experienced some great birding up on the Tibetan Plateau.  The day began by searching some likely-looking scrub on the outskirts of Hongyuan for a special target bird - the endemic Pere David's (Plain) Laughingthrush.  Within a few minutes of leaving the vehicle we managed to find a pair of them looking rather forlorn in the snow.  This was the first hint that this was going to be no ordinary days birding.  A short time later we stopped to admire a small party of Tibetanus race Great Tits (that some authors have given species status as Japanese Tit), and found 2 Godlewski's Buntings lurking in bushes nearby; while huge flocks of Twite were found congregating around the Yak farms alongside the road; as was a lone Hoopoe watched foraging on the snow laden ground.  As we scanned through the flocks of larks and Twite by the road we managed to find a Blyth's Pipit hiding in the flock and best of all was seeing the first of 30 Ground Tits (Hume's Groundpecker) for the day, also in the same area.  These birds were the undoubted star of the day, being one of the World's true oddities, brilliant to watch, weird and confusing birds - they have had taxonomists scratching their heads for years.  Originally they were assigned to the Corvid (crow) family, although recent genetic research has now led them to be grouped with the tits!! - something that is hard to fathom when you watch them bounding across the plains up on the plateau.  A really classic bird, with loads of character.  We found them throughout the day, invariably 'bouncing' around by the side of the road, and even came across a large family group (s) with maybe as many as a dozen birds, including many bizarre-looking, stubby-billed juveniles that constantly harassed the adult birds for food, (that their bills looked like they were not yet equipped to find!)

 

Hume's Groundpecker (Ground Tit)

 

We then headed off to search a known boggy area for another of the plateau's star birds, and with a little effort we found the powerfully-built Tibetan Lark singing from the top of a grassy hummock out in the middle of the marsh.  This is one of the World's largest larks, and they are really striking birds, with massive bills and a huge frame, definitely a contender for the title of the 'king of the larks'!  

 

Tibetan Lark

 

More Black-necked Cranes were a pleasure to watch as they foraged in the plateau snowscape, and new additions came with our first Upland Buzzards and Black Redstarts.  After a good hot lunch in the small town of Waqie (where a number of town-dwelling White-backed/Kessler's Thrushes were found in addition to a pair of the globally threatened Ferruginous Duck/Pochard and a few Chinese Pond Herons many of which were coming into full breeding plumage), we birded along the road to our destination - the bustling Tibetan town of Ruoergai - searching for Shrikes all the while.  We first found more Grey-backed Shrikes and a Tiger Shrike before we found the one we were really looking for, the bulky Chinese Grey Shrike, a near endemic and a plateau specialty.  It was when we went in to get further views of the latter that things got really crazy, and as we were standing there waiting for the shrike to reappear, a pair of White-browed Tits were found going in and out of a nearby nest hole giving superb views all the while, and if that was not enough a Black-winged (Tibetan) Snowfinch then appeared and it too began frequenting a nearby nest hole so that we could watch both of these interesting birds going to and fro from their nests from the comfort of one spot.  The moment was capped off finally when, while we were watching these nesting birds going about their business, a Robin Accentor flew in and started feeding unconcernedly a few meters away from us.  Birding rarely gets this good and we just sat there enjoying all this brilliant birds around us.  After that we were only too happy to retire to Ruoergai for the night, picking up new trip birds in the form of Common Tern and  migrant Brown-headed Gulls on the journey there.

 

14th May
We departed Ruoergai early heading in the direction of the famous Jiuzhaigou park.  Before leaving the plateau we found a Northern Goshawk perched near the plateau rim, and then settled in for some more forest birding once we had left the plains.  We ensured we stopped at a known area for Sukatschev's (Snowy-cheeked) Laughingthrush and soon heard several noisy individuals calling and were soon able to enjoy these normally shy endemics perched in the open in a scrubby area on the edge of the spruce forest.  By the end of the day it was hard for us to believe this species had a reputation for shyness as two more pairs were seen well on our continuing journey to Jiuzhaigou. Bird of the day however went to another, undeniably more cute endemic - Crested Tit-Warbler, a pair of which were found feeding in an area of tall spruce forest.  This is one of China's most special endemics and we were glad to complete the set of pink and mauve warblers (with the White-browed Tit-warblers we had seen several times earlier on the trip).  This same area also held further Plain (Pere David's) Laughingthrushes in addition to more Snowy-cheekeds and further Blood Pheasants.  A few more Daurian Jackdaws were encountered on the journey and a Three-banded Rosefinch was another bonus, although the prize for lucky find of the day occurred when we stopped for something far less interesting, and a really obliging White-cheeked Nuthatch was found in an active mixed species flock that passed by at that most opportune of moments.  Definitely the best Nuthatch that China has to offer, and one of the best in Asia, period.  A great way to end what had been a memorable journey.

