By Peng Junjun

On 18 May, while the workers of Nantong Environmental Monitoring Center of Jiangsu Province were carrying out a bird survey in the Yangkou Port area of Changsha Town, Rudong County, a male desert wheatear was recorded. After checking relevant books, literature and the China Birdwatching Recording Center, this is the first time that a desert wheatear has been photographed and recorded in Nantong, and it is also a new bird record in Jiangsu Province.

At about 2:30 pm on that day, a small bird with a distinctive appearance suddenly came into the investigator's view, showing no fear of people. The investigator immediately took photos of it in various poses and, after comparing them with multiple sources, confirmed that it was a male desert wheatear.

The Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti) is a small bird species belonging to the wheatear genus of the flycatcher family, measuring 14–17 centimeters in length. Male birds feature sandy-brown heads and upper backs, black facial sides, necks, and throats, as well as black wings connected to the throat by a distinct black band, giving them highly recognizable markings. They mainly inhabit arid desert plains, Gobi sand dunes, deserts, and semi-desert regions, and can also be found in mountainous bare-rock areas, rocky shrub grasslands, and even desert or semi-desert zones at elevations of 4,000–5,000 meters. They are especially fond of stony deserts and barren lands. In China, the species is primarily distributed in the northwestern regions, while vagrant individuals are occasionally spotted in places such as Taiwan and Zhejiang Province.

The Desert Wheatear, a species that is normally found in northwestern China, unexpectedly appeared along the coast of Nantong. The reason for its deviation from its usual distribution range remains unclear; it may have been blown off course by strong winds and become lost during migration. The arrival of this Desert Wheatear has also brought the number of bird species recorded in Nantong to 437.

【背景阅读】

漠䳭首现洋口港区

江苏刷新鸟类记录

5月18日，江苏省南通环境监测中心工作人员在如东县长沙镇洋口港区域进行鸟类调查时，记录到1只漠䳭雄鸟，经查阅相关书籍文献和中国观鸟记录中心等，为南通首次拍摄记录，同时也是江苏省鸟类新记录。

当日下午2时30分许，一只模样特别的小鸟忽然进入调查员的视野，一点也不怕人。调查员随即进行多姿态拍摄，后进行多方比对，确认为漠䳭雄鸟。

漠䳭（Oenanthe deserti），鹟科䳭属小型鸟类，体长14—17厘米。雄鸟头及上背沙棕色，脸侧、颈及喉部黑色，翅黑色，且有黑色带与喉部相连，特征鲜明。它们主要栖息于干旱荒漠平原、戈壁沙丘、荒漠和半荒漠地带，也见于山地裸岩、岩石灌丛草地，甚至海拔4000—5000米的荒漠半荒漠区域，尤喜多石的荒漠与荒地。在中国主要分布于西北区域，迷鸟偶见于台湾、浙江省等地。

本应栖息于西北地区的漠䳭，却出现在南通沿海。其偏离常规分布区的原因尚不明确，或许是受大风吹袭而偏离路线，可能是迷途。这只漠䳭的到来，也使得南通鸟类名录增至437种。