Last week, the Chinese government announced the publication of a revised list of species with special protection under its Wildlife Protection Law. This is the first revision since the list was originally published in 1988, more than 30 years ago. An update was badly needed as the original list contained mostly large and obvious species, in the case of birds this meant families such as cranes, storks and pheasants, with passerines and shorebirds largely ignored. And of course the status of many species has changed significantly in the last three decades, meaning that many more species are in need of special protection.
In summary, there are now 980 species of wildlife, including mammals and birds, that have special protection – either Class I or Class II – in China, of which 394 species are birds. Of the 394 bird species, 92 now enjoy Class I protection.
The table below lists ALL 92 species of bird now under Class I protection. It includes the English name, Chinese name, scientific name and change compared with the 1988 list.
English Name | Chinese Name | Scientific Name | Changs in Status |
---|---|---|---|
Sichuan Partridge | 四川山鹧鸪 | Arborophila rufipectus | No change |
Hainan Partridge | 海南山鹧鸪 | Arborophila ardens | No change |
Chinese Grouse | 斑尾榛鸡 | Tetrastes sewerzowi | No change |
Black-billed Capercaillie | 黑嘴松鸡 | Tetrao urogalloides | No change |
Black Grouse | 黑琴鸡 | Lyrurus tetrix | Upgraded from Class II |
Chestnut-throated Partridge | 红喉雉鹑 | Tetraophasis obscurus | Upgraded from Class II |
Buff-throated Partridge | 黄喉雉鹑 | Tetraophasis szechenyii | Upgraded from Class II |
Western Tragopan | 黑头角雉 | Tragopan melanocephalus | No change |
Satyr Tragopan | 红胸角雉 | Tragopan satyra | No change |
Blyth's Tragopan | 灰腹角雉 | Tragopan blythii | No change |
Cabot's Tragopan | 黄腹角雉 | Tragopan caboti | No change |
Himalayan Monal | 棕尾虹雉 | Lophophorus impejanus | No change |
Sclater's Monal | 白尾梢虹雉 | Lophophorus sclateri | No change |
Chinese Monal | 绿尾虹雉 | Lophophorus lhuysii | No change |
Swinhoe's Pheasant | 蓝腹鹇 | Lophura swinhoii | No change |
Brown Eared-pheasant | 褐马鸡 | Crossoptilon mantchuricum | No change |
Elliot's Pheasant | 白颈长尾雉 | Syrmaticus ellioti | No change |
Hume's Pheasant | 黑颈长尾雉 | Syrmaticus humiae | No change |
Mikado Pheasant | 黑长尾雉 | Syrmaticus mikado | No change |
Reeve's Pheasant | 白冠长尾雉 | Syrmaticus reevesii | Upgraded from Class II |
Grey Peacock-pheasant | 灰孔雀雉 | Polyplectron bicalcaratum | No change |
Hainan Peacock-pheasant | 海南孔雀雉 | Polyplectron katsumatae | Recent split |
Green Peafowl | 绿孔雀 | Pavo muticus | No change |
Baer's Pochard | 青头潜鸭 | Aythya baeri | New |
Scaly-sided Merganser | 中华秋沙鸭 | Mergus squamatus | No change |
White-headed Duck | 白头硬尾鸭 | Oxyura leucocephala | New |
Little Cuckoo-dove | 小鹃鸠 | Macropygia ruficeps | Upgraded from Class II |
Great Bustard | 大鸨 | Otis tarda | No change |
Macqueen's Bustard | 波斑鸨 | Chlamydotis macqueenii | No change |
Little Bustard | 小鸨 | Tetrax tetrax | No change |
Siberian Crane | 白鹤 | Grus leucogeranus | No change |
White-naped Crane | 白枕鹤 | Grus vipio | Upgraded from Class II |
Sarus Crane | 赤颈鹤 | Grus antigone | No change |
Red-crowned Crane | 丹顶鹤 | Grus japonensis | No change |
Hooded Crane | 白头鹤 | Grus monacha | No change |
Black-necked Crane | 黑颈鹤 | Grus nigricollis | No change |
Nordmann's Greenshank | 小青脚鹬 | Tringa guttifer | Upgraded from Class II |
Spoon-billed Sandpiper | 勺嘴鹬 | Calidris pygmeus | New |
Saunders's Gull | 黑嘴鸥 | Saundersilarus saundersi | New |
Relict Gull | 遗鸥 | Ichthyaetus relictus | No change |
Chinese Crested Tern | 中华凤头燕鸥 | Thalasseus bernsteini | Upgraded from Class II |