 

White-cheeked Nuthatch

15th May

This day was spent birding a quiet trail that leads through a scenic side valley in Jiuzhaigou park, an area that is World famous for its spectacular, breathtaking scenery.  This was not lost on us as we drove through the park, passing many sites of incredible scenic beauty as we did so.  In the valley two of the target species for the day gave themselves up with surprising ease, with firstly a Chinese Thrush feeding in the open at the start of the trail and a Snowy-browed (Chinese) Nuthatch a little further on. 

 

Chinese Thrush

 

Other notable sightings there included two pairs of the handsome endemic Pere David's (Rusty-breasted) Tit; a number of calling Bar-tailed Treecreepers in addition to more Sichuan Treecreepers (here at another of the recently discovered sites for the species); a lone Besra, while Slaty-backed Flycatchers were regularly encountered along the start of the trail.   Having spent most of the day birding this interesting trail, we decided to search an area outside the park for two species that make up the 'spectacled suite' - the first of these, Spectacled Fulvetta, was found on the lower section of the hill where a small vocal party were come across close to the trailhead, while a lone Spectacled Parrotbill made us wait a while, before giving itself up on the higher section of the trail.

 

16th May

This was one of those unforgettable, red letter days for the trip and largely it was all to do with one special, and incredible bird.  As we had hoped to see this bird the day before and failed to even hear one, we feared that perhaps they had not arrived from their wintering grounds, which remain unknown to this day, adding to the allure of this bird.  We decided to give it one more shot anyhow, and a bright sunny morning with large numbers of singing Chinese Leaf-Warblers along the first part of the trail gave a real feeling of spring in the air, and filled us with hope for the main attraction, that breeds in the park and is virtually unknown from outside there. On reaching a known place for the bird we were thrilled to hear the beautiful, fluty song of the Rufous-headed Robin, emanating from the forest understory, a short distance from the trail.  The tension and excitement on hearing one of the most tuneful and charming of all the bird songs in Asia was obvious, and we soon found ourselves enthusiastically trying to see this legendary skulker.  The birds reputation was well-founded and repeated attempts to see this stunning robin initially failed, as we could only manage several brief flight views.  However with a bird this good we simply had to persevere, and not long after we had amazing views of a superb singing male perched in the open, when we could enjoy both the spectacular plumage of the bird in addition to its attractive vocalizations at close range.  Definitely a 'stand-out' moment of the trip and one that will surely live long in the memory.  Other highlights for the day included 3 further sightings of the endemic Chinese Thrush; a surprise observation of another Sichuan Jay (to add to the view we had of a pair at Maerkang), in one of the lower areas in the park; more views of Pere David's (Rusty-breasted) Tits; while another short foray outside the park led to further views of Spectacled Fulvettas, along with our first, welcome sightings of 5 or 6 Spot-breasted Scimitar-babblers (a bird that we had frustratingly only heard while at Wawu Shan, so it was pleasing to finally get that one!).  Other notable sightings included a beautiful male Indian Blue Robin and a Brown Dipper.

 

17th May

On this day we decided to bird some higher areas outside Jiuzhaigou park.  A crisp, clear morning awaited us there, with a sprinkle of snow on the ground.  New birds came in the form of some beady-eyed Maroon-backed Accentors that were particularly common there (double figures were recorded by the end of the day), often seen perched up on dead snags singing their soft, metallic song.  Tibetan Siskins were also new and many huge flocks were seen buzzing around the conifer canopies.  Best new bird however was a formidable looking male Collared Grosbeak, a really striking bird and much scarcer than White-winged Grosbeaks, that we also recorded in good numbers on this day.  Other welcome repeats were a pair of pink Crested Tit-Warblers, that were traveling within a mixed feeding flock  along with Eurasian Treecreeper, Rufous-vented Tits and others.  A singing Long-tailed Thrush there was only the second one seen on the trip.  While walking around in the atmospheric spruce forest interspersed with snow drifts on the spongy, mossy forest floor we chanced upon a few more rich, rufus-colored Severtzov's (Chinese) Grouse, including several intricately patterned males. On the way back to town we stumbled across another black-capped, Chinese (Snowy-browed) Nuthatch for those who had missed it before.  We then birded a hillside close to town for a short time, picking up more of the tricky endemic Spectacled Parrotbill, that were a special request for someone who had missed them a few days previously in the same area.

