Tsinghua, an animal-friendly campus

- Editor's Note -

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October 4th is World Animal Day. Have you ever noticed the diverse animals that share Tsinghua University campus with you every day? If you take a walk around the campus and notice nature you will be able to hear the chirks, whistles, meows and quacks. 

Let’s view the sketches, check how many of them you are familiar with, and be prepared to be amazed by the hidden gems of the ecosystem in Tsinghua!

01

 Egret 

Scientific Name: Egretta Garzetta

Egrets are long-legged wading birds with white or buff plumage. Their feathers get long and filamentous during the breeding season. They live in all continents, and they hunt and live in both saltwater and freshwater marshes. So let’s go and see these birds around the lotus pond!

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02

Hoopoe

Scientific Name: Upupa Epops

Hoopoes are colorful birds notable for their distinctive “crown” of feathers. If the weather is fine, they may spread out their wings and tail low against the ground and tilt their head up. They also enjoy taking dust and sand baths. Hoopoes are friends of human beings since their diet includes many species considered by humans to be pests.

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03

Asian Swallowtail Butterfly

Scientific Name: Papilio Xuthus

Asian swallowtail is a yellow-colored, medium to large sized swallowtail butterfly found in many areas of Asia. Its normal color pattern consists of a black pattern on a yellow background. The mortality rate of its larva is high during wet or rainy days. 

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04

 Asian Comma Butterfly 

Scientific Name: Polygonia C-aureum

Asian comma is a middle-sized butterfly usually found in Asia. Its wings are orange with black dots. The underside of their wings is mottled brown with a shiny comma mark on the center of the hindwing. It’s quite common to see it in suburban areas. If you are lucky, you may find one fluttering around in Tsinghua!

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05

 Red-billed Blue Magpie

Scientific Name: Urocissa Erythroryncha

The red-billed blue magpie has a black head, neck and breast, with a bluish spotting on the crown. Its bill is orange, and it has a long tail, which is a brighter violet-blue with a broad, white tip. It usually seeks food in trees and on the ground. That’s why their nests are often found in trees or large shrubs. 

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06

 Grey-headed Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Picus Canus

Highly sought-after the grey-headed woodpecker prefers living in deciduous forests with a high proportion of dead trees. It is distinguished for its uniformly olive upperparts, and a red crown on the grey head if it is male. If you want to see them in Tsinghua, try to look for them in places where damaged trees are dense.

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07

Common Sandpiper

Scientific Name: Actitis Hypoleucos

The common sandpiper has a greyish-brown upperpart, a white underpart, a quite wide wingpan and a bill with a pale base and dark tip. It is a gregarious bird and is seen in large flocks, and has the distinctive stiff-winged flight low over the water.

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08

Mallard

Scientific Name: Anas Platyrhynchos

Mallards are abundant “wild ducks” of the Northern Hemisphere that is the older species of most domestic ducks. They are typical dabbling ducks, feeding on plants as well as on small animals in the shallows of ponds, marshes, lakes, and rivers. Pick a sunny day to meet them by the pond at Jinchun Yuan!

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09

Chinese Li Hua 

Scientific Name: Dragon Li

The Dragon Li is a Chinese cat that exhibits a unique golden brown to a broken mackerel (broken striped) tabby pattern. Although they don’t reveal much intimacy to humans, they are loyal and friendly creatures. Li Hua is known for clever hunting skills and thus needs a lot of space for exercise, that’s why you may see them running across grasslands and trees on campus.

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10

Red squirrel

Scientific Name: Sciurus vulgaris

Who are those figures that flash by across the pavement with pinecones in their mouths? Red squirrels! They have slender, lanky bodies, long, muscular limbs, furred feet, and of course, a chubby face when they have their mouths full.

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11

Sympetrum eroticum

A type of dragonfly that has brown lips, dark brown eyes and a black head with yellow spots. Keep an eye on the top of the lengthy leaves along the sidewalks as you may discover that they are actually more than you imagine. 

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12

Pseudothemis zonata Burmeister

Another type of dragonfly that appears to be black or brown with the rest of its body being conspicuously white, which makes it look like a glimmering jade. On days not rainy, stop by reservoirs and ponds, you will see them patrolling their territory, showing off their flying prowess including flying backwards and sharp turns. 

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13

Magpies

Scientific Name: Pica serica

The coming of these birds with iridescent blue-green tails is often regarded as a sign of good luck by Chinese people. They are seen mostly in northwestern Africa, western North America, and the campus of Tsinghua! On your way to the teaching buildings, pay attention to the large round nests of twigs cemented with mud as a sign of luck that day! 

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14

Night heron

Scientific Name: Nycticorax

Night herons appear at night and around dawn. They like to stand for a long time at one place motionlessly, sometimes combing feathers and wandering between branches. Night herons keep proper social distance from humans, and may burst out of the leaves as soon as you come near them, singing monotonously and boldly as they fly into the sky.

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15

Mandarin duck

Scientific Name: Aix galericulata

Mandarin ducks are colorful duck species that originate from Asia and are often adored for their beautiful plumage. Also called yuan-yang by Chinese, they are featured often in Oriental art and regarded as symbols of conjugal fidelity and affection.

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Tsinghua has been home to many other loving creatures. On World Animal Day, embrace all beings created equally by Mother Nature and keep some room for the lovely little fellows in your Tsinghua memory! 

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Tsinghua, an animal-friendly campus

Writers: Gao Kejing, Chen Yuxin

Editor:  Maria Vula

Designer: Xia Yifei 

Photographers: Wang Ao , Zhang Yuanyue, Yang Yuhan, Wei Minglun

Video Source: Liu Yitong, Wei Minglun, etc.