River Tern | 河燕鸥 | Sterna aurantia | Upgraded from Class II |
Black-footed Albatross | 黑脚信天翁 | Phoebastria nigripes | New |
Short-tailed Albatross | 短尾信天翁 | Phoebastria albatrus | No change |
Painted Stork | 彩鹳 | Mycteria leucocephala | Upgraded from Class II |
Black Stork | 黑鹳 | Ciconia nigra | No change |
White Stork | 白鹳 | Ciconia ciconia | No change |
Oriental Stork | 东方白鹳 | Ciconia boyciana | No change (previously treated as White Stork) |
Christmas Frigatebird | 白腹军舰鸟 | Fregata andrewsi | No change |
Black-headed Ibis | 黑头白鹮 | Threskiornis melanocephalus | Upgraded from Class II |
White-shouldered Ibis | 白肩黑鹮 | Pseudibis davisoni | Upgraded from Class II |
Crested Ibis | 朱鹮 | Nipponia nippon | No change |
Glossy Ibis | 彩鹮 | Plegadis falcinellus | Upgraded from Class II |
Black-faced Spoonbill | 黑脸琵鹭 | Platalea minor | Upgraded from Class II |
White-eared Night-heron | 海南鳽 | Gorsachius magnificus | Upgraded from class II |
White-bellied Heron | 白腹鹭 | Ardea insignis | New |
Chinese Egret | 黄嘴白鹭 | Egretta eulophotes | Upgraded from class II |
Great White Pelican | 白鹈鹕 | Pelecanus onocrotalus | Upgraded from class II |
Spot-bellied Pelican | 斑嘴鹈鹕 | Pelecanus philippensis | Upgraded from class II |
Dalmatian Pelican | 卷羽鹈鹕 | Pelecanus crispus | Upgraded from class II |
Bearded Vulture | 胡兀鹫 | Gypaetus barbatus | No change |
White-rumped Vulture | 白背兀鹫 | Gyps bengalensis | No change |
Red-headed Vulture | 黑兀鹫 | Sarcogyps calvus | Upgraded from Class II |
Cinereous Vulture | 秃鹫 | Aegypius monachus | Upgraded from Class II |
Greater Spotted Eagle | 乌雕 | Clanga clanga | Upgraded from Class II |
Steppe Eagle | 草原雕 | Aquila nipalensis | Upgraded from Class II |
Eastern Imperial Eagle | 白肩雕 | Aquila heliaca | No change |
Golden Eagle | 金雕 | Aquila chrysaetos | No change |
White-bellied Sea-eagle | 白腹海雕 | Haliaeetus leucogaster | Upgraded from Class II |
Pallas's Fish-eagle | 玉带海雕 | Haliaeetus leucoryphus | No change |
White-tailed Eagle | 白尾海雕 | Haliaeetus albicilla | No change |
Steller'a Sea-eagle | 虎头海雕 | Haliaeetus pelagicus | No change |
Blakiston's Fish-owl | 毛腿雕鸮 | Bubo blakistoni | Upgraded from Class II |
Père David's Owl | 四川林鸮 | Strix davidi | Taxonomic change |
Austen's Brown Hornbill | 白喉犀鸟 | Anorrhinus austeni | Upgraded from Class II |
Oriental Pied Hornbill | 冠斑犀鸟 | Anthracoceros albirostris | Upgraded from Class II |
Great Hornbill | 双角犀鸟 | Buceros bicornis | Upgraded from Class II |
Rufous-necked Hornbill | 棕颈犀鸟 | Aceros nipalensis | Upgraded from Class II |
Wreathed Hornbill | 花冠皱盔犀鸟 | Rhyticeros undulatus | Upgraded from Class II |
Saker Falcon | 猎隼 | Falco cherrug | Upgraded from class II |
Gyrfalcon | 矛隼 | Falco rusticolus | Upgraded from class II |
Sichuan Jay | 黑头噪鸦 | Perisoreus internigrans | New |
Rusty-throated Parrotbill | 灰冠鸦雀 | Sinosuthora przewalskii | New |
Golden-fronted Fulvetta | 金额雀鹛 | Schoeniparus variegaticeps | New |
Snowy-cheeked Laughingthrush | 黑额山噪鹛 | Garrulax sukatschewi | New |
White-speckled Laughingthrush | 白点噪鹛 | Garrulax bieti | New |
Blue-crowned Laughingthrush | 蓝冠噪鹛 | Garrulax courtoisi | New |
Bugun Liocichla | 黑冠薮鹛 | Liocichla bugunorum | New |
Emei Shan Liocichla | 灰胸薮鹛 | Liocichla omeiensis | New |
Rufous-headed Robin | 棕头歌鸲 | Larvivora ruficeps | New |
Jankowski's Bunting | 栗斑腹鹀 | Emberiza jankowskii | New |
Yellow-breasted Bunting | 黄胸鹀 | Emberiza aureola | New |
The full list, including both Class I and Class II, can be downloaded here (tab one includes all species, tab two contains birds only with all Class I species highlighted yellow)
For comparison, the original list from 1988 can be seen here.