 

18th May

This was essentially a travel day back to Sichuan's capital, Chengdu, although we could not resist a quick stop on the way back near a high pass, where the snow-dusted spruce forest provided a nice parting gesture.  In our brief search of the area we did manage to see some good birds though, including a fine singing Long-tailed Thrush.  The tour had started with a flourish in the form of several gorgeous Golden Pheasants, and it was fitting that it ended with one too.  This came in the form a fantastic pair of enchanting Crested Tit-Warblers that we watched spellbound for some time, as they fed by hanging upside down on snow-sprinkled pine needles, the males subtle purple and blue upperpart colors showing all the while, along with its snow-capped crown.  Eventually we had to leave these charming warblers alone and drag ourselves away from these wacky-looking pink birds to head back to Chengdu for departure.

 

BIRD LIST

 

Taxonomy and nomenclature follow: Clements, James F. 2000. Birds of the World: A Checklist. Fifth Edition. Vista, CA: Ibis Publishing Co. Includes recent updates.

 

GREBES (Podicipediformes Podicipedidae) 
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) 
HERONS, EGRETS AND BITTERNS (Ciconiiformes Ardeidae)
 Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) 
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) 

Chinese Pond Heron (Ardeola bacchus)

5 were recorded up on the Tibetan plateau.
 Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) 
DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS (Anseriformes Anatidae)
 Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) 

This attractive duck looked especially appealing up on the plateau feeding in the boggy areas beside the snow-covered plains.
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 

Ferruginous (Duck) Pochard (Aythya nyroca)

A pair of this globally threatened species were found in a wetland area between Hongyuan and Waqie on the Tibetan Plateau.

Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

A migrant bird was found en-route to Jiuzhaigou.
 Common Merganser (Goosander) (Mergus merganser) 

A few were seen up on the Tibetan Plateau.
HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES (Falconiformes Accipitridae)
Black Baza (Aviceda leuphotes) 

3 were seen flying around together near Wannian temple, Emei Shan. 
 Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus)

One was seen on the lower sections of the road up to Wawu Shan. 
 Black (Black-eared) Kite (Milvus migrans)

2 were seen around the pass at Balang Shan and others were recorded at Maerkang, and they were especially regularly encountered on the Tibetan Plateau.
 Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus) 

One adult seen just above Bei Mu Ping, with 2 together (an adult and immature bird) there on another occasion.
 Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) 

Recorded a number of times in the Balang Shan area.
Besra (Accipiter virgatus) 

One was seen at Jiuzhaigou.
 Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) 
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) 
Gray-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus) 

A definite surprise was finding one of these migrant birds sat on a close wire near the base of Wawu Shan, a little outside its normal range. 
 Eurasian Buzzard (Buteo buteo) 
Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemilasius) 

A few examples of this 'hulking' buzzard were found loafing around on the top of telegraph poles up on the open plains of the Tibetan Plateau.
 Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

One was seen dwarfing a mobbing Eurasian Buzzard, near Balang Shan. 
 Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus nipalensis) 
FALCONS AND CARACARAS (Falconiformes Falconidae) 
Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) 

A single was seen on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau.
 Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis) 

A female was found being mobbed on a roadside wire between Chengdu and Wolong.
Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) 

1 flew over the summit on Emei Shan.
 Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) 

2 were seen near Bei Mu Ping.
GROUSE, PTARMIGAN, PRAIRIE-CHICKENS (Galliformes Tetraonidae)
Severtzov's (Chinese) Grouse (Bonasa sewerzowi)

A superb male was found feeding by the roadside (and later seen in the forest), at Maerkang.  Others were seen at a pass close to Jiuzhaigou, where 5 were seen by the group in one morning up there.  
 PHEASANTS AND PARTRIDGES (Galliformes Phasianidae) 
Snow Partridge (Lerwa lerwa) 

After brief and unsatisfactory flight views on our first day up at Balang Shan pass, it was a relief to nail a small covey of these delightful patridges sheltering amongst the snow-capped boulders, on our second day there.
 Verreaux's (Monal) Partridge (Tetraophasis obscurus) 
One was seen scurrying through snow-covered scrub near Bei Mu Ping.
 Tibetan Snowcock (Tetraogallus tibetanus) 
5 separate birds were seen on our first visit to the pass at Balang Shan.
 Tibetan Partridge (Perdix hodgsoniae) 

