Rare snakebird sighted in S China's Hainan for first time

An Oriental darter, a globally near-threatened species, has been spotted for the first time in south China's island province of Hainan, according to the provincial bird records agency.

At Changjiang Haiwei National Wetland Park, a relatively large Oriental darter was recently spotted atop a tree canopy. The bird had a brown head and neck, with a distinctive white stripe running from its chin down to its chest. The rest of its feather appeared in darker shades.

The Oriental darter, a cormorant-like water bird with a long neck, is primarily a fish hunter, typically found near freshwater lakes and rivers. Listed as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, it's now extremely rare in China.

(Cover: An Oriental darter spotted in Ruili City, Yunnan Province, southwest China, October 22, 2021. /VCG)