So what does first or second class protection mean?
It is worth stating that ALL wild birds are protected in China and that harming or taking any bird from the wild is illegal without a special license, only granted for scientific research purposes. Class I and Class II protection means that there are more severe punishments for anyone harming these species or their habitats. The punishments that can be administered are outlined in Chapter IV of the Wildlife Protection Law. The latest text in English, including a draft amended law from 2020, can be found here (a broader analysis of the law in terms of trade and use of wild animals, can be found on the EIA’s website). In summary, although the law is typically vague, fines of up to CNY 100,000 (GBP 11,000) can be levied, depending on the type and severity of the offence, with additional negative impacts to individuals’ social credit score and the potential for custodial sentences.
Although this post focuses on birds but there are major steps forward on other wildlife, too, with perhaps the most eye-catching being that the Wolf (Canis lupus) and Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) are now given special protection (Class II) for the first time and Dhole (Cuon alpinus) upgraded to Class I from Class II. Chinese Mountain Cat (Felis bieti), Jungle Cat (Felis chaus) and Asian Golden Cat (Pardofelis temminckii) are also upgraded to Class I, joining Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia), Common Leopard (Panthera pardus) and Tiger (Panthera tigris).
Under the new Wildlife Protection Law, the list of species with special protection should be revised every five years. If implemented, this will enable a more dynamic process of protection for China’s most endangered species.
The publication of the new list is a major step forward in the recognition, and protection, of China’s wildlife, much of which is unique, and coincides with the formation of a system of national parks, the ban on further land reclamation along its coast, with inscription of key coastal wetlands as World Heritage Sites, and the hosting of the UN Conventions on Biological Diversity and Wetlands in 2021 in Kunming and Wuhan respectively. The next step is to implement a robust education and awareness programme for both law enforcement officials and the general public to ensure this new list is fully respected and enforced and to ensure credible monitoring mechanisms are in place in order to provide science-based evidence to underpin changes to the list five years from now.
Big credit must go to the Chinese academics and conservationists who have been working hard over a long period to update and strengthen the list.
Thank you to ShanShui Conservation Center for comments on the original version of this article which clarified the status of some species on the original list.
what a very big step….will be a very useful tool for better enforcement and better punishment in poaching cases.
There are several species that I would have loved to see in the list in cat II such a Chinese Grassbird, Collared Crow, Green-eared Barbet, Streaked-winged batwing, some the grassland specialist such as Blue-breasted Quail and Small Buttonquail, certainly in big trouble in China….
But there was such a big gap between the previous list and this one, that I can imagine the work it has required to arrive here already…
Thanks for sharing this…
Thanks Jonathan. I agree.. I am sure that the attention will now focus on gathering robust data in order to push for the addition of some of the species you mention, and more, at the next revision five years from now. Having a regular update to the list mandated in the revised law means that long-term monitoring to identify population trends is now a vital and an urgent next step for conservationists.
very encouraging!!!
This is remarkable and most welcome. Other countries will take note and hopefully replicate such extensive protections. Thanks, Terry.
Thank you, Jane. It’s been a long time coming but it’s a major step forward and I know how hard many Chinese conservationists and academics have pushed to make this revised list a reality. Work starts now to ensure the next revision, five years from now, can go through more speedily, based on robust scientific evidence. Long-term monitoring is often not seen as ‘sexy’ but it is so important.
As you mention Terry, seeing wolf on this list is a very welcome and enlightened move, given widespread and systematic persecution of this species in parts of the country. Wolf conservation provokes much controversy and discussion throughout the world. In China, as elsewhere, it will need special awareness and monitoring efforts.
Agreed. There is a nice article by ShanShui Conservation Center (in Chinese on WeChat) on the bad reputation society gives to Wolves and how they play a crucial role in the ecosystem. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ogmnfsy9cBZwSw7qefAPow
Great news but as is always the case, enforcement is the issue.
Absolutely! Hoping for a big effort on education and awareness among the public and law enforcement.
Just before I left RSPB in 2016 I was invited to give a presentation to a delegation of Chinese academics and government officials about wild bird legislation in the UK from the perspective of an NGO as they were researching how their law should be updated. Great to hear it’s now finally come to fruition.
That’s great, Duncan. The wheels of government rotate slowly but contributions such as yours will certainly have helped influence the end result. The key now will be to ensure enforcement of the law and also to implement robust long-term monitoring of all species to identify early when species are in trouble and to ensure the list of species with special protection is dynamic to reflect rapidly changing circumstances.
Funny thing was, after my talk I was all geared up for some searching questions. First question was “Why don’t you wear a uniform like the RSPCA”? 😆
Haha… obviously your presentation was so comprehensive, they had no substantive questions!