One was seen standing by the roadside in the Bei Mu Ping area, on one day, as we traveled up towards the Balang Shan pass.
Chinese Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola thoracica) 

Great views were had of a confused looking bird by the entrance gate at Emei Shan, that ran around a few times in really open undergrowth, before disappearing back into denser cover.
 Blood Pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus) 

Seen near Bei Mu Ping on more than one occasion, and also recorded at Wuyipeng and between Ruoergai and Jiuzhaigou.  The best prolonged views however, were in the Maerkang area where we lucky enough to get photos.
 Temminck's Tragopan (Tragopan temminckii) 
Certainly one of the trip highlights was getting some great views of scarlet male Tragopans at Wuyipeng, where a total of 3 males and a female were seen.
 Koklass Pheasant (Pucrasia macrolopha) 

Great views of a male bird at Maerkang that reacted angrily to playback of it call.
 Chinese Monal (Lophophorus lhuysii) 
The big surprise in our first few hours around the Balang Shan area was finding this species so easily - a male flew in and landed close to the road making life much easier for us over the following days! The only frustration was the fog moving in just when the opportunities for photography were beginning to improve..
 White Eared-Pheasant (Crossoptilon crossptilon) 

A nice sight on our second, snow-dominated day at Balang Shan was seeing a pair of these striking pheasants standing in a snow-swept clearing. 

Also seen at Maerkang where a group of a dozen or more were seen at close range.
Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

Recorded below Bei Mu Ping on one occasion, and a few were seen in scrub near the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, while others were found around Jiuzhaigou. 
 Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) 

Probably the best trip moment was getting unhindered views of several cracking males of this stunning and truly unique bird around Wolong.
Lady Amherst's Pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae) 

Along with the Chinese Monal and the Golden Pheasants this species vied for place as the best birds on the tour - the males of this species are never done justice in the field guides, a simply awesome bird and combined with the effort often required to see it, make it an undoubted trip highlight. 
CRANES (Gruiformes Gruidae) 
 Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis)

A great sight was a brilliant bird watched feeding in the driving snow, near Hongyuan, on the approach to town there. More were seen on the following day including a pair watched feeding in a dramatic snowy setting up on the Plateau, and the sight of 7 of these so called 'Pearls of the Plateau' flying majestically against this snowy backdrop was a truly great experience. 
RAILS, GALLINULES AND COOTS (Gruiformes Rallidae)
White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) 
SANDPIPERS (Charadriiformes Scolopacidae) 
 Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) 
 Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) 
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) 
Brown-headed Gull (Larus brunnicephalus)

A small flock were seen close to Ruoergai on the Tibetan plateau.
TERNS (Charadriiformes Sternidae) 
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) 
PIGEONS AND DOVES (Columbiformes Columbidae) 
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) 
Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris) 

2 seen on the journey between Balang Shan and Maerkang.
 Snow Pigeon (Columba leuconota) 

A few flocks were seen feeding in alpine meadows, near to the pass at Balang Shan (one flock was of around 50 birds).
 Speckled Wood-Pigeon (Columba hodgsonii) 

A tree full of them was found at Xixiang Chi, Emei Shan.
 Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis) 
Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) 
Wedge-tailed Pigeon (Treron sphenura) 

Recorded on two days around Emei Shan, once in the Wannian area (1 bird) and another time in the next tree along from a group of Speckled Woodpigeons (3 birds), near to Xixiang Chi.
CUCKOOS (Cuculiformes Cuculidae) 
Large Hawk-Cuckoo (Cuculus sparverioides) 

A very vocal and conspicuous bird in Sichuan by sound, although thankfully for us less frustrating than they can be to actually see, as we had sightings in Chengdu and also on Wawu mountain.  Also heard in many other areas including Jiuzhaigou.
 Hodgson's Hawk-Cuckoo (Cuculus fugax) 

One calling bird was seen all too briefly, near the Wannian temple (Emei Shan).
 Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) 
Oriental Cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) 
Lesser Cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus) 
Asian Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris) H
Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) H 
OWLS (Strigiformes Strigidae) 
 Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) 

This massive owl was seen perched by the roadside as we approached the town of Maerkang in the evening.
SWIFTS (Apodiformes Apodidae) 
Himalayan Swiftlet (Aerodramus brevirostris) 

Seen a few times at Wawu Shan along both the road there and up on the summit, when low flight views were had in the evenings.
 White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus) 

