A nationally protected black-faced spoonbill was recently spotted by shutterbugs Su Jinling and Wu Guojun near the newly opened wetlands Jinhu Park on the southwest bank of the Niwanmen Waterway in Jinwan District.  

Black-faced spoonbill has beak looking like the pipa, a Chinese four-stringed musical instrument

The black-faced spoonbill has a bill shaped like a spatula or pipa, which is a four-stringed musical instrument. Its Chinese name is Heilian (black face) Pa Lu (heron). The wading bird is classified in the spoonbill subfamily under the ibis family in the ciconiiformes order.

The bird constitutes a global population of 4,864 and is listed in this year’s global survey by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Endangered .

Having picky requirements, the bird is fond of clams and shallow muddy pools, lakes, and mudflats. It migrates from higher altitudes in Asia to wetlands in the warm Fujian and Guangdong provinces every winter. 

The improved water environment in Jinwan has attracted an increasing number of migratory birds in the past two years. Birdwatcher Su spotted the black-faced spoonbill in the district on April 26 and again on May 1 and reported that it has since flown to cooler places. 

Black-faced spoonbill wades among several also-migratory pied avocets in Jinwan's accommodating aquatic environment [Photos provided by Su Jinling & Wu Guojun to Jinwan District News Center]