I'm not sure whether this will be accessible in China, but I hope so. It seems a convenient way to keep people abreast of how I'm doing, and provide a little bit of insight into this country that is so strange to most of us.
So - I'm heading to China on an NSF-EAPSI (East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute) Fellowship. My purpose is to complete a short-term research project on the Hair-crested Drongo (Dicrurus hottentottus). The population of this species within my study site (at least) conducts a previously undocumented behavior in birds - it slowly, purposefully dismantles its nest after its offspring have fledged. I know this sounds silly. Why is this even worth studying? Well, out of the thousands of species of birds out there, many behaviors are shared among a variety of species. Such as nest destruction. Some birds will deliberately destroy their own nest if they suspect that a parasitic bird (i.e. Bronzed Cowbird) has laid its egg in their nest. And they'll start anew. Some birds destroy the nests of conspecifics within a disputed territory. Some birds will destroy the nests of other species within their territory. But in general, there's little information out there on nest destruction behavior in passerines (songbirds), in general. And as far as I know, there has not been any previous records of nest destruction post-fledging. It's interesting in a behavioral way. They even take their time - spending up to a week picking it apart, piece by piece - which makes it all the more intriguing.
This species is migratory. If it returns to the same site to breed the following year, it might want to make the site appear unused, hence not suitable for breeding. It might also be a cue to the offspring to disperse from the territory, or a cue to begin migratory preparations. They might eat the arthropods that have taken up residence within the nest over the summer (though this seems highly unlikely, we'll collect a few to see what's in them). And there is the strong chance that my research will only promote more questions, rather than answering the present ones. I will be bringing radio transmitters to track pairs of birds through their territories, in the hope that this will provide some clues as to their odd behavior. At the very least, we will learn about their home range, and how they interact with other species. They will be color banded, as well, for easy identification during tracking as well as identification of individuals that may return to the area the following breeding season.
My research is being conducted with graduate students from the Beijing Normal University, within the Dongzhai National Nature Reserve. You can look the place up, but there's not much out there on it. It's located within the Henan Province, SW of Beijing. My major advisor, who is Chinese and helped hook me up with my host institution, said that getting there is a ~10 hour train ride! I thought, briefly, that it was in the HUnan Province, which is much further south, and in the more tropical latitudes. I was very excited about this, though dreading the Malaria pills. But it's actually in a more temperate zone, which means fewer birds and herps (bad), but no Malaria (good). He said the weather is very pleasant there during the summer, also. So at least I won't be sweating up a storm! Though truth be told, I don't mind it so much if I'm in the tropics.
Right now, I'm still in the preparatory process. I still need to send my visa application off. I do have my new passport now, though. I had to get a new one because the old one was nearly full(!), and had only ~6 months left before it needed to be replaced. China will not issue visas to people with passports that have 6 months or less before expiration. So, I had to get it. At least the picture is better!
I'll be getting whatever other shots I might need from an International Health Clinic in Birmingham on Friday. I already got my Hep A and Tetanus shots from my family doctor, and the Malaria pills I won't need to take, plus a full spectrum antibiotic in case I encounter bad food/water that gives me horrible diarrhea. Hopefully I won't need it! I already have Hep B, but I don't think I have documentation of it.
More later.
LMG.
