Gorsachius goisagi

The head, crown feathers and back neck of the chestnut-headed platypus are dark chestnut, the sides of the neck, shoulders and back are chestnut red, with thin and unobvious brown beetle-like bands; the waist and tail coverts are dark chestnut brown, and the tail feathers are also dark chestnut garnet. Decorated with slate or dark garnet end spots. The large wing coverts are bright chestnut, and the flight feathers are black with chestnut spots. The chin, throat and front neck are white, with a black line composed of black markings starting from the chin and going down to the middle of the abdomen along the midline of the throat and front neck. The extended feathers in the center of the chest are chestnut brown mixed with black, and the rest of the lower body feathers are yellow-white with dark brown stripes and spots. The plumage color of the young bird is similar to that of the adult bird, but the top of the head is dark brown, and the sides of the head and neck have black spots. Win

It breeds in Honshu, Kyushu and Izu Islands of Japan. It winters in Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands, Philippines and Celebes of Indonesia. It passes through Shanghai, Hong Kong and Fujian of China during migration.
It lives in dense forests near the coast or streams at the edge of forests. It is also found in swamps, valleys or streams in low mountain forests.

The Japanese Night-heron is a migratory bird that breeds in Japan. Except for some that stay in the southern part of the breeding grounds to overwinter, most of them migrate to Taiwan, China and the Philippines to overwinter. During migration, some of them pass through Shanghai, Hong Kong, Fujian and other places in my country. The migration time is from April to May in spring and from September to October in autumn.

The Chestnut-headed Bittern is secretive and a nocturnal bird. It is timid and alert. It often moves and forages alone or in pairs at night. It also often moves and forages during the day. It moves in hidden dark places in dense forests. When night falls, they leave the secluded forest and fly to distant feeding places. They often pass through reeds or walk on reeds. Usually they rarely fly. When flying, the two wings flap slowly, the neck shrinks into an S shape, and the feet stretch out to the back, protruding out of the tail. When resting, they often shrink their necks and stand still. When frightened at night, they jump up, fly low, and flap their wings slowly and powerfully. When disturbed, they often stretch their long necks upwards to watch and stare, and often shrink their necks when walking.

Chestnut-headed bittern mainly feeds on small fish, crustaceans, eels, frogs, small crabs, water spiders, insects, annelids and aquatic insects. Sometimes it also eats a small amount of plant matter. It mainly forages at night; sometimes it also forages in dark places in dense forests during the day.

The breeding season of chestnut-headed bittern is from May to July. It nests in dense mountain forests, and most of its nests are built on the branches of the tree crown. The structure of the nest is relatively simple, mainly made of branches, with moss inside. The shape of the nest is dish-shaped. Each nest lays 4-5 eggs, occasionally as many as 6 and as few as 3. The eggs are white, smooth and spotless, and the size is 17×37 mm.

The Chestnut-headed Bittern is an endangered bird with a narrow distribution area and a small number. It is only found in Shanghai, Fujian, Hong Kong and Taiwan in China. It is a rare winter migratory bird and migratory bird. It is listed in the "Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union" (IUCN) 2016 ver 3.1-Endangered (EN).

It is listed in the second level of China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" (February 5, 2021).

Protect wildlife and eliminate game.

Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!