Red-footed booby flies over the sky of Wuxi. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]
A local bird-watcher in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, recently discovered a red-footed booby at Junzhang Mountain, marking a new wildlife species in the area.
The red-footed booby is renowned for its distinctive bright red feet and feathers exhibiting various colors, presenting in two color morphs: All brown or white with black edges. This avian species is widely distributed across tropical waters worldwide, including offshore islands in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans.
Juzhang Mountain has long been one of Wuxi's top bird-watching locations. In May, a community dedicated to raptor protection began operating on the mountain, equipped with four artificial nesting sites and live-streaming cameras. This new bird-watching site features advanced technologies like AI recognition and infrared monitoring, which in its first month has recorded 17 species of raptors. Common visitors include species such as the Chinese sparrowhawk and the Oriental dollarbird.
