Beijing Rain Bird

Answer 1

The Beijing swift was a subspecies of the common swift, belonging to the swift family.

Its body length is 171 - 180mm, weight is 34 - 36.5g, feathers are dark brown, head and abdomen are slightly darker, forehead is slightly lighter, chin and throat are white, eye edge, wing edge are a little white. They usually flew in groups and were good at long-distance flight. They were migrating birds.

As all four of its toes were extended forward, it could not stand on the ground and needed external help to take off. When flying, it opened its mouth to prey on mosquitoes, flies, gnats and other insects. It was a beneficial bird and often built its nest in the holes in the walls of temples, buildings and towers. In summer, they are distributed in the Palaearctic and Nearctic realms. In China, they are distributed in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Northeast China, and North China. In winter, they migrate to India and Africa.

The bird was small but had long wings, which provided good conditions for long-term flight. It could fly continuously for up to 10 months without landing. It rarely landed except for nesting, giving birth, and rearing young. If you saw a " Beijing Swift " on a branch, it was a mistake. They had to complete their racial reproduction in Beijing for three or four months. Due to their physical characteristics, they liked to build nests on tall buildings, especially ancient buildings on the central axis of Beijing. They had a certain connection with traditional culture. In mid-July, when the rainy season came, they would leave for Africa, and travel to and from nearly 40 countries.

It could fly an average of 370,000 kilometers, which was equivalent to the distance from Earth to the Moon. During the migration, they would take the young birds west after breeding in Beijing, then turn south to Europe and return to southern Africa. When flying, one could not jump on the ground because they had no hind toes. Once they landed, it was very dangerous. They could only glide while jumping down. Moreover, their brain could sleep and work half the time during flight. It had a symbiotic parasite called the swift louse, which fed on part of its blood every day to speed up its blood circulation and help it fly better.

Zhengyang Gate was the home of the Beijing Rain Swallows for 600 years. There were breeding stories here every year. The nest was very important to them, and there would be competition for the ownership of the nest. In 2022, with the help of Zhengyang Gate staff, the first artificially hatched Beijing Swift was born. It came in April every year and flew away in July. It traveled between Beijing and Africa. It was also known as the "Belt and Road ecological ambassador". The prototype of the mascot of the Beijing Trade Fair,"Fuyan", was also the Beijing Swift. They can reach a top speed of 190 kilometers per hour during their migration.

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