A rare bird species, the Pellorneum albiventre, has been recorded for the first time at Yunkaishan National Nature Reserve, Maoming City, Guangdong Province, according to a study recently published in the academic journal Chinese Journal of Zoology (Vol. 60, No. 6, 2025).
The discovery marks the species' first documented presence in Guangdong, indicating potential shifts in avian distribution patterns.
A scientific monitoring team observed two small, previously unrecorded birds in shrubland at approximately 890 meters above sea level within the Yunkaishan National Nature Reserve on June 29, 2022. The birds, measuring about 15 cm in length and producing long, melodious calls, were identified after years of detailed morphological and vocal analysis as a subspecies of Pellorneum albiventre.
Belonging to the family Vireonidae, this species has a relatively small population in China and is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Its known range was previously concentrated in Xizang, Yunnan, and southern Guangxi in China, as well as parts of South Asia and Indochina. This record from Yunkaishan suggests a significant eastward expansion of its distribution toward China's southeastern coast.
Subsequent surveys in the autumn detected the birds in several nearby areas within the reserve, preliminarily indicating that a stable resident population may have been established locally, rather than being merely transient.
The discovery holds significant ecological implications. It confirms the well-preserved ecosystem and rich biodiversity of the Yunkaishan reserve, capable of providing suitable habitat for species expanding their range, and hints at potential new dynamics in avian distribution. Located in the mountainous region of western Guangdong with good ecological connectivity, the finding suggests the species' actual habitat range may be broader than previously understood.
Author | Jiang Chang
Photo | Nanfang Plus
Editor | Wei Shen, James Campion, Shen He