Enjoyable low views of this excellent swift in the evenings on the summit of Wawu Shan.
 Fork-tailed Swift (Apus pacificus) 
House Swift (Apus nipalensis) 
TROGONS AND QUETZALS (Trogoniformes Trogonidae) 
Red-headed Trogon (Harpactes erythrocephalus) 

A calling male was seen low down on the road leading up to Wawu Shan.
KINGFISHERS (Coraciiformes Alcedinidae) 
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) 

1 was seen in Chengdu.
 Black-capped Kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) 

One was seen en-route between Ruoergai and Jiuzhaigou.
HOOPOES (Coraciiformes Upupidae) 
Hoopoe (Upupa epops) 
BARBETS (Piciformes Capitonidae) 
Great Barbet (Megalaima virens) H
WOODPECKERS (Piciformes Picidae) 
 Speckled Piculet (Picumnus innominatus)

This tiny woodpecker was picked up in a bird 'wave' at Wawu Shan, and later came in well to tape there.
 Darjeeling Woodpecker (Dendrocopos darjellensis) 

Recorded at both Wolong (Wuyipeng) and also around the upper sections on Emei Shan.
 Crimson-breasted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos cathpharius) 

Single seen at both Wolong and Wawu Shan.
 White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) 

Singles recorded between Yuxian and Wannian on Emei Shan and also at Wuyipeng (Wolong).
 Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) 
Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus) 

Seen a few times on Wawu Shan.
 Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) 

One was seen perched on a dead snag at Maerkang.
 Gray-faced Woodpecker (Picus canus)

Heard calling daily around Wuyipeng (Wolong), with several views had along the trails there. 
 Bay Woodpecker (Blythipicus pyrrhotis) 

1 was seen by the research station at Wuyipeng (Wolong), and another was seen well along the road at Wawu Shan.
LARKS (Passeriformes Alaudidae) 
Tibetan Lark (Melanocorypha maxima) 

One of these 'king of larks' was found singing in a boggy area up on the Tibetan Plateau.  Truly a brute amongst larks, dwarfing the surrounding 'diminutive' Oriental Skylarks and Horned Larks!
 Oriental Skylark (Alauda gulgula) 
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) 
SWALLOWS (Passeriformes Hirundinidae) 
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) 
Eurasian Crag-Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris) 

Several were recorded on the journey between Balang Shan and Maerkang, also recorded en-route to Jiuzhaigou, and in the town there.
 Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 
Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) 

Recorded in lowland areas such as Chengdu and also around Baoguo temple, Emei Shan.
 Asian Martin (Delichon dasypus) 

A number of these birds were found nesting below the pass at Balang Shan.  They were also seen in some of the higher areas at Jiuzhaigou.
WAGTAILS AND PIPITS (Passeriformes Motacillidae) 
Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus) 

One confiding singing bird seemed to have set up territory, by the cafe in the Panda Breeding centre in Chengdu.
 White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) 
Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola) 

A fine male was found feeding by the stream in our hotel garden in Sawan, with many fine, breeding plumage males found feeding in boggy areas up on the Tibetan Plateau.
 Gray Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) 
Oriental (Paddyfield) Pipit (Anthus rufulus) 

2 were seen together on the road up to Balang Shan.
 Blyth's Pipit (Anthus godlewskii)

Several were seen feeding amongst the big lark flocks up on the Tibetan Plateau. 
 Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) 

Recorded in Chengdu (Pand Centre), Bei Mu Ping area and also on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau.
 Rosy Pipit (Anthus roseatus) 

Abundant and conspicuous around the Balang Shan pass, and also seen up on the Tibetan Plateau.
CUCKOO-SHRIKES (Passeriformes Campephagidae) 
 Long-tailed Minivet (Pericrocotus ethologus) 
BULBULS (Passeriformes Pycnonotidae) 
Collared Finchbill (Spizixos semitorques) 
Light-vented (Chinese) Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) 
Mountain Bulbul (Ixos mcclellandii) 

Seen around the monastery at Wannian, Emei Shan.
 Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus) 
KINGLETS (Passeriformes Regulidae) 
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) 
DIPPERS (Passeriformes Cinclidae) 
White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) 

Seen first around Wolong (between the town and Bei Mu Ping) and later recorded at Maerkang.
 Brown Dipper (Cinclus pallasii) 

One was seen close to the town of Wolong, and another was seen in a low part of Jiuzhaigou park.
WRENS (Passeriformes Troglodytidae) 
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) 
ACCENTORS (Passeriformes Prunellidae) 
Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris) 

Several sightings around the Balang Shan pass.

Robin Accentor (Prunella rubeculoides)

A surprise find was one of these handsome accentors found a short time after locating nests of both White-browed Tit and Black-winged (Tibetan) Snowfinch within metres of this bird (not to mention a Chinese Grey Shrike a few minutes before that!!!)-  an unforgettable 30 minutes of birding.

Rufous-breasted Accentor (Prunella strophiata)

Recorded at Balang Shan, although especially abundant around the Golden Summit on Emei Shan (also seen near the edge of the Tibetan Plateau). 

Maroon-backed Accentor (Prunella immaculata) 

Many were seen near the pass close to Jiuzhaigou park, where double figures were recorded in a single day up there.
THRUSHES (Passeriformes Turdidae) 
Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush (Monticola rufiventris) 

A male was found along the road up to Wawu Shan.

A male was found at Wawu Shan. 
 Blue Rock-Thrush (Monticola solitarius)

Several were seen in the dry rocky valleys en-route to Maerkang from Balang Shan. 
 Blue Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus caeruleus) 

Quite regularly recorded along the mountain road leading up to Wawu Shan.
 Long-tailed Thrush (Zoothera dixoni) 

A singing bird was seen with a little effort around the Ten Thousand Buddhas summit on Emei Shan. Another was seen near to Jiuzhaigou.
Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) 
Chestnut Thrush (Turdus rubrocanus) 

A few were seen around Bei Mu Ping and also on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and in the low sections of Jiuzhaigou park.
 White-backed Thrush (Turdus kessleri) 

Small active groups were found on both days below the pass at Balang Shan; and they were also easily seen in scrubby areas around the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, where many were recorded on the journey to Hongyuan.  Strangely common in the town of Waqie up on the plateau itself where they were regularly seen in town gardens!
 Chinese  (Song) Thrush (Turdus mupinensis)

Only recorded at Jiuzhaigou, although encountered there on 4 separate occasions, including great views of a bird feeding in the open at the start of one of the trails there. 
OLD WORLD WARBLERS (Passeriformes Sylviidae) 
 Brownish-flanked Bush-Warbler (Cettia fortipes) 
Chestnut-crowned Bush-Warbler (Cettia major)

Several were heard, and one was seen well on the summit of Wawu Shan. 
 Aberrant Bush-Warbler (Cettia flavolivacea) 

Very common on the summit of Wawu Shan (the 'Bush-Warbler capital of the World' !)
 Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler (Cettia acanthizoides) 
Gray-sided Bush-Warbler (Cettia brunnifrons) 

Heard regularly and one was seen well near the Thousand Buddha Summit of Emei Shan.
Spotted Bush-Warbler (Bradypterus thoracicus) 

Several were recorded on Wawu Shan summit.
 Russet Bush-Warbler (Bradypterus seebohmi)

1 was seen on the lower slopes of Wawu Shan. 
 Brown Bush-Warbler (Bradypterus luteoventris) 

Fairly regularly seen around damp areas on the summit of Wawu Shan.
 White-browed Tit-Warbler (Leptopoecile sophiae) 

Undoubtedly the best warbler seen on the trip (no-one voted for Brown Bush-Warbler!), with 2 small groups of this beautiful species seen beyond the pass at Balang Shan.
 Crested Tit-Warbler (Leptopoecile elegans) 

A superb pair of these pink and purple warblers were seen at a designated spot between Ruoergai and Jiuzhaigou.  It was great to watch these unique warblers glowing pink, while feeding in the tall, dark and dense snow-draped spruce trees.  Another pair were found in similar spruce forest close to Jiuzhaigou.
 Tickell's Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus affinis) 

Recorded in highland areas, both around Balang Shan pass and up on the Tibetan Plateau.
 Buff-throated Warbler (Phylloscopus subaffinis) 
Yellow-streaked Warbler (Phylloscopus armandii) 

One was found by the roadside between Maerkang and the beginning of the Tibetan Plateau.
 Buff-barred Warbler (Phylloscopus pulcher) 

Quite a common Phyllosc. in the higher forested areas.
 Ashy-throated Warbler (Phylloscopus maculipennis) 

One was picked up on the descent from the Golden Summit to Jieyin Hall (Emei Shan).
Sichuan Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus forresti) 
Chinese Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus sichuanensis) 

One sunny morning there were many calling and easy to see birds along the start of a quiet forest trail in Jiuzhaigou park.

Hume's Warbler (Phylloscopus humei) 

Several singing birds were seen in the Maerkang area. 
 Greenish Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides) 
Large-billed Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus magnirostris) 

A very common phyllosc. at many sites on the tour. 
 Blyth's Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus reguloides) 

One of the commonest and most frequently encountered Phylloscopus warblers at many sites.
 Emei Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus emeiensis) 

Pretty easy to come by at the time we went to Wawu Shan, when they were very vocal and highly responsive and recorded every day we visited the appropriate elevations for the bird. 
 White-tailed Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus davisoni) 

Only recorded twice on the tour - a pair first, low down on the road up to Wawu Shan, and later a single was seen in a lowland area en-route to Emei Shan.
 Sulphur-breasted Warbler (Phylloscopus ricketti) 

One was seen well in the Wannian area of Emei Shan.
 Gray-crowned Warbler (Seicercus tephrocephalus) 

Seen on both Emei Shan and Wawu Shan, in both areas generally recorded not far below the elevations of Bianchi's Warblers (that are typically the highest occurring Seicercus warbler in the region).  

Note: Some authors split this form into an entirely new species on the basis of morphology and especially the distinct calls of this 'race'.  When split the birds recorded would be considered Omei Spectacled Warblers (Seicercus omeiensis).
Plain-tailed Warbler (Seicercus soror) 
Bianchi's Warbler (Seicercus valentini) 

Heard and seen giving their distinctive calls and songs in the summit areas on both Wawu and Emei mountains, and also seen while at Jiuzhaigou.
Chestnut-crowned Warbler (Seicercus castaniceps) 

Recorded a number of times along the Wawu Shan road.
 Rufous-faced Warbler (Abroscopus albogularis) 

Could have stolen the show for warblers on most trips (if it were not for the enchanting White-browed Tit-warblers recorded on this tour), as this is a really nice one.  Recorded near the base at Emei Shan and also at the Panda Breeding Centre in Chengdu.
OLD WORLD FLYCATCHERS (Passeriformes Muscicapidae) 
Siberian (Dark-sided) Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica) 

A pair were seen near Fuhu Si, Emei Shan.
 Korean (Yellow-rumped) Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia) 

A migrant bird was found in Chengdu on the first day of the tour.
 Slaty-backed Flycatcher (Ficedula hodgsonii) 

First encountered en-route to Jiuzhaigou, where they were also frequently seen.
Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher (Ficedula strophiata) 
Snowy-browed Flycatcher (Ficedula hyperythra)

A singing male was found in coniferous forest along the road leading down Wawu mountain.  
 Little Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula westermanni) 

A male was seen by the road en-route to Wolong.
Slaty-blue Flycatcher (Ficedula tricolor) 
 Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassina)

Regularly seen perching on dead snags along the mountain road up to Wawu Shan. 
 Fujian Niltava (Niltava davidi) 

Several males were seen at Wawu Shan.
 Rufous-bellied Niltava (Niltava sundara) 
Blue-throated (Chinese Blue) Flycatcher (Cyornis rubeculoides)

In the lower areas along the road up to Wawu Shan they were very regularly heard and seen a few times. 

NB.  Some authors have split the race in this area as Chinese Blue Flycatcher, although this is not followed by Clements.
 Gray-headed Canary-flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis) 
White-tailed Rubythroat (Luscinia pectoralis) 

Great views were had of a singing male around Balang Shan.
 Rufous-headed Robin (Luscinia ruficeps) 

A clear trip highlight was getting good, close views of this fabulous robin.  We were really lucky to be able to watch a male singing just a short distance away and at the same time enjoy the beautiful, fluty phrases that make up its song that for me ranks as one of the most distinctive and impressive sounds in all of Asia.  A rare and little known bird, awesome in appearance and sound - birds simply do not get much better than that.
 Indian Blue Robin (Luscinia brunnea)

A spanking male was seen right around the research base at Wuyipeng (Wolong). 
 Red-flanked Bluetail (Orange-flanked Bush-Robin) (Tarsiger cyanurus) 

Seen a number of times in various areas of the Wolong reserve (e.g. Wuyipeng, Bei Mu Ping).
 Golden Bush-Robin (Tarsiger chrysaeus) 

Males and females seen a number of times in the bamboo understorey on the top of Wawu Shan.
 White-browed Bush-Robin (Tarsiger indicus)

Recorded a few times in the bamboo around the Wuyipeng research station, and also seen near to Jieyin Hall on Emei mountain. 
 Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) 
 Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) 

