The tadpole-shaped Bird Island stands by the west shore of the Qinghai Lake. The world-famous island covers a small area of 270 square meters.  

    It was not discovered until 1949 when some investigators explored the island on the basis of a folk rhyme. 

    "An empty boat goes into the lake, but out comes a boat full of eggs loaded." In earlier years, the Bird Island was surrounded by water.

    Later on , the lake receded, and the Buha Delta opposite the island expanded. Around 1978 the Bird Island was joined to the shore on one side.

    Now it is a peninsula. It is a small kingdom of the birds, and their paradise, too. In spring and summer, the island is crowded with birds.

    Flying above in the sky, swimming in the lake, or busting around on the island, no matter what they do, they are happy and relaxed, with twitters spreading into the distance.

    Statistics show that there are nearly 100,000 birds during their stay on the island, a thousand per mu in the nesting area. 

    There are mainly four kinds of birds: spot-headed wild geese, brown-headed gulls, fish gulls and cormorants. Spot-headed wild geese feed on grass, and the other three on fish.

    Except cormorants, they are all migratory birds. They come in spring and fly away in autumn. In May and June every year, there are eggs all over the island. 

    The young birds are raised here. July and august is the time for the migratory birds to fly to the South, leaving the gluttonous cormorants behind on the island. A great many interesting stories are told about the unique characters of birds. 

Spot-headed gulls

    Take the spot-headed wild geese as an example. Birds of virtue, the male and female are in love with each other. Once one bereaved, the other will remain single for the rest of its life.

    Sometimes it lives and eats with another couple, but always keeps at wing's length while taking good care of them.

    When a predator eagle swoops down in a surprise attack, the single goose will first sound the alarm and bravely rise into a dog fight with the invader. During the hatching period the male stands guard while the female is setting.
 

  Brown-headed gulls

    To raise the nest's temperature, the female picks from its belly to make a mattress, and hugs the eggs with a bare breast.

    Interestingly, it can quickly detect eggs that are not fertilized by kicking them out, which are soon damaged by the April frost. 

    In case of foul weather, the female still persists in its setting. After pecking out of the shells, the chicks will walk, run or rest by order of the parents, with the male responsible for guiding the young. 

    After the chicks have all come out, the male will lead the family into the lake and begin their wandering life. The birds especially dislike stranger.

    As often as not such an episode recurs: hundreds of birds are hovering over the stranger's head, threatening to swoop down while their excrement falls like snowflakes. Cowed, the stranger beats a hasty retreat. 

    How deep is the love of the parent birds for their young! Naturally, the group living of such a large bird community has something to do with their food supply.

    Spot-headed geese like eating tender grass, freshwater pondweed and floating algae. Gulls generally prefer fish and shrimps, white brown-headed gulls, unable to dive, have to content them with catching fish that float on the surface.

    Analyses show that these floating fish are infested with tapeworm and are unfavorable to the development of fisheries.

    However, these gulls can prevent the pollution of lake water and the spread of fish diseases by thoroughly disposing of the remaining stinking rotten fish which are often left around here by fishing team. Editem

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