Regularly seen up in the Tibetan Plateau.
 Hodgson's Redstart (Phoenicurus hodgsoni) 

1 singing male was seen near the start of the Tibetan Plateau.
 White-throated Redstart (Phoenicurus schisticeps) 

3 were found (2 males) in high-montane scrub near the start of the Tibetan plateau, and also recorded in a highland area close to Jiuzhaigou park.
 Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) 
 Blue-fronted Redstart (Phoenicurus frontalis) 

Fairly commonly seen in very high areas (e.g. around Balang Shan and around the Tibetan Plateau).
 White-capped Redstart (Chaimarrornis leucocephalus) 

Seen many times, invariably along rivers where they are fairly common in the region.
 Plumbeous Redstart (Rhyacornis fuliginosus) 

Commonly recorded along fast-flowing rivers throughout the tour.
 White-bellied Redstart (Hodgsonius phaenicuroides) 

A male was found along the Wawu Shan road and another male was seen between Leidongping and Xixiang, at Emei Shan.  Another singing male was also encountered at Jiuzhaigou.
 White-tailed Robin (Cinclidium leucurum) 

A male was taped in along the mountain road to Wawu Shan.
 Grandala (Grandala coelicolor) 

An undoubted highlight of the trip was seeing huge flocks of these really special birds around the pass at Balang Shan.  These birds had been forced down lower on the mountain due to heavy snows higher up, so that we were able to enjoy privileged views of groups of over 200 individuals (including many glowing blue males) feeding in snow-covered alpine meadows. 
 Slaty-backed Forktail (Enicurus schistaceus) 

A pair were nesting low down along the road up Wawu Shan.
 White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti) 

One was seen near the base of Wawu Shan.
 Purple Cochoa (Cochoa purpurea) H
Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maura) 

Regularly seen on the Tibetan Plateau, where they are a conspicuous roadside bird.
BABBLERS (Passeriformes Timaliidae) 
White-throated Laughingthrush (Garrulax albogularis) 

Just the one was seen along the road up to Wawu Shan.
 Pere David's (Plain) Laughingthrush (Garrulax davidi) 

A pair of this Chinese endemic were found sheltering in snow-laden scrub on the outskirts of the Tibetan town of Hongyuan.  Another pair were found shortly after leaving the plateau en-route to Jiuzhaigou.
 Sukatschev's (Snowy-cheeked) Laughingthrush (Garrulax sukatschewi)

3 different pairs were seen easily on the Ruoergai to Jiuzhaigou journey, making a mockery of their legendary skulking reputation! 
 Spotted Laughingthrush (Garrulax ocellatus)

A very vocal and responsive individual was first seen right around the research station at Wuyipeng (Wolong), and later recorded on Emei mountain and also on Wawu Shan. 
 Barred Laughingthrush (Garrulax lunulatus) 

This shy, distinctive endemic was seen twice on the walk down from Wuyipeng to Sawan.
 Giant Laughingthrush (Garrulax maximus) 

A really great, distinctive endemic laughingthrush that was seen very well on a number of occasions around the monument at Bei Mu Ping, and encountered particularly regularly around Maerkang where around a dozen were recorded in one day.  A vocal pair were also seen in scrub near the rim of the Tibetan Plateau. 
 Rusty Laughingthrush (Garrulax poecilorhynchus)

This beautiful species is famed for its shy, retiring nature although the noisy group of 30 birds at Wawu Shan were anything but, and we had excellent views of a number of individuals in this large flock. 
 Hwamei (Garrulax canorus) 

We had three sightings around the Fuhu and Wannian temples on Emei Shan.
 White-browed Laughingthrush (Garrulax sannio) 

Recorded in several lowland sites although especially common and tame at the Panda Breeding Centre in Chengdu.
 Elliot's Laughingthrush (Garrulax elliotii) 

One of the most frequently recorded of all the endemics, generally in the higher areas.
 Black-faced Laughingthrush (Garrulax affinis)

Several small parties were seen around the top of Wawu Shan. 
 Red-winged Laughingthrush (Garrulax formosus) 

Recorded at both Wawu and Emei Shan, with several sightings at both.
 Gray-faced (Emei Shan) Liocichla (Liocichla omeiensis) 

We were lucky on this trip to see them on a number of occasions - twice around Emei Shan (in the Leidongping-Xixiang area) and also 3-4 times along the mountain road up to Wawu Shan.
 Spot-breasted